University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
College of Education: Eugenio María de Hostos
Department of Graduate Studies (TESL) Program
Aníbal Muñoz Claudio
801-83-6352
Date: February 28, 2006
Course: EDUC 8130
Models of Teaching, Supervision, and Evaluation of English as a Second Language (ESL) Programs
Professor: Dr. María A. Irizarry
CRITIQUE NO. 1
Resnick, M.C. (1993). ESL and language planning in Puerto Rican Education.
Tesol Quarterly, 7 (2), 259-273
SUMMARY
In this article, prominent linguist, Dr. Melvin C. Resnick examines historical, political
and sociolinguistic aspects of the teaching of ESL in Puerto Rico and attempts to
demonstrate the extent to which success or failure of ESL instruction can be determined
by factors external to the educational environment. According to the article, the discourse
needs of a society do not take place in a social, historical, or political vacuum. Motivation
transcends methodology and all other narrowly “educational” considerations. In the case
study of Puerto Rico, motivation is covertly negative and produces a societal imperative
against the learning of English. The author points out that whereas the situation analyzed
is specific to a unique island population, the principles involved are universal and should
be considered by governmental, educational, and community groups involved in the
spread of second languages through a school system.
As a major highlight to introduce his work, Resnick identifies that the concept of a
nation is essential to an understanding of the failure of the teaching of ESL in Puerto
Rico. He states that sociologists have long recognized a perhaps universal association
between nation, on the one hand, and solidarity and homogeneity, on the other. Such
solidarity or homogeneity can have a cultural, racial, or religious basis, but it is in most
cases linguistic (Edwards, 1985). According to his statement, Puerto Ricans clearly do
not form part of a larger socio-cultural nationality after nearly a century of association
with the United Sates. The apparent failure of the teaching of ESL in Puerto Rico derives
from the conflict between the language needs of Puerto Rico, which are based on political
nationalism. The sources of conflict are found primarily in the political history of this
Caribbean island. Resnick moves on to explain those factors he understands have been
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the sources of this failure of ESL teaching in Puerto Rico. At the beginning, he recollects
and elucidates the well-known events such as: language policy shifts, political upheavals,
and the socio-cultural transformation, among others that marked the historical linguistic
background of the Island during the 20th century from the invasion and occupation of
Puerto Rico by the US forces, to the establishment of The Commonwealth and its
Constitution, to the present times (1993).
After providing the chronological data, the author moves on to talk about the sources
of Puerto Rican nationalism which he considers has its roots in the island’s history as a
Spanish colony. According to him, an identifiable Puerto Rican society began to shape up
by the end of the 18th century after enduring grave social conflicts during the Spanish
colonial ruling that was responsible for the extinction of the aboriginal Taíno Indians and
the importation of African slaves to the Island. The 19th century brought the beginning of
a national consciousness (Maldonado-Denis, 1980). Later on, the nationalistic movement
arose with the intention of hanging the conditions of Spanish colonialism. With most of
its Empire lost, Spain reacted by allowing positive reforms which led to the granting of
many civil rights and other considerations (Carta Autonómica 1897) that were welcomed
by the people of the Island then. In such circumstances, according to Epstein (1967),
“Puerto Ricans had very little need to be liberated and to receive the ‘cultured
civilization’ that the Americans were so anxious to grant them.
Prof. Resnick states that the nationalism of Puerto Ricans does not derive from the
relationship with the U.S., which began during the lifetime of their parents and
grandparents but from the Spanish roots that provide both the name and the basis of their
language and culture.
When speaking about the school language policy, Resnick points out that from the
very beginning of the U.S. occupation, the implementation of Puerto Rican language
planning has been through education: The schools have always been seen as the best
means of introducing and spreading English. Nevertheless, none of the commissioners,
and none of their plans –policy changes and methods succeeded in the bilingualization of
the island. Why have successive school languages all met with failure? Why after nearly
a century of intensive government planning for bilingualism, can no more than some 20%
of the island’s population function effectively in English? According to the author, too
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many studies have addressed these questions usually arriving at the same general
conclusion: deficiencies in textbooks, methods, and teacher preparation. In reality,
however, the textbooks, methods, and teacher preparation have not been so different from
what has been available in the U.S. and in other countries; they have been, at least, the
best available for their time. The “motivated failure” has been associated with fervent
Puerto Rican nationalism which has been instilled in the population by many sources
(political and non-political sectors) who claim that the learning of English means the loss
of identity and subjugation to a foreign colonialist power.
According to Resnick, there is a conflict in understanding the terms language
planning and language maintenance. Language planning refers to deliberate efforts to
influence the behavior of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, or functional
allocation of their languages codes (Cooper, 1985). It would appear then, that all stages
of Puerto Rican language planning have encountered insurmountable difficulties. Could
implementation of language policy perhaps have been achieved through some means
other than the school system? Resnick explains how the spread of English has been
successful in many other areas around the world where the populations have been
ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous, and they actively sought lingua francas for
both internal and international communication. They required languages of education that
would give their inhabitants access to literary in an international language of commerce,
diplomacy, technology, and so on. In sharp contrast, Puerto Rico is ethnically and
linguistically homogeneous and Spanish is a major world language.
Resnick describes the situation of Puerto Rico as a paradox. The writings of
generations of academics, politicians, and others indicate that Puerto Ricans have never
seen a real need for a second national language. In addition, many Puerto Ricans have
never accepted the argument that they have the obligation to learn English as U.S.
citizens. They have reasoned that if they already have that citizenship, that if they are
neither immigrants nor ciudadanos de segunda clase (second-class citizens), then why
should they be obliged to learn English? This language attitude directly contradicts the
traditional U.S. value that every citizen should be able to speak English.
In the last part of the article, Professor Resnick presents a solution for the Puerto
Rican language dilemma. He states that language maintenance is the antithesis of
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language shift. Maintenance refers to stability in the allocation of patterns of language
use to specific domains and functions, whereas shift involves
Language shift of any kind … is an indicator of dislocation. It implies the breakdown of a previously
established societal allocation of functions; the alteration of previously recognized role-relationships,
situations, and domains, so that these no longer imply or call for the language with which they were
previously associated. (Fishman, 1985, p.66)
Resnick believes that Puerto Rican culture has responded to fundamental principles in
the sociology of language. Language spread may lead to language shift, where shift
means the replacement of one language by another in one or more domains. Language
shift may lead to language loss in favor of a competing language (Fishman, 1985). This
is what many Puerto Ricans fear. Puerto Ricans have deterred the spread of English by
preventing its penetration into the home, where natural rather than academic bilingualism
could have developed. Even while demonstrating great enthusiasm for the learning of
English, they have succeeded in limiting its roles to the domains of federal courts, the
military, and certain places of the workplace and schools. However, the author finds the
need to introduce a recent sub-domain to the list, one whose impact on the language of
the home will warrant extensive study: English-language cable TV.
In his conclusion, Resnick states that the language conflict of Puerto Rico is not one of
functions or domains. It is not a conflict of politics or education, although these are the
battlegrounds of the conflict. It is the conflict of the people –a nation –that defends its
existence against the real and perceived political and economic pressures that would force
all U.S. citizens to learn English. Even so, the learning of English is not imposed only
from Washington: Puerto Ricans themselves hold it as an ideal. What, then, can those
responsible for the teaching of English to speakers of other languages learn from the
Puerto Rican experience? He restates his previous statement –motivation transcends
methodology. Second language teaching must take into account not just the usual
instrumental and integrative motivation, but also negative motivation. Social imperatives,
whether overt or covert, cannot be ignored. Language planning researchers must
determine whether and in what ways language spread may be perceived as a threat to a
society’s sense of preservation or identity. School administrators and classroom teachers
must be fully prepared to deal with such perceptions as part of the implementation of
language planning through the educational system.
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OPINION
Dr. Melvin Resnick’s eloquent arguments encompass very well the struggles over the
perennial language issue (language planning) in the public school system of Puerto Rico.
And although I totally agree with his views about how the Puerto Rican nationalism has
become a deterrent to the learning of English on the Island, I have to disagree with him in
one particular aspect that he (and so many other scholars –including the PR Department
of Education officials) have overlooked for such a long time: the English textbooks and
their irrelevant content for the Puerto Rican population.
Upon careful examination of Prof. Resnick’s words and findings (p.265), we come to
the conclusion that he agrees that the books that are used in PR are very similar (teaching
materials –both for the preparation of English teachers and regular classroom textbooks
in the public schools) to the ones that have been used in the United States and in many
other places where the teaching of ESL has taken place. As a result, for the past century,
Puerto Rican students, specially in the primary grades and even intermediate school, have
endured and struggled with the readings and discussions of snowmen, Santa Clauses,
runaway kids and slaves crossing a Mississippi River, and many other characters who
really cannot mesmerize the attention of the ‘boricua’ Caribbean culture.
We must certainly agree that this type of literature has long been proven, beyond any
doubts, as rich and universal literature. They are considered the classics. However, it
should be considered for a later stage in our Puerto Rican educational curriculum –a stage
in which our students will have reached their most desirable reading maturity level, and
are much more capable of discerning upon their appreciation for the literary genres and
styles. Definitely, in the primary grades we have to strive to show the English language in
a more familiar, pertinent, local, and amusing way to our young students. Why not
reading English about the beach and the coconut trees? Why not any English short stories
about the Coquí Boricua? About the pasteles and navidades ? This is what we need! We
need to bring the English down to us –so we can grasp it!
Dr. Resnick brilliantly coined his cliché –motivation transcends methodology –to
illustrate how the PR nationalism leads to the reluctance of learning English in the public
schools. Nevertheless, he visualizes this nationalism as an external factor –as a political
entity outside the classrooms. How could he possibly miss it? It is, precisely, in the
classroom, in the English classroom, it is in the English reading materials where this
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authentic and unique Puerto Rican nationalism begins to emerge from the early grades. I
have lived it, I have evidenced it, I can speak about it both from my student’s perspective
and now from my English educator’s perspective. Students who are already challenging
their minds to study a second language (in a country/nation where it is basically not
needed) are imposed to engage in using this language in contexts that are so strange for
them as it is the Alaskan snow. Dr. Resnick, there is the nationalism you spoke about. It
is not the teaching of English itself and all of its components –phonology, morphology,
syntax, and its other peculiarities the real problem for Puerto Rican students. It is the
imposition of learning about, and the attempt to make the PR students appreciate the
American culture, the American pride, the American values, the American way of life,
and just about any other thing related to the American or even the British culture what
constitutes the real problem… the real deterrent that we must address in order to open up
the minds and to comfort the souls of the apprehensive PR students. The Spanish class is
doing an excellent job in providing Puerto Rican literature to teach both –Spanish
language and Puerto Rican heritage together. How about learning from them and do the
same thing in the English class. How about if we have English reading material that will
foster the Puerto Rican culture as well? After all, we have already spent four centuries
with Spain and one with United States. There is English all over the Caribbean too. It will
only be a linguistic matter; nothing else!
There is an imminent need to look at the English textbooks being used in Puerto Rico.
Prof. Resnick couldn’t be more right about revealing the PR nationalism and its
influence over the language issue in Puerto Rico. He just saw it as an external –grown up
monster… I have seen it as a baby…when it really begins to grow…in the little minds of
reluctant PR students who refuse to read something that is not pertinent to them at all.
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