Ling 122: English as a World
Language
Language
Planning &
Language Policy
Reading: Wiley
(Course Reader)
‘English for the Children’ (Prop 227)
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Debate
Be it resolved that immigrant parents
in the US should encourage their
children to learn the language of the
land as fast as possible, and parents
should speak English with them at
home.
Definitions
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Language planning: deliberate efforts to
influence the behavior of others with
respect to the acquisition, structure, or
functional allocation of their language
codes
Language policy: official policies resulting
from language planning and imposed in a
deliberate attempt to influence language
behavior by means of official codes
Types of Language Planning
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Corpus planning: activities such as
coining new terms, reforming spelling
and adopting a new script;
• the creation of new forms,
• the modification of old ones, or
• the selection from alternative forms in
a spoken or written code
Types of Language Planning
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Status Planning: the recognition by a
national government of the importance
or position of one language in relation
to others.
• The allocation of languages or language
varieties to given functions
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Medium of instruction
Official language
Vehicle of mass communication
Language of international communication
Etc.
Types of Language Planning
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Acquisition Planning: planning
directed toward increasing the
number of users – speakers, writers,
listeners, readers – of a language
• Literacy education
• Second & foreign language education
efforts
Language Planning as Problem Solving
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Overt & covert goals
Linguistic goals
• Promotion of mass literacy
• Elimination of sexist language
• Need for technical terms
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Non-linguistic goals
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Consumer protection
Scientific exchange
National integration
Political control
Economic development
Creation of new elites or preservation of old ones
Pacification or cooption of minority groups
Mass mobilization of national or political movements
Language Policy
& Planning in the U.S.
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The founders of the U.S. chose not to
designate English as the official language
• Dominance of English was self-evident
• Respect for linguistic diversity & minority
rights
• Support for minorities who supported the
revolution
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English has functioned as if it were the
official language
History of the Status of English in
the U.S.
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British Colonial Period to 1789
• English dominant among European languages
• Other immigrant languages tolerated
differentially
• English-only practices & English illiteracy
statues imposed on slaves
• Native Americans viewed as separate &
subordinate nations
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Missionaries attempted to promote English
1775 – Continental Congress allocated funds for
Indian education - pacification
History of the Status of English in
the U.S.
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1789 – 1880
• Territorial expansion & annexation of
language-minority peoples
• Great tolerance for use of European
immigrant languages
• Compulsory illiteracy laws for African
Americans until 1865
• Pacification of Native Americans through
education
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Some Native Americans (Cherokee) ran own
schools & achieved high levels of NL literacy &
biliteracy
History of the Status of English in
the U.S.
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1880 – 1930s
• Height of US imperialism (Hawai’i, Philippines,
Puerto Rico)
• Attempts at language restriction
• Height of immigration through 1920s
• WWI: restrictions on use of German & other
European languages in schools
• Meyer v. Nebraska: SC ruled against an
English-only restriction on the use of foreign
languages in Nebraska schools, but affirmed the
state’s right to mandate that English be the
common & official language of instruction
History of the Status of English in
the U.S.
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World War II – present
• Civil rights movement influenced language
policy – provisions made for other languages
in voting, education
• 1974 – Lau v. Nichols – Supreme Court
acknowledged that school had to provide
proactive means of education
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Lau remedies
ESEA Title VII Bilingual Education Act
Bilingual Education Types
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Transitional
• Purpose: to transition to an all-English curriculum
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Maintenance
• Purpose: to maintain & develop the first language
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Enrichment
• Purpose: to develop an appreciation for & fluency
in the heritage language
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Two-way immersion
• Purpose: to develop 2nd language proficiency
among mainstream students & to maintain &
develop first language proficiency among minority
students
ESEA Title VII –
The Bilingual Education Act
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Grants to school districts for
implementation of transitional bilingual
programs (basic grants)
Grants to IHEs for training teachers
Grants to materials development
centers to produce bilingual teaching
materials
Grants to Bilingual Education Service
Centers to provide technical assistance
Problems with ESEA Title VII
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Conflicting goals
• Transitional v. maintenance
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Inconsistent implementation
• In use of each language
• In qualification of teachers
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Conflicting research results
Political issues
• Distribution of resources
• Notions of the role of government (local,
state, federal) in education
The English-Only Movement &
U.S. English
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Since 1980s – reaction against linguistic
accommodations
• 1981: S.I. Hayakawa introduced
constitutional amendment to make English
the official language of the U.S.
• ‘U.S. English’ formed to raise funds to
promote English-Only amendments at both
state and national levels
The English-Plus Movement
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Founded in 1987
To counteract the English-Only movement
Purpose: to preserve and promote linguistic &
cultural diversity
Other critics of English-Only
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TESOL
LSA
AAAL
NEA
Teachers Unions
Criticisms of English-Only
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English-Only Movement & U.S. English
• Ignore the civil rights traditions in the US
• Fail to promote the integration of languageminority children
• Neglect the need for American business to
communicate with foreign markets
• Restrict government’s ability to reach all
citizens
• Attempt to disenfranchise minority citizens
• Promote divisiveness and hostility toward
those whose 1st language is not English
California Propositions
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1986: Proposition 63 declared English
as sole official language of California
Propsition 187 attempted to limit
benefits for undocumented immigrants
Proposition 209 sought to end
affirmative action programs for
underrepresented minorities
1998: ‘English for the Children’ (Prop
227)
‘English for the Children’ (Prop 227)
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Rationale
• English is the language of opportunity –
dominates science, business, technology
• Immigrant parents want their children to
learn English
• Schools have a moral obligation to teach
English
• For the previous two decades, CA school
have performed poorly in educating
immigrant children, - high drop-out rates
• Young children acquire 2nd languages easily
‘English for the Children’ (Prop 227)
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Since 227, several issues have posed
major challenges for schools & parents:
• It imposes English-Only instruction which is
normally 180 days of specially designed
instruction in English
• It doesn’t allow bilingual education, unless
language-minority parents request a waiver
from English-only instruction and request
bilingual education
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But still no guarantee they will receive it
Some Current Language Policy
Issues in the U.S.
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To what extent can / should room be made for
the existence of other languages?
How are language minorities advantaged or
disadvantaged by policies involving language
rights, accommodations, or restrictions?
What are the advantages / disadvantages of
intergenerational language shift to English?
How is the monolingual language majority
affected by these language policies?
What kinds of language policies would assist
the English-speaking majority?