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Marvin Lopez
Professor Van Bebber
Wri 01
4 December 2014
The English only debate today
The English only debate is an issue that has become increasingly popular in recent
years, enough that a proposition was created and passed in 1998 the proposition was
proposition 227. Prop 227 would push school into enforcing a curriculum that in theory
would help students in the limited English proficiency program rapidly learn English over
one year. The English only debate is not as polarizing as the title may indicate on the
contrary to what a reader who is simply skimming key points for both sides of the
argument the English only debate is quite complex. The reason the English only debate
is a complex issue to explain is because those that argue for or against English only are
not so black and white that they seek the extreme solution on the contrary both sides are
willing to make compromises which further adds to the confusion of how this issue should
be handled. Out of all the different opinions as to why English only is a good idea the
person that was often at the forefront of this issue is the now deceased Samuel Ichiye
Hayakawa.
Hayakawa was an immigrant to the United States and as such stated “As an
immigrant to this nation, I am keenly aware of the things that bind us as Americans and
unite us as a single people. Foremost among these unifying forces is the common
language we share.” I find this phrase very interesting because it shares a point a view
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with a person that can be considered to be against English only Myriam Marquez, in her
article “Why and When we Speak Spanish Among Ourselves in Public” she writes It's a
matter of respect. When I'm shopping with my mother or standing in line with my stepdad
to order fast food or anywhere else we might be together, we're going to speak to one
another in Spanish. In certain interpretation one can assume that when Marquez says “a
matter of respect” she is making an allusion to the respect one has for their ancestors
and the lands those ancestors once called home. This is but one similarity between these
two in her article she makes a point to mention that “to get ahead here, one must learn
English.” While Hayakawa does not explicitly mention why he supports an English only
school system it can be pieced together based on his former profession and the solutions
he proposes. Hayakawa has many connections to the U.S department of Education being
a former California Senator but he is also a “former educator meaning he wishes to see
all children succeed academically, no matter what language is spoken at home.” Both
Marquez and Hayakawa agree that English is needed to get ahead in the U.S and while
Hayakawa may give solution about English only Marquez does not but there is another
against English only writer that does her name is Patricia Gandara.
Gándara’s focus is not on whether English only is the right answer to bilingual
education, but rather Gándara wishes to change the debate to focus on bilingual
education because she believes it is the key to lowering dropout rates of immigrant
students. While Hayakawa focuses on why learning English is beneficial after reading
Gándara article “The Impact of English-Only Instructional Policies on English Learners” I
noticed Hayakawa failed to mention an advantage nonnative English speakers have as
opposed to their advanced English speaking counterparts. The advantage nonnative
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English speakers have is once they learn English they will be able to speak two languages
proficiently. With globalization continuing to grow the anti-English only faction has a
strong platform to stand on as they can say the enforced teaching of multiple languages
can help American students be more competitive in globalizing world due to the
increasing interdependency of nations.
The English only debate started in the latter half of the nineteen hundreds with
events such as the bilingual education act and the Lau v. Nichols which helped give
English learners a chance to get the same curriculum as those who were already
proficient in English. These were just the humble beginnings of the English only debate
and it has yet to end new articles are being written about it all the time with some as
recent as August of this year. Jake Grovum’s article “The English-Only Debate Heats up
Again” serves as a summary to what has been happening with this issue and it gives a
general idea on what members from each side of the argument believe in Karen
Davenport a member of U.S English has stated “it is not about language restriction, it’s
about a general principle that the role of the government is to teach English, not to be
perpetual translator.” While writhing this I have mentioned four different people Marquez,
Gándara, Hayakawa, and Grovum each have their own opinion on the matter and think
the argument should be focused on different aspects yet there is one similarity they all
share. No matter what their own position is all four authors except possibly grovum all
share the opinion that at the end of the day immigrants should eventually learn English
because it is the most minimalistic thing you can do and it will make your own life easier.
In the long run because it makes communication quicker and smoother since there is no
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waiting for a translator to show up to mediate between parties. Since the English only
debate is so complex there is one common misconception that pops up.
The common misconception that is often associated with the English only debate
is that immigrants will be forced to assimilate into American culture this was something
even I thought was an end goal before I thoroughly analyzed the sources I have and
afterwards I realized the pro English side does not want to take away immigrant culture
they simply want for people to communicate with each other without much trouble and
are more than willing to let people speak their native language and just have the simple
wish of wanting everyone in the U.S to be able to speak in English if that condition is met
than the pro English only people would not care what other language you can speak.
The English only debate is an issue that has been alive for almost fifty years now
and it shows no signs of stopping ant time soon. The catalyst for ending this is to find a
way too successfully teach immigrant children the English language but this is where the
problem lies, neither side has shown concrete evidence of what works better bilingual
programs or throwing immigrant students into an English only curriculum. To me it seems
that until one of these methods proves to be superior to the other the likelihood of this
debate ending is almost nonexistent and new problems will continue to jump out with
each passing year. Regardless of how things may be now I believe our generation will
play a massive part in this issue because many of us have immigrant parents and
grandparents so we can see firsthand how difficult their lives can be at times and why
learning English is important, and because of being able to see that I think that the sons’
and daughters’ of immigrants will know the best way to handle this problem.
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Gandara, Patricia. "The Impact of English-Only Instructional Policies on English Learners | ELL Topics
from
A-Z
|
Colorín
Colorado."
Colorín
Colorado.
N.p.,
2012.
Web.
03
Dec.
2014.
<http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/50832/>.
Grovum, Jake. "The English-Only Debate Heats Up Again." The English-Only Debate Heats Up Again. N.p., 8
Aug. 2014. Web. 03 Dec. 2014. <http://www.governing.com/news/headlines/the-english-only-debate-heatsup-again.html>.
Marquez Myriam. “Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public” web. 03 Dec.2014
Hayakawa Samuel Ichiye “Bilingualism in America: English Should Be the Only Language” web. 03 Dec.
2014