English Only Debate Paper
Running head: ENGLISH ONLY DEBATE PAPER
English Only Debate Paper
Scott C. Hellman
Grand Canyon University
ESL 523
September 7, 2009
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English Only Debate Paper
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English Only Debate Paper
If asked what the official language of the United States was, most people would answer
English. However, those people would be wrong. The United States has never declared English
as the official language. With a county so diverse in language and that number growing it is hard
to think of the United States as an English only country, although, many people have tried to
have English declared as such. “In 1780, John Adams proposed to the Continental Congress that
English should be declared the official language of the United States”(Strictly Spanish, 2007
pg.1). It was the Continental Congresses decision that this proposal was unethical and went
agent the people’s individual rights. So the debate continues.
There are many people that believe that having English, as an official language will help
unify the country. “ Recently, Sen. Robert Dole (R-KS) proposed English Only because he felt
that ‘with all the divisive forces tearing at our country, we need the glue of language to help hold
us together” (NEA, 2000-2001, pg.1). Dole also spoke out against multilingual education in our
schools. He was not alone in his condemnation of multilingual education. There are many cosponsors actively campaigning for congress to ban bilingual education in the United States
(NEA, 2000-2001 pg.1) With these organizations, lawsuits have been filed and education
practices have been changed. Many of these lawsuits have come about from the problems that are
faced with English Language Learners (ELL) in the nations public schools. Public schools have
seen a large influx of non-English speaking students. This is putting a heavy strain on schools
that aren’t equipped to handle these students. There are also many discrepancies in the ELL
programs from state to state.
With people pushing for laws that will abolish bilingual education, their opposition to
these laws argues that they discriminate and violet peoples individual rights. “The Bilingual
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Education Act of 1968 represented the first national acknowledgement of some of the special
educational needs of children of limited English proficiency” (Ovando, 2006, p. 63). Since the
United States does not recognize English as being the nations native language, the rights of
individuals that do not speak English need to be acknowledged. Due to this, ELL programs have
been established in public schools to take on the challenge of all the incoming nonspeaking
English students. This also gives the students the opportunity to excel in school when they have
not been able to before. Many of the struggling students in schools that are receiving assistance
through the ELL programs, the dropout rate been declining.
English Language Learning programs for students that needs assistance in learning
English is a necessary endeavor. Personally, the ELL programs are very important to keep the
vision in the United States that all men are created equal, know matter where they come from or
what language they speak. Every student has the right to learn and if students come to the United
States to have a better life, than schools should make every effort to make them successful.
In conclusion, the United States has it in the Bill of Rights that every man is created
equal. It does not matter what color you are, what language you speak, or what ethnic background
you are, every student has the right to receive a quality education. Although there has been
opposition about bilingualism in the United States, the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 has
created the start for equal educational rights for all students that do not speak English that attend
public schools.
English Only Debate Paper
References
NEA. (2000-2001). English Only. Center for Multilingual, Multicultura Research. Retrieved
September 5, 2009 from http://www.rcf.usc.
Ovando, C. J., Combs, M. C., & Collier, V. P. (2006). Policy and programs (4th ed.) Boston:
McGraw Hill
Strictly Spanish (2007). The official language of the united states and its impact on the
translation industry. Retrieved September 7, 2009 from http://www.strictlyspanish.com
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