 With 1-2 partners, discuss:  What language(s) do your parents speak? Grandparents? Great-Grandparents? Other family members?  Do you speak all the same languages spoken by your family (past generations and current)? If languages have been lost, why do you think this happened? If your family’s languages have been maintained, how do you think this was made possible?

 What is the official language of the US? There isn’t one!  How many languages are spoken in the US? Over 300  What are the 6 most commonly spoken languages in the US besides English? Spanish, Chinese, French, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean  ___ percent of people in the US speak a language other than English at home. Sources: 2010 Census; 2013 NCES Statistics

 What is the official language of the US?  There isn’t one!  How many languages are spoken in the US?  Over 300  What are the 6 most commonly spoken languages in the US besides English?  Spanish, Chinese, French, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean  20.8 percent of people in the US speak a language other than English at home. …this diversity is not so trivial! Sources: 2010 Census; 2013 NCES Statistics

 A problem  A resource  A right (Ruíz, 1984)

 ideologies and structures that are used to legitimate, effectuate and reproduce an unequal division of power and resources between groups which are defined on the basis of language. …or in other words…  Linguistically related racism

 tolerance or benign neglect, especially toward Northern European languages; however, bilingualism not actively promoted  1790 Census: about 25% spoke LOTEs  No single language named in the Constitution  The “Five Civilized Tribes” controlled their own education until 1898  Second half of 19th century: Bilingual or non- English instruction existed in some form in many public and private school (Ovando, 2003; Baker & Jones, 1998)

 Increases in immigration, cultural genocide against Native Americans, and World War I  repressive policies and practices  Boarding schools built beginning in 1879  1906 Naturalization Act: English required  By 1923, 34 states required English-only schooling  “Americanization” classes, submersion (see also Baker, 2001; García, 2011)

 Theodore Roosevelt: "it would not be merely a misfortune but a crime to perpetuate differences of language in this country"

 Clip from Our Spirits Don’t Speak English: Bh5d4

 Encouragement of the study of foreign languages for English monolinguals; destruction of linguistic gifts for linguistic minority students  The wars: WWII and the Cold War (especially Sputnik in 1957)  the National Defense Education Act (1958)  Civil Rights: Civil Rights Act (1964)  Education: Coral Way (1963), Bilingual Education Act (1968), Lau v. Nichols (1974) (see also Baker, 2001; García, 2011)

 “there is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education.”

 politics of resentment toward massive immigration, especially from Asia and Latin America  Anti-bilingual administrations: Reagan and Bush  Movements: English Only, U.S. English, English First  Legislation: Propositions 227 (CA) and 203 (AZ)

 Reagan: “It is absolutely wrong and against American concepts to have a bilingual education program that is now openly, admittedly dedicated to preserving their native language and never getting them adequate in English so they can go out into the job market and participate”

 Newt Gingrich: language of the ghetto: zjPU

Adapted from Thomas and Collier, 1997

 Pledge of Allegiance controversy: ate-n-y-school-apologizes-for-reciting- pledge-of-allegiance-in-arabic/

 Choose 1-2 representatives to make an opening statement  Everyone needs to make at least 1 comment

 Where do you stand in this debate? What do you think the school should do or should have done? Why?