Date:  Thu, 14 Sep 1995 06:56:37 -0500

From:  Dennis Baron <debaron[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UIUC.EDU>

Subject: Re: FOR English Only



EOL sure does generate some heat, even among informed types like us. Some

points I'd like to add:



a major problem with EOL is that it will not ensure compliance: just how do

you _make_ someone learn/use a language? Anyone who survived foreign

language requirements in school knows that it just doesn't work for most

people. Complicating things further is the fact that historically in the

US there has never been more than a token ESL opportunity compared to the

number of people who need/want ESL courses (for children or adults).



Furthermore, my fear is that EOL will become a barrier to learning English,

make it more threatening, make non-English speakers or limited English

speakers feel more isolated from the mainstream than they already do.



Finally, why not leave well enough alone? The US has achieved without

official language legislation a far higher percentage of majority language

use than any other nation with official language mandates. More than 97% of

the US population reports using English according to the last Census.

Non-English speakers actually WANT to learn English to get ahead. It is

minority languages, not English, that are endangered species in this

country.



The problem for some OEL advocates, of course, is that there is a

relatively high percentage of people who ALSO use a language other than

English or live in a household where someone else does. So what else is

new? That percentage may be up from the inter-war years (when immigration

was curtailed drastically and the Census didn't ask language questions

anyway), but in the long run it's nothing unusual for this country. Does

this mar our cherished image of monolingualality?



My daughter, who is in 7th grade, has to choose a pen pal for a school

project from a list of approved countries. She told me the other day, of

course the pen pal has to speak English before they let them join the

program. Then she added, how come they always have to use our language and

we never have to use theirs?



The same supporters of EOL are telling immigrants to lose their native

tongue. Then they turn around and complain that monolingual Americans

can't compete in a multilingual world economy.



Dennis

--



Dennis Baron                    debaron[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]uiuc.edu

Department of English           office: 217-333-2392

University of Illinois              fax: 217-333-4321

608 S. Wright Street             home: 217-384-1683

Urbana, IL 61801