English Only Versus English Plus

[tonado]

English Plus vs English Only

 

The movement to make English as the official language is spreading in America. Is it necessary? When your loveone's child comes here, you will confront this issue. Does Bilingual education helps this child learn English faster?

 

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http://www.mytermpapers.com/viewpaper/7172.html

 

English Only - Good or Bad?

 

 

English Only – Good or Bad? Much debate has taken place on this topic. Some believe that children learn English better when it is enforced, while others believe that it should be gradually taught. In effect, using bilingual teaching methods in the classroom produces more effective educational results. When a bilingual system is used, the children will atleast understand what is being taught. A child cannot learn anything if he or she cannot understand the material. It is unreasonable to expect that a child will learn English faster, if only English is used. Studies have repeatedly shown that bilingual education enhances the child’s ability to acquire English. Bilingual education has the good effects of better learning and children retain more information. It is more comfortable for them than to learn in English. "The two languages of the bilingual child are interdependent. They do not compete for limited space and resources. Bilingualism is good for children This paper is the property of My Term Papers .com Copyright © 1999-2004

[warpedbored]

I believe a lot of countries find the idea that most Americans only speak one language rather arrogant. On the other hand English is the international language of business. I believe that a rudimentary knowledge of another language should be required for high school graduation. Me ? Im too stupid to live. I know just enough Japanese to embarrass myself and my Chinese is non existant.

[Dave G.]

It's a politial red herring. Just because you say English is the official language, which most people support, there's nothing that can be done to enforce it. You'll still have bilingual schools and Spanish forms at the DMV and the such. Try to change that and you'll have the ACLU screaming foul.

[tonado]

It's a politial red herring.  Just because you say English is the official language, which most people support, there's nothing that can be done to enforce it.  You'll still have bilingual schools and Spanish forms at the DMV and the such.  Try to change that and you'll have the ACLU screaming foul.

That is my point, why spend time and money on a law that is useless. Actually, I heard stories about Spanish workers getting fired when they spoke Spanish on the job.

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If you speak two languages, you are bilingual.

If you speak three languages, you are trilingual.

If you speak one language, you are an American.

[keelec]

I must admit that I would believe in "English as a minimum". I believe that EVERY school kid in the USA should be taught English.

 

Now, that certainly does not preclude the studying other languages.

 

Does studying a different language help a kid learn English? That would be an interesting hypothesis. I wonder if it would depend on the language? And, of course, it would be a very difficult thing to control as one might find that kids that have an interest in multiple languages are better at languages in general.

 

However, I could see many common threads between English and other Latin or Germanic languages. So much of English is based on stems. A good understanding of stems, would certainly help with many language competency skills tests. Knowledge and skills in evaluating stems also are very helpful in foreign languages. I would assume that these would transfer over into English.

 

For example.....

 

I had a neighbor kid comment that I had given him a piece of petrified wood. Then he noticed that in Harry Potter, many things were petrified. So, he asked me what it meant to be "petrified".

 

Well, with a little thought, the word has the root "Petra" --- Stone. Thus, petrified means to turn to stone.

 

Anyway, I am all for bilingual education, but NOT MONOLINGUAL EDUCATION IN A NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE

 

----- Clifford -----

[Trigg]

I must admit that I would believe in "English as a minimum".  I believe that EVERY school kid in the USA should be taught English.

 

Now, that certainly does not preclude the studying other languages.

 

Does studying a different language help a kid learn English?  That would be an interesting hypothesis.  I wonder if it would depend on the language?  And, of course, it would be a very difficult thing to control as one might find that kids that have an interest in multiple languages are better at languages in general.

 

However, I could see many common threads between English and other Latin or Germanic languages.  So much of English is based on stems.  A good understanding of stems, would certainly help with many language competency skills tests.  Knowledge and skills in evaluating stems also are very helpful in foreign languages.  I would assume that these would transfer over into English.

 

For example.....

 

I had a neighbor kid comment that I had given him a piece of petrified wood.  Then he noticed that in Harry Potter, many things were petrified.  So, he asked me what it meant to be "petrified".

 

Well, with a little thought, the word has the root "Petra" --- Stone.  Thus, petrified means to turn to stone.

 

Anyway, I am all for bilingual education, but NOT MONOLINGUAL EDUCATION IN A NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE

 

----- Clifford -----

Hey Clifford, gotta agree with the Latin Germanic language issue. I studied Linguistics just for fun back in my Trucker days, If we teach Latin and Greek word roots to our children, they will improve in almost all areas of education we test them in. English has somewhere between 400,000 and 800,000 words. the brightest can learn maybe 40,000. 1,000 of our words are used 90% of the time (Woodcock Johnson 1,000 word reading list.) So we rarely use most of our language and when questioned the child may indeed know the answer---but not the words asking it. Teach Latin and Greek word roots and it is relativley easy to figure out the question and even the answer--Got me through college.

[oregonknl]

Clifford,

 

I'm not sure what a "Monolingual education in a non-English language" is --- at least in the context of education in America..

 

When Jet came to America at age two, she was very advanced for her age in her dialect of Mandarin, but almost immediately turned away from it completely...

 

If anyone spoke to her in Mandarin, she would turn away and cry...... But then she dedicated herself to learning English ---- I would have not thought such determination was possible in a two-year-old! In less than 6 months, she was fluent in English ----- even advanced, for a kid her age --- but had COMPLETELY lost all Mandarin .... which we thought was a shame... She wouldn't have any of it....

 

Of course, it was a cultural thing, and the final response to the orphange experience... So in 1999, we took her back to China --- a trip she really didn't want to go on.... But in the two weeks there ----she came to an understanding that this was her place of birth, and was ready to accept bi-linguial education... She regained her pride in being Chinese..

 

---Kim

[Trigg]

Clifford,

 

I'm not sure what a "Monolingual education in a non-English language"  is --- at least in the context of education in America..

 

When Jet came to America at age two, she was very advanced for her age in her dialect of Mandarin, but almost immediately turned away from it completely...

 

If anyone spoke to her in Mandarin, she would turn away and cry......  But then she dedicated herself to learning English ---- I would have not thought such determination was possible in a two-year-old!  In less than 6 months, she was fluent in English ----- even advanced, for a kid her age ---  but had COMPLETELY lost all Mandarin .... which we thought was a shame...  She wouldn't have any of it.... 

 

Of course, it was a cultural thing, and the final response to the orphange experience...  So in 1999, we took her back to China --- a trip she really didn't want to go on.... But in the two weeks there ----she came to an understanding that this was her place of birth, and was ready to accept bi-linguial education...  She regained her pride in being Chinese..

 

---Kim

Kim, FYI. English only has 44 phonemes (sounds) I think chinese has 36, but I'm not sure. Kids are born prewired with the ability to learn over 200. After gooinga nd gurgling and ga gaing them and not hearing a response or hearing them repeated, they forget how to say all the sounds excpet in their language--they even forget how to hear many of the sounds. This all happens before age 5. After age 5 it is almost imposible to learn most languages without an accent. If ya can't her 'em and can't say 'em). So, point is, she has learned the sounds of two very very differnet languages and Fei will be conming soon. She now has the capacity to learn both languages easily and with no accent on either. Cool huh??? ( and damned marketable inHK)

Hmm, I am amazed I remembered any of that stuff.

[oregonknl]

Ah! Thanks Trigg,

 

For the clearification!! Makes sense in our situation....

 

But maybe too late for Jet!

 

When Fei talks to Jet on the phone, she hears her: "speaking Mandarin like a foreigner"

 

--- But Eve ---- who was adopted at about age 4: according to Fei: "speaks Mandarin like a native"

 

---Kim

[maiyademama]

Clifford,

 

I'm not sure what a "Monolingual education in a non-English language"  is --- at least in the context of education in America..

 

When Jet came to America at age two, she was very advanced for her age in her dialect of Mandarin, but almost immediately turned away from it completely...

 

If anyone spoke to her in Mandarin, she would turn away and cry......  But then she dedicated herself to learning English ---- I would have not thought such determination was possible in a two-year-old!  In less than 6 months, she was fluent in English ----- even advanced, for a kid her age ---  but had COMPLETELY lost all Mandarin .... which we thought was a shame...  She wouldn't have any of it.... 

 

Of course, it was a cultural thing, and the final response to the orphange experience...  So in 1999, we took her back to China --- a trip she really didn't want to go on.... But in the two weeks there ----she came to an understanding that this was her place of birth, and was ready to accept bi-linguial education...  She regained her pride in being Chinese..

 

---Kim

This story was fascinating and touching.

[oregonknl]

Thanks Taz...

 

Yeah, it touched our hearts...

 

In the late afternoon, two days after the 50th. anniversary of the PRC, (Oct. 1999, and perfect weather for Beijing)

 

-- We came out of the Forbidden City at the Heavenly Gate into Tian'anmen, and into a sea of proud Chinese (who also had the excuse to be there with a week off of work) ----

 

---well over 500,000 by official estimates --- standing a little higher than the crowd, and with Jet (age 4) on my shoulder --- great view over the heads of hundreds of thousands of black haired Han Chinese....

 

....She said to us in a loud voice: "These are my people!"

 

---Kim