I had written an earlier post on the topic of bilingual education vs. ESL education. However, it has come back up in the news recently, this time coming from notable politician, Newt Gingrich.

Whether or not to make English the official language of the United States has been a debate taking place on Capitol Hill in the past few years, especially with the recent immigration reform legislation being proposed. H.R. 997, The Official Language Unity Act of 2007, is the latest draft of the “English as the official language” legislation being debated in the U.S. House. What really makes this legislation a point of interest for me is that if English does, in fact, become the official language of the United States, bilingual education will be strongly affected (or technically, eliminated). Though, as I mentioned before, I am not a strong supporter of bilingual education, I feel that eliminating bilingual education altogether is a bad move.

And then there’s Newt Gingrich. At a recent gathering of the National Federation of Republican Women, Gingrich spoke out against bilingual education and other bilingual opportunities in America in order to rally support around making English the official language of the United States.

“The government should quit mandating that various documents be printed in any one of 700 languages depending on who randomly shows up” to vote, said Gingrich, who is considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

Gingrich continued on his rampage and spoke on behalf of the American people, stating,

“The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. … We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto.”

There are a couple of things wrong with this statement. Allow me to elaborate.

1. The beauty of the United States is that it was founded on a principle of liberty and freedom. The Puritans fled Europe in order to escape persecution for their religious beliefs that differed from that of the majority. Forcing people to conform to the majority, even the linguistic majority, seems to deviate from the principles on which this country was founded.

2. First of all, the only way to succeed in America is to know English.  Non-English speakers are very aware of this.  Eventually, if non-English speakers would like to obtain a job or succeed in some way in America, they’ll learn English, whether by bilingual education means or ESL means.  Second, bilingual programs and immersion programs are two very different things, and to suggest that one can simply be replaced by the other is kind of a lofty assumption. I do like immersion programs better, but I understand the benefits a bilingual education can offer. Of course a student will learn better when elements of their first language are incorporated into the curriculum. Peter Zamora, the co-chair of the Washington-based Hispanic Education Coalition, stated in the article that “research has shown ‘that bilingual education is the best method of teaching English to non-English speakers.’” However, the reality is that not every language can be given a bilingual education class, since there are tons of different languages spoken here, hence the beauty of an ESL program (which is why I like it more than bilingual education, too). But let’s look at a situation in which bilingual education was completely eliminated as Gingrich suggests. He wants to implement the “full immersion” program, so that kids aren’t given an option whatsoever of speaking their native tongue. Research has shown that this method of ESL education isn’t the most affective (effective?) way of teaching ELLs English. Obviously, Gingrich hasn’t done his homework. If he wants everyone to speak English, he’d better find a better way to do it! *shakes head* Politicians…legislating education. Doesn’t make sense.

3. So…languages other than English are languages of the ghetto? Puh-lease.  That’s one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard in my life!  As if America doesn’t already have enough of a “high horse” aura surrounding it, statements such as THAT just perpetuate that image!  We are the only country IN THE WORLD that doesn’t require a second language to be learned in schools (okay, maybe I’m wrong, but I know that we’re definitely in the minority in that aspect). So because we’re so much better than everyone else that we don’t need any other language besides English spoken here, all other languages are considered “ghetto?”  That makes no sense to me, and it seems to be a very arrogant statement to make.

I want to make inappropriate comments about Gingrich himself, however,  I will refrain from doing so.  I will say this however — despite making such arrogant statements such as this, he plans to run for President in ‘08.  Thank God the only votes he was able to garner in the 2000 election were from a ballot mix-up in which people that thought they were voting for someone else when they voted for him.

Abolish bilingual education, Gingrich urges
by CNN Political News
31 March 2007
Full article