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Introduction
English-only initiatives and proposed legislations have been the subject of many propositions since America’s colonial era (Baron, 1996; Westlaw, 2008). Extending from fear, from perceptions of disparate rights and power and engaged to disenfranchise and extinguish minority and minority languages in many states and localities, English-only policies project xenophobia and deny America’s multi-ethnic, multilingual and multiracial heritage (Westlaw, 2008). Accordingly, English-only calls for policy illustrate false ideas about America, its sources of strength and unity (2008). In fact, these types of ideas serve as legal measures to separate, segregate and subjugate the types of individuals that have helped make America what is it today. Much more than this, English only policies in the education system delimit learning; lessen self-esteem and academic desire (U.S. Department of education, 2005; Adesope, Lavin & Thompson, 2008, p. 20). For these reasons, English immersion classroom do not promote comprehensive education.
English-Only Policies: A History
Even before the American colonies realized their independence, residents fought for rights and power. Each group of immigrants sought some advantage, some ways to distinguish their ethnicity, their cultural ideals and weave them within the fabric of the New World. To this end, Baron (1996) details how English-only policies in the 1750s swiftly emerged when the British settlersrealized one-third of their fellow Pennsylvanian settlers spoke German. Although no votes were recorded on the issue, (Baron, 1996) “[…] language became a political and emotional issue” and English became the language of choice for official documents and education.
Native American Forced Assimilation: Boarding School Policies
The Native Americans in the colonies quickly learned to communicate with the English and the French. They did not need policies to interact with the settlers, to acquire language and cultural competency. In fact, the Cherokee People developed a government system and a Supreme Court mirroring that of the American government, its own newspaper and school. Literacy was much higher among Cherokee than the Anglo-American settlers (Bonvillain, 2001). This helped the Cherokee people maintain a sense of control over their environment, their identity and promoted cultural continuity.
Displaced and marginalized by the Indian Removal Act and the Indian policies of the 1800s, many U.S. officials believed the Indians would “disappear” (Adams, 2006, p. 3; Brave heart & DeBruyn, 2007). When they did not die out or disappear, the U.S. government enacted Indian boarding schools. Accordingly, Native American children were either educated by Anglo-Americansand missionaries onthe reservations or forcibly removed from their native homes, sent to Indian boarding schools where native ways, beliefs and languages were forbidden (Adams, 2006). Corporal punishment was commonplace for violations.
Although assimilation aimed to integrate Native Americans within U.S. society, boarding schools and English-only policies ultimately coauthored more tragic and lasting consequences (Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 2007; Nickdao, 2005; Penland, 2010). They produced lost generations, fragmented identities and lasting socioeconomic conditions. Unable to communicate with elders, relate to the symbols and stories, unfamiliar with norms, language and worldview, these children lost much more than a sense of self. They lost a heritage and a sense of connection to the land, the world and to each other. Of course, it also lessened chances of higher education. Is this what America touts?
The 1995 English-Only Turning Point
According to the West's Encyclopedia of American Law (2008), in1995, English-only mandates graced legislative offices, dockets and state offices. In places where American nativists felt especially threatened by people with much deeper ties to regions, had different relationships with the land and each other, calls for English-only and a type of forced assimilation in the schools once more arose (2008). U.S. Senator Richard C Shelby sponsored the Language of Government Act of 1995. Contending that preserving English as the official language would promote unity and help immigrants learn the language to more fully participate as citizens and attain greater vocational success, Shelby (1995) failed to disclose the hidden agenda. President Bill Clinton reveled the Act was directed toward segregating people and eliminating immigrant voices from the vote (2008).
(Westlaw, 2008) Nonetheless, 26 states passed some sort of English-only acts in 1995. Although each of them has rarely been enforced, most of them prohibited making any other law that ignored English-only recognition in government documents. Yet, this yielded several problems for the education system. For public school systems, funding was tied to these policies (2008). In fact, educators in Arizona sued the state of Arizona over such policies. Yniguez v. Arizonans for Official English, 69 F.3d 920 (1995) overturned the law demonstrating how it violated the First Amendment, free speech clause (2008). However, a subsequent ballot-based rule was passed in Arizona in 1998 (2008). Though many persons questioned the laws legitimacy, the Supreme Court passed on its review (2008).
Citizenship, English Literacy and ESL Pedagogy
(Westlaw, 2008) Citizenship in the U.S does not mandate English literacy. In fact, there are many exceptions to English literacy including immigrants over 50 years of age, those in the country less than twenty years and others (2008). Why then should English-only mandates dictate how children learn, what they learn and lessen the quality of learning?
Several studies have demonstrated the importance of English as a Second language pedagogy and instruction using English whenever possible and the native language as the vehicle for greater comprehension, skill attainment and language acquisition (Adesope, Lavin & Thompson, 2008; U.S. Department of Education, 2005). In fact, the 2008 Canadian study demonstrated that immigrants, dependent on region, require more or less native language during English language learning (Adesope, Lavin & Thompson, 2008, p. 19-21). Among those that benefitted most from this type of instruction were those from Spanish speaking countries and those whose first language were mixed or languages other than French (p. 20). Therefore, English-only or English immersion classrooms not only challenge the accepted ESL pedagogy in which English is used whenever possible, but also engender holes in learning, false or misleading perceptions about intelligence and knowledge acquisition (Brave heart & DeBruyn, 2007; U.S. Department of education, 2005; “ESL Controversy,” 2012).
Much more than this, English-only classrooms without any additional assistance prove detrimental to one’s social life. After all, immigrant students and those from mixed or ethnic backgrounds straddle two worlds or more. Accordingly, they may struggle with the cultural aspects of English language, the ways the language focuses their attention, classifies objects and events and describes processes. Therefore, providing bilingual instruction helps students establish connections and parallels between their native and second language-English (U.S. Department of Education, 2005; Westlaw, 2008).
Conclusion
While many states understandably felt pressured by immigration, the rise in multi-ethnic and multiracial students in the U.S., English only policies deprive America of the elements upon which America was built. They negate American ideals and delimit participation within a democratic society. For young children and immigrant children, English-only policies prove especially daunting. The effects can yield consequences for generations. For these reasons, ESL pedagogy utilizing native language and English whenever possible provides the best advantages for ESL learners and society, by extension. After all, the U.S. Department of Education (2005) contends, “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.”
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