Dick's comment reminds me of my own kids' school.  I live in an area where many people are bilingual, speaking English and Spanish (and btw many are from PR and thus U.S. citizens); others speak only Spanish, and still others speak only some other language (on my block: Vietnamese).   In fact, the last census data for my county noted that more than 25% speak a language other than English at home.  One day, I walked into the school office, and although it was thronged with people, not one of them was speaking English, though the staff switched to English for me.  Many of the teachers are also bilingual English/Spanish or English/Vietnamese. I think the principal speaks >2 languages but I'm not sure--he's definitely fluent in English/Spanish, though.  

Anyway, I was thrilled when my kids' elementary school tried to offer a bilingual education program in English/Spanish.  But unfortunately, the program never got off the ground.  The principal explained that the non-English-speaking parents wanted as much English instruction for their children as possible, so they wouldn't put their children in a bilingual program, which meant that there weren't enough children in the program to justify the cost.  Thus, despite the vast linguistic resources available, my kids can't study Spanish, or any other language, in elementary school, when they are best able to learn it.  They won't have the opportunity to a non-English language until high school.  And I know from experience (having studied Spanish through h.s. and college, including a summer in Spain, while still not being fluent) how hard it will be for them to learn a language then.  It's a shame.

Beth



>>> Dick Veit <[log in to unmask]> 12/13/2009 8:01 PM >>>
To my mind, a far greater problem is that so few Americans have mastered any
language *other *than English. This puts our country at a serious
disadvantage. Our high schools generally require some study of a second
language but few students master them. I would like more Americans to be
like you--fluent in multiple languages. The government can play a useful
role by supporting the study of other languages, but it would do only harm
if it passed legislation restricting the use of those languages.

Happy holidays to you too.

Dick Veit

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