...Should English Be the Official Language of the United States? Timothy Robinson Week 8 Assignment English 215 Official English benefits every resident of this wonderful place called America. The country works-because we have a common language. English is the key to opportunity in this country. It empowers immigrants and could make us truly united as a people. Common sense says that the government should teach people English rather than provide services in multiple languages. What would happen if our government had to provide services for about 311 languages spoken in the U.S. (Rhein, 2007)? Without a common language, how long would we remain the United States? Here is a solution to that, have the immigrants to learn the language so they can get all of the services they need. But from a social standpoint, English should not be and official language. Millions of people speak a language other than English. The United States is the most diverse country in the world. So why would we want to create a linguistically uniform nation? For starters, it would not be fair to people who has moved this country for hope of a better life. Yes eventually they would have to learn English; however it would great if others learn how to speak other languages to make it convenient for everyone, it would show that people are really for diversity, and it would limit the frustration of not understanding what a person is saying. People who cannot or do not speak English well often are look over...
Words: 1221 - Pages: 5
...How to Learn English Well Improve your English All English learners want to improve their English, but as you know, it can be difficult! For you to learn, you need to work on all areas. The four main areas for you to focus on are: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening. Our English courses promote these 'core skills' because all need to be worked on for you to learn English well. Here are some proven ways to help you learn. Good Luck! Speaking Speak as often and as much as possible! This is the best way to learn English! There is nothing better than conversation to help you improve. Whereas, you can practise reading, writing, and listening on your own, it’s obviously better to speak English with someone. The best way to do this is to be in an English speaking environment. Take an English course in an English language school, or better still, learn English in an English-speaking country. The quickest way to learn English is to surround yourself with English speakers. Also, get into the habit of thinking in English, don’t translate from your own language into English, it will slow you down. When you talk, use the sentences which instantly and naturally feel right to you, these are often the correct ones. Many students learn to develop an ‘intuition’ about English, use yours and trust it. This might sound a little strange and embarrassing at first, but record yourself talking and listen to your own pronunciation, talking speed and the flow of your speaking...
Words: 1115 - Pages: 5
...Classroom English and Employability Skills: An Insight Author: E S Sharmila Sigamany, Assistant Professor, Kingston Engineering College, Vellore. Co-Author: S. Shirly Christina, Assistant Professor, Kingston Engineering College, Vellore. Abstract: Teaching English to students both at higher secondary level and at collegiate level requires a lot of planning and the ability to execute the plan. Language learning involves improvement in all 4 skills involved: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (LSRW Skills) as well as language areas: vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. But are all these 4 elements being visited upon in our classrooms? This paper aims at looking at the kind of English that is taught/learnt in our traditional classrooms in schools and colleges across India and how it relates to boosting the employability quotient in an individual. Keywords: LSRW, employability, communication, language learning. Introduction: Down the ages English gained popularity through commerce as there was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire – thanks to their conquests - and their colonies spread from one end of the Earth to the other end. Though English is a foreign language it has been taught in India for decades and as we are all well aware it is an associate official language. All our government documents exist in English as well as Hindi. "I would have English as an associate, additional language, which can be used not because of facilities, but because I do not...
Words: 2339 - Pages: 10
...produce an essay to show how the principle has fulfilled its function. COURSEWORK 2 : Provide your opinion the advantages and disadvantages of studying Mathematics and Science in English and whether you support its abolishment. Justify your answer. LECTURER NAME : MRS ZAKIAH GROUP MEMBER’S NAME : 1. MARY CHEE TEAN MIN 2. TRACY TAN LI TING 3. TAN YEE HANG 4. LIM CHUN JIAN 5. SELVA TAMILAN Provide your opinion the advantages and disadvantages of studying Mathematics and Science in English and whether you support its abolishment. Justify your answer. The advantage of learning Mathematics and Science in English is to trains the students in valuable skills with English language. The student can learn more English language before they enter to the workplace. English is an international language for us to communicate but badly our daily life language is not English. They used different kind of languages to communicate with everyone so English language getting lesser and lesser. We need a better strategy to improve the standard of English in the country. Students have to made efforts to speak more often in English and most of them are thinking in English, judging from the manner they phrase their questions when they seek information and help from their friends. They even need to improve their slang while speak English. The subjects should teach in English because we should support students to improve their English language more. If the government...
Words: 1322 - Pages: 6
...Are you a winner? This training course is called English for Winners, and before you delve into it, we should find out together if it is for you. Do you want to be a winner? Most English learners are unhappy with their English ability. If you ask the average English learner to assess their skills, you're very likely to get one of these answers: "I studied English at school for more than 5 years, but my English is not so good." "I speak a little English, but I think it's just 'school English'." "I understand it a little, but I can't speak it fluently." "My grammar is very bad. I've often tried to learn the grammar rules, but they're too complicated for me." "I had good school grades in English but I still can't speak it very well." These are typical complaints, and they make it clear that very few learners are really happy with the quality of their English. Most of them realize that their efforts are not yielding the results they expect. But instead of changing their strategy and trying to find the right learning methods and techniques, they simply give up. They think that they "just don't have a talent for learning languages". The winners, however, are those English learners who have taken control of their own programs. They know that acquiring English is an ongoing process. It is something that happens every day, day in and day out. They also understand that when it comes to learning English any progress is success. ©EnglishForWinners, Page 1 of 34 Dear Listener, since you...
Words: 12019 - Pages: 49
...Immigrants Learning English What does immigrant mean? Immigrant is a person who comes into a country to live there. When immigrants come into whatever country, they have to learn a new culture and new language to integrate society in that country. In fact, language is the key of the culture, so learning new language in new country will help immigrants understand more about the typical culture’s in new country; each country has a different languages, and language is the most important thing to communication with native speakers so that it helps people understand each other. For example, if immigrants come to France, they have to learn French; immigrants move to China, they can learn Chinese; or if immigrants are resident in Spain, they must learn Spanish etc. Likewise, immigrants, who come into the U.S, can learn English; learning English is very helpful to immigrants in the U.S because they can communicate with somebody by English, get more opportunities and support their children. First, learning English helps immigrants can communicate with native speakers or...
Words: 1690 - Pages: 7
...Teaching English to Young Learners: How They Learn and the Pedagogical Implication Rojab Siti Rodliyah (rojab.siti@gmail.com) UPI Bandung There is now a growing tendency among Indonesian people to introduce English to children starting from the early age, through either formal or informal education. This can be seen from the mushrooming of bilingual and international schools where English is used as the language of instruction as well as the increasing number of English courses aimed especially for children. Sometimes people hold a misconception regarding teaching English for young learners, in which they believe that the earlier the kids learn a foreign language, the better it will be. As a matter of fact, this assumption is not completely true. Only when handled with care will the teaching of foreign language to young learners succeed as expected. Otherwise, this will not gain a significant effect on children’s language development. This paper will elaborate some principles on how young learners learn a foreign language, which should be the foundation of the way the teaching English to young learners is conducted. Some theories on how children learn will be drawn on, followed by a discussion on the pedagogical implications. This paper is expected to give insights to English teachers in general and teachers of English for young learners in particular, about the importance of taking into account the aspects related to the way young learners learn in designing their teaching...
Words: 2041 - Pages: 9
...CSM 104 Research Essay Why you should learn Spanish before you learn French? Speaking a new language helps you to get to know another people and culture, as language and culture go hand in hand. Because language simultaneously is defined by the world around us, learning another language opens one's mind to new ideas and new ways of looking at the world. While most of us can't hope to learn the languages of more than one or two cultures other than that of our own, those that we can learn help us to learn how other people learn and think. In North American, most people choose French and Spanish as their second or third language. Many people believe that Spanish is actually more useful than French, and obviously the foreign language most spoken and studied--by far--in the North America is Spanish. Compare with French, Spanish can offer a wealth of literature of Latin language, both modern and traditional. For example, when you are reading a Latin American websites, you may find that you could gain a sense of how other people think and fee if you know Spanish. As a matter of fact, both of the languages belong to the Latin group of languages. Hence, they show some similarities too. On the one hand, French is spoken by the country of France in the continent of Europe. On the other hand, Spanish is spoken in the country of Spain in the continent of Europe. However, French and Spanish are two languages that show enormous differences between them when it comes to the pronunciation...
Words: 1469 - Pages: 6
...language, specifically English shown by Leslie Savan is the main reason why the world, never mind a country, can never really have one language. The English language is apparently the most spoken language in America, but it simply does not account for all speakers. What is recognized as the ‘normal’ dialect of English, the typical Mid-Western accent cannot be applied across the States so easily; as specific regions and states have developed their own set of culture and dialect. “This means that speakers of a ‘standard’ language (whatever the language) ‘have favorable attitudes toward the lower-class, nonstandard speech forms’” is an explanation ‘covert prestige’ Savan’s What’s Black, Then White, and Said All Over? Due to ‘covert prestige’ there will always be different forms of speech within all demographics but primarily the working class, thus forming multiple dialects of English. These different dialects are possibly too thick that different accents within the same country are mutually incommunicable; which is very true and proves that English language itself dialect-wise is already like several languages. Declaring English as an official language would need to follow up with a declaration of an official dialect; this in itself is an insane task. The American dialect of English is influenced by many colonizing countries as well as the immigrants, borrowing from not only Spanish, French, and Dutch settlers. Going further back into history, the English language is itself influenced...
Words: 1413 - Pages: 6
...system, the public, private, and intimacy language, and how much coming home has changed over the years for him. In his essay, “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, Rodriguez uses anecdotes, strong arguments, and his own voice to successfully argue that bilingual education is impractical, and a child using their native language as well as English in school and public life is not needed. In the first chapter, Rodriguez talks about the struggles of growing up in a Mexican home but when he leaves his house, he enters a whole new world. Using anecdotes Rodriguez states, “I was a bilingual child, a certain kind - socially disadvantaged - the son of working-class parents, both Mexican immigrants” (Rodriguez 322). Rodriguez uses many anecdotes like this throughout the essay to persuade his readers that being bilingual isn’t an advantage. As a child it can be very difficult going to a school where English is the primary language, and so Rodriguez felt that his native language was one that was private. His language was not socially acceptable by others and so he felt that he was obligated to learn the public language which was English. And until he learned English he didn’t feel welcomed into the American society. Rodriguez states, “At last, seven years old, I came to believe what had been technically true since my birth: I was an American citizen” (Rodriguez 330). Another anecdote he exposes here, his character shows the readers how much being bilingual to him was an inconvenience. Because...
Words: 1400 - Pages: 6
...ELL Families Brynn Crunk Grand Canyon University: 433N April 3, 2013 “The relationship between English Learners families and schools plays a major role in the students overall performance. However, more often than not, teachers and parents usually have estranged feelings that result from suspicions from both sides which can consequently lead to adversaries or competition rather than efforts of empathy and collaboration”. (ELL Families and Schools, 2011). With the number of ELL's are steadily on the rise in our United States schools', it is important that we as teachers learn ways to communicate with the students, as well as their families at home and in the classrooms. The increase of ELL's is putting added stress and pressure on the educational systems and the teachers are forced to train themselves to accommodate for the students and their families. Integrating new programs to accommodate the ELL's in the school can be very challenging not only for the school and the teacher but for the learner and their family as well. It is difficult to teach a non-English speaking student English when they have not yet mastered their own native language. How well the student knows their native language has a huge impact on how well they will learn a new one. Learning a new language can also be difficult because of the slang words and figurative language that we all use everyday. It is challenging for schools to create and...
Words: 949 - Pages: 4
...Questionnaire about English learning needs 2002.10/15 Tutor：程晓堂 Group members: 陆敏、林松、刘晓平、梁源 Subjects: five Chinese majored post-graduate students Age: about 35 Sex: female Read following questions and choose your answers after thinking them over. If necessary, you can give your own answers. |questions |numbers |numbers |numbers | | |of Yes |of No |of Partly | |1.You learn English compulsorily. |1 |1 |3 | |2.If you learn English well, you will be promoted, |0 |2 |3 | |have a better job or get a higher salary. | | | | |3.Learning English is a waste of time because you |3 |1 |1 | |will never use it in future. | | | | |4.You learn English just because you are interested |1 |2 |2 | |in it or in the culture of English-speaking world. | | | | |5.Your English knowledge is acquired mainly from your|0 |2 |3 | |English teachers at school. | ...
Words: 1293 - Pages: 6
...Why English is important IF YOU are currently learning English in a school, college or institute of further education, you join approximately one billion other people around the world who are engaged in the same pursuit. However, as you try to memorise proper grammar, and try to avoid the mistakes common to most students of English, you may wonder why you are learning the language in the first place. So, why is English important? After Mandarin, English is spoken by more people than any other language, and is the native language of more than 350 million people. More people speak English than those who speak the Arabic and French languages combined. Moreover, English is the international language of diplomacy, business, science, technology, banking, computing, medicine, aviation, UN & NATO armed forces, engineering, tourism, Hollywood films and arguably the best pop and rock music in the world. English has plenty of words to choose from. In fact, an English speaker is offered the biggest vocabulary of any language with a choice of 500,000 to 1,000,000 words (including technical and scientific terms). But don’t panic, most English speakers do very well with a vocabulary of around 20,000 words. English can be fun too. For instance, the music of such stars as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson and Madonna has encouraged fans to speak the language of their idols, whilst others have enrolled in English classes to improve their understanding...
Words: 2319 - Pages: 10
...Why is English the international language? The fact that English is now the main international language is indisputable. In all aspects of international life – trade, science, diplomacy, education and travel – the common language is English and has been for decades. There are two main reasons why English is the current lingua franca; political history and economics. First, one of the main reasons why English is the international language in the world today is the fact that Britain was the global superpower in the nineteenth century and America is the global superpower in the twentieth and twenty-first. For example, these two English-speaking countries were the most important countries in terms of the military and trade. By conquering and colonising so much of the world, their customs, culture and way of life became common in those parts of the world. This is why so many ex-British colonies now have English as the national language, with many of their people speaking English as a first language. Second, a further reason for the spread and of English is economics. By being the global political and military superpower, these two countries also became the leading trading nations and many countries and territories needed to learn English in order to trade with them. The USA is currently a major trading partner with almost every other country on the planet due to the size of the consumer economy. This explains why in many countries, English is a...
Words: 5221 - Pages: 21
...second language acquisition, how do you think the average Malaysian student learn English? Discuss your reasons. Introduction Young children are natural language acquirers; they are self-motivated to pick up language without conscious learning, unlike adults. They have the ability to imitate pronunciation and work out the rules for themselves. The idea of “English is difficult” does not occur to them unless it’s suggested by adults, who themselves probably learned English academically at a later age through grammar-based text books. The advantages of beginning early Young children are still using their individual, innate language-learning strategies to acquire their home language and soon they also use these strategies to pick up English. Young children have time to learn through play-like activities. They pick up language by taking part in an activity shared with adults such their parents and teachers. They firstly make sense of the activity and then get meaning from the adult’s shared language. Young children have more time to fit English into the daily programme. School programmes tend to be informal and children’s minds are not yet cluttered with facts to be stored and tested. Children who have the opportunity to pick up a second language while they are still young appear to use the same innate language-learning strategies throughout life when learning other languages. Young children who acquire language rather than consciously learn it, as older children and adults...
Words: 1389 - Pages: 6
