Chapter 2 Adult Biliteracy and Language Diversity
“The more accurate conclusion can be reached that, rather
than educational attainment being a function of English ability, English
ability is a function of educational attainment that was obtained under English
or bilingual instruction” (45).
When we see results from data collected we tend to take it
as it is and that’s why I found this chapter to be so interesting because it
takes that data and actually shows what those results represent and mean beyond
the assumption already made. The U.S. Census Bureau’s national language data
“provides government agencies with the information for programs that serve the
needs of the people who have difficulty speaking English” (38), yet these
results are used to further pushes the assumption that English is the
“desirable” language to speak in the U.S. As this chapter explains, not only
does this conclusion perpetuate the notion that only by learning English will
people prosper in this society but it neglects their education. There are
subject matters that are difficult enough for English speakers to grasp but
imposing that on non-English speakers makes it a very frustrating learning
experience, “the forced use of only one language is stressful and unnatural”
(18). How do we break from that cycle? How do can we move away from the
ideology of English-only? There are Americans who feel very strongly against
bilingualism in the classroom even with the amount of research and information
that show the benefits of a person continuing their education in their primary
language while learning English. “The more relevant fact is that the census
does not collect the information necessary to assess language use in languages
other than English” (40), and that is where it starts, with the information
itself; formatting it so the data collected reflects a society where hundreds
of different languages are spoken. There are communities where the majority of
the signs in the neighborhood are in a different language, whether you go to
Chinatown or Washington Heights, you can see places that do not reflect an
English-only society.
