On August 1 of last year [1996] the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that would make English the official language of the United States. I honestly believe this is best practice at least for the United States. If everyone speaks English then there is no language barrier within the country. Everyone can go to the store or ask for anything without a problem. This might help the economy as well because some people who speak another language find it harder to buy anything in an all English-speaking store. I know this from personal experiences since I work in a convenient store.
Were they laughing at me? I did not understand what they were saying. I was not always bilingual. My roots and upbringing were implanted by Ukrainian principals. When my parents came from Ukraine, they did not know the English language; therefore, I was brought up only speaking and understanding Ukrainian. This caused a barrier in the way I interacted with kids my age. I was shy and timid, never leaving my parents side. Upon entering school, I had very limited knowledge of English. Making friends was hard because my accent was heavy and my school lunch smelled funny. I was mortified to go to school everyday. My papers always came back with a bit more red errors and I never did well on spelling quizzes. I lacked the ability to read books as efficiently as the kids in my class. Reading gave me the most trouble: silent vowels did not reach a recognition point, basic comprehension skills were lacking, and my words per minute was always below mediocre. Eventually, I was enrolled in an English Language Development (ELD) program for lagging behind in class. I loathed being the only kid in the class that had to leave. I was taken
English today is the most commonly used global language for commerce and it is the main language of the international diplomacy. And maybe the most important for them, it’s the most common language on the internet. Also, the language that integrand
First and foremost, the promotion of bilingualism in American school systems would greatly increase academic achievements. According to Huffington Post, the United States of America falls to number seventeen on the list of countries with the best education; Finland, South Korea and Hong Kong lead the list for higher education.-(Zhao) Outside of school Finnish children speak predominantly Finnish in their homes, however when they come to school they are taught specifically Swedish in
It's a regular Tuesday morning, just like any other. A Hispanic mother is called to the school for a meeting for a consultation about her son’s performance. While in the meeting, the principal tells her that her child is in the 2nd grade, but is very behind. He adds the fact that her child does not understand the language the teacher speaks, and consequently, is not learning. The mother feels helpless since she cannot help him by reason of not understanding the language either. Hence, this is the difficult reality for numerous Hispanic families.
The language of our people is English, like Americans, and Mandarin, due to Chinese influence. English is taught in the beginning of a child's school experience up until graduation.
United States, but is also the first European language spoken in what was to become the United
However, it may come as a surprise that English would be the one to dominate, given that Mandarin Chinese is spoken by the largest population in the world. It is very unlikely for Mandarin to replace English because English is the already the official language in commerce around the world and it is also the language in which organizations such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) communicate (Martinez, 2014). A reason that McWhorter provided to why Mandarin Chinese will not be used as a global language, is because it is very difficult to master the language if not introduced to it at a young age. Furthermore, English is much more user friendly and functional
I remember from when I worked in retail & having to deal with situations of other cultures & language barrier. I first tried to communicate with
“What is your name? How old are you?” Both of these questions were met by silence and an uncomprehending stare. I was born in Columbia, South Carolina and raised in Fort Worth, TX. As a child I was very shy and had difficulty speaking, not just because of my personality but also because I had a hard time with English itself. When I went to Pre-K, my parents found that I could not answer simple English questions. I could not understand the questions and so was incapable of answering. I was placed in ESL (English as a Second Language) to learn and improve on my diminutive English. I had a lot of fun with friends, clubs, and teachers, and the school staff were extremely friendly to me. Strangely enough, I acquired a love for reading which I hold even now. Soon enough, my English improved rapidly and I steadily moved up to the top of my class. I even won a reading award, the first to be awarded it at my school. I was reputed as the kind, smart, and shy student of the school. Many of the students at my school knew who I was even though I did not have an inkling of who they were. By the time I graduated, the principal and I were on a first name basis.
My English teacher, did not have any big reactions. During class we were talking about the Salem Witch Trials and how people living back then had to slaughter chickens and other animals to eat and survive and I found it gross, so I made a disgusting face and she happened to be making eye contact with me so she pointed out my funny face to the whole class and I got embarrassed. Whenever we caught eyes, she would stare at me for a few seconds and then look away to another student, mostly out of how awkward the eye
Question 21: Which of the following is a factor behind English being accepted as the global business language?
ability for the total population, with or without the knowledge of other languages. English and
Ms. Beesley, the teacher of the class walks to me and asks “why don’t you come over and have some fun”. I rather stand next to my mother, because she has known me the longest, a time of two weeks. I don’t understand anything the teacher says due to the language barrier. I really do not want to let go of
When initiating a conversation, one might say they are “breaking the ice”. But did you know the phrase “break the ice” is derived from small merchant ships attempting to cross waters in order to deliver products? A second ship, nicknamed “icebreakers”, would travel ahead of the merchant ship, creating a path which they could then follow to their destination. Using this procedure as a metaphor for starting conversation, influential figures in literature integrated “break the ice” into their compositions, thus allowing for this phrases modern definition.