The Importance Of English As A Second Language

For most of its history, Puerto Rico has been controlled by an outside power, and its people oppressed. While Puerto Rico is currently a U.S. territory, Spanish colonialism has had a significant impact on the island’s development and identity. The history of the island itself is proof of this fact, demonstrating each step Puerto Rico took to reach its current state. By examining the stages of Spanish control that Puerto Rico experienced, we can determine how each stage affected the structure and identity of Puerto Rico.

The American's English Only policy (also known as the English First policy) was complex in nature. It wanted to produce bilingual Puerto Ricans as a method of creating “loyal subjects” or good citizens of the United States, but it allowed Americans to get away with not learning the Spanish language. Having American teachers who didn't speak Spanish to Puerto Ricans who didn't speak English just wasn't effective. Because Puerto Rico became a part of the United States (even in its unincorporated status), and its citizens are considered citizens of the U.S., one can understand the idea that English should be implemented on the island. Because the official language of the United States is English and Puerto Rico is part of the United States, then its inhabitants should at least learn to speak English. The learning English aspect of it, however, wasn’t the problem of this situation, rather the forgetting the Spanish aspect was the problem. In getting away with not learning the Spanish language, Americans forced, imposed assimilation upon a

Puerto Rico’s association with the United States and its metamorphosis began when in 1898 U.S. troops invaded Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War. Up until that point, Puerto Rico had remained one of Spain’s last two colonies in the New World. Puerto Rico’s Spanish heritage is seen when “Puerto Rican essayist Antonio Pedreira, writing in the 1930’s, termed the first three centuries of Spanish rule a period of ‘faithful prolongation of the Spanish culture’” (qtd. in Morris 21). Spanish influence is also seen when “without rejecting his ‘Puerto Rican Spanishness,’ the Puerto Rican ‘considered himself a Spaniard from here with ideas and reactions different from those from there’” (qtd.

In Reproducing Empire, Laura Briggs provides her readers with a very thorough history of the mainland U.S. and Puerto Rican discourses and its authors surrounding Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans, from Puerto Rico's formation in the mainland elite's "mind" as a model U.S. (not) colony in 1898* to its present status as semi-autonomous U.S.

Since 1898 language has become a central issue in the Puerto Rican educational system. In the 1930s the US demanded that English be the official language to be taught in schools. This was very hard for people to get used to because most of the people on the island spoke Spanish. Because this was such a drastic change for many there was a lot of objection to this law. Therefore soon English became the second language. In 1991 the Puerto Rican legislature promoted a bill that stated that Spanish would be the official language. Although later this bill was modified and in '93 both languages gained equal status. Today Spanish is the official language that classes are conducted in. In contrast the United States teaches classes in English.

Since the last part of the 19th Century, the official language of Puerto Rico has stirred debate. Until the early 1900’s United States authorities insisted that the official language should be English, at least for the instruction in schools. Their reasoning was to produce English speaking students that were enriched in American culture, in the same way that was conducted by schools in the United States. However, objection to this policy brought a change in a sense that Spanish overcame English as the official language in schools. Later, in 1991, the governor of Puerto Rico, Rafael Hernandez Colon, endorsed a bill that made Spanish the official speaking language of the

The increase of immigration in the United States and the influence the Hispanic population on language and traditions are immense. There has been debate for and against English-only language or bilingualism. The issue with language goes beyond immigration issue. The reality is that language discrimination in the work place or even in society have affected the dominant and minority group. In addition, the influence on the cultural traditions and celebrations have impacted both groups in several ways. The issue of language and cultural traditions have created controversy for the usage of English only language or the usage of bilingual language in the United States. The argument of the pro side of bilingualism (English-Spanish) is that society can expand their knowledge and develop better communication skills with other groups that reside in this country. Moreover, living in a globalized world, will help our society to develop relations and create contacts thorough the world. The benefits of speaking two languages also benefit the individual’s economy. Speaking two languages makes an individual a better qualified candidate for a job position and the economy also increase by a significant amount in comparison to English-only speaking individuals. According to the author “They argued that the research of the impact of English-only initiatives showed that the result in negative consequences for psychological development, intergroup relations, academic achievement, and health

Literacy has been an issue for Latino students from the moment the United States seized Mexican territory in 1848 for Mexican-Americans, and from the moment it declared sovereignty over the island of Puerto Rico in 1898 for Puerto-Rican-Americans. The moment the United States converted these peoples’ official instructional language to English, it cut short their likelihoods of social mobilization. The change in curricula, left many of the Latino population trapped in America without the necessary literacy skills to

According to a United States Census Bureau report (2010) the number of people speaking a primary language other than English at home more than doubled between 1980 and 2007. During those years, the percentage of the population who considered English as their second language increased by 140 percent while those who considered English as their primary language only grew thirty-four percent in the same time period (US Census Bureau, 2010).

Primarily, enforcing the English language had the major impact. An assembly was held to determine the new educative system for the Puerto Ricans, controlled by the American government. It was a very centralized system where supervisors and teachers were brought without knowing the Spanish language or culture. As a result, creating great difficulties of communication. Despite all these cultural conflicts between such different cultures, great advances were made in the educational system in Puerto Rico. During the rule of the Spaniards eighty percent of the population was illiterate. Due to the Americanization, this reduced to more than half of the eighty percent and there was more opportunity to do other studies in the island. As the Puerto Ricans were exposed to an American society, language and culture, a new dialect rised up known as “Spanglish”. Which is a mix of Spanish and English words and expressions. While the English language was incorporated in the schools and society, still Spanish remained as the primary

It was not until 1950 that classes started such as English as a Second Language aimed at helping immigrant children learn the English language. In the United States in 1950 and in 2016, the most popular language among English-language learners is Spanish; about 80 percent of English-language learners speak Spanish as their first language. Prior to English as a Second Language classes, immigrants exhibited a high dropout rate, they were not supported in schools. The purpose of the English as a Second Language is not only to help students learn the English language, but also help them succeed in their other classes by

Knowing how to write properly is an important part of your education. Once you start your career after college, not a day will go by that you will not use what you learn English 111. A few things that will make you successful in English 111 include working ahead in class, asking for help if you need it, and studying.

In many East Asian countries, English, being a universal language, is a mandatory subject, for it is essential for professional communication and development. However, learning English is often tedious and difficult, especially in a non-English environment. Moreover, students would only learn the basics, such as grammar, but not the Western culture. As a result, this is a waste of the students’ time and educational resources . As virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) gain their popularity in the technology world, people are looking to use it for educational purposes. This new way of learning and teaching is currently being studied and experimented in Western schools and making its way to East Asian schools. This paper argues VR and AR can help students to gain interest in learning English as a Foreign Language in East Asian schools.

Vocabulary plays a significant role in English as second language learning process. For the majority of English as Second Language(ESL) learners, the ultimate goal of learning the language is to understand (read and listen) and communicate (write and speak) with little difficulty and the lack of sufficient vocabulary may be the constraint of such goal (Folse, 2004). As the bedrock of English and as well as language, vocabulary also facilitates the development of other language skills: lexical richness leads to the progress in the use of language, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing skills (Nation, 1994). Reversely, The improvement in such skills may enhance learners vocabulary size as the exposure to more learning materials improves the capacity to acquire new vocabulary. (The importance of learning vocabulary/ why vocabulary?)

ESL students are students that speak English as a second language. Presently, there is many different system to characterize this type of students (qtd in Shi, Steen 63). For example, they can be seen as “English Language Learners (ELL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), English Language Development (ELD), English Language Service (ELS), and