Language In America Introduction

Language in America - Introduction

Current Issues
- The End of Bilingual Education?
..........Voters Reject Bilingual Education
..........What Is Bilingual Education?
..........How Bilingual Education Has Failed
..........Federal Action"
..........Alternatives to Failed Bilingual Education
- Statehood for Puerto Rico?
- Bilingual Ballots
- English and Citizenship
- The Fragmentation of Canada
- Voter Support
- English As The Official Language
- History of English As America's Common Language

Order Language In America

ELPAC Home

This is the fifth federal election cycle in which ELPAC has published a briefing book for candidates on issues involving English as the official language of the United States. English-language-related issues are much different than just two years ago. The biggest change is in the most costly program: "bilingual education."

Over the last twenty years, "bilingual ed" has cost billions of tax dollars yet produced graduation rates as low as 3% in Arizona and 7% in California. There is general agreement that these "native language instruction" programs have failed.

So a great tide of change is sweeping America, driven by immigrant and language-minority parents who want their children to learn English, rejecting failed bilingual programs and replacing them with programs to teach English to children. 61% of California’s June 1998 primary voters rejected "bilingual education" in favor of English-language classes. Recent student performance test results from California’s new English-language classrooms show improvements of 200% or more.

We also cover a number of other important English language-related issues, including:

*Statehood for Puerto Rico

*Constitutional challenges to Official English laws

*Bilingual Ballots, and

*English in the Workplace

For More Information:

For more information, please contact Steve Workings, Executive Director of the English Language Political Action Committee, at (301) 933-4161.