[Idyllchat] Languages of the Land

[Dennis Dean Carpenter]

Sure, and I've taught classes in the various ESOL courses taught here, there 
and everywhere for teacher certification and graduate credit and could 
debate immersion OR bi-lingual... either one... (One must be able to 
understand language acquisition, culture, family and so forth to speak 
intelligently about this. Anecdotal information is meaningless and fraught 
with stereotyping.) My question, however,  would be what the heck this has 
to do with Idyll travel!
Dennis Dean Carpenter
Dahlonega, Ga.

Quote from the last digest:
"All:  Please note that California schools have students who speak almost
200 different languages.  Most of these are educated in English as a
Second Language class for the fewest possible years.  Texas schools have
a similar student body (but under 100 different languages).  The big
problem is with the so-called "bi-lingual" program which is offered only
to "Spanish" speaking children.  These are identified through an
English/Spanish test before they enter school.  Even if they prove to be
equal in both languages (sounds like they are already bi-lingual to me)
as a result of the test, they are still placed in a "bi-lingual"
classroom unless their parents strongly object.  These classes emphasize
"Spanish" not English.  The children could be immersed in English just
as all the others but it has been mandated that they learn to read and
write and think in Spanish first.  We miss the most important years for
learning a new language...the ones before puberty when the brain sets on
a language.  Many of our generation...the retirees...came from homes
where a language other than English was spoken.  We made the transition
from English at school to whatever was spoken at home with a minimum of
problems.  Even some of my Mexican-American friends wonder why the
children today cannot learn the same way they did."