why is no one counseling the students in being bilingual?
81491
in some countries they allready do, like in belgium \n\nLots of schools have it
1177415
Maybe you need to get it out of your head that to force bi- or tri-ligualism on everyone is a good idea.  The idea of language is to be able to communicate.  If you have everyone in a school, or anywhere for that matter, all speaking different languages it does not help the situation at all.  Whenever I get an operating manual for a new tool I have to look all over for English; 3/4 of the pages are wasted resources.  Once I went to Home Depot and saw an enire skid of something-or-other all printed in Spanish.  Last time I looked I did not live I Spain.\n\nGoing to school in America, especially public schools, should mean learning to read and write English, and not a bunch of other languages.  If you want to learn another language,  such as Mandarin Chinese or Farsi, do it on your own.  Spanish, French, and German has no use in day-to-day communication in America. When I was in high school I took a couple of years of French.  What a waste of time.  Thes programs are forced on us by people who think  it's a good idea but have no clue as to why.\n\nI, for one, am getting sick and tired of having to press 1 for English.
804321
Because this is a diverse country which I think is one of the charms of living in the United States. Our country doesn't have an official language so technically, they can speak whatever they want. It just so happens most of the country speaks English. \n\nAnd most employees can speak at least limited English, although it may be harder to understand. Rather than getting upset about it, take it as an opportunity to help their conversational skills.
639445
nothing! and god bless them!  when my ancestors came over they had to learn the English language to survive in this country.  the same should be true of the many Spanish immigrants we have today.  English is the official language of the USA and either choose to learn it or choose to go someplace else.
762376
The question is whether those who live here and didn't have expensive ESL education, making them bilingual in Spanish and English, should be expected or required to have any knowledge of that language.\n\nMany would like to be bilingual, but when I went through the LAUSD I could choose French, German or Spanish as my language (I chose French).  Now the program cuts are so severe, our children are only offered Spanish, if that, and many aren't interested in learning Spanish.
579934
I believe that the inability to communicate effectively is one of the root causes of conflict in this world.  A common language is extremely important to foster better communication.  \n\nTo this end, all government activies, including voting, public schooling, etc. should be conducted in one language, ONLY!  Of course the government should have intensive language programs in place to ensure that EVERYONE is given the opportunity to learn the language.\n\nAs for the choice of language...  I would rather have seen the Senate be a bit more forward thinking and choose the language of the next century.  No, not spanish...  Chinese.\n\n;-)
685203
What was it Governor Lamm said?  For an individual to be bilingual is a blessing, for a society to be bilingual is a curse?\n\nThink of the tower of Babel.  Once peoples' language was changed so that they could not easily communicate they splintered into antagonistic subgroups.
1065897
At least you only have to worry about Spanish, where I live we have to do everything pretty much in English, Spanish and Hmong.  \n\nI was in line at the DMV and the young Hispanic gentelman in front of me needed an interpreter so he could get his paperwork filled out for his license.  God help us all, if they can't read the forms and such or understand when things are explained to them, how the heck can they read the signs.
1074663
It's because Americans don't feel the need to study another language-they think everyone speaks English anyway.\nDespite the fact USA is a quilt of different cultures, they all assimilate in  no time, and the prodigy of an immigrant rarely speak their parents' language. It's a closed and complacent society, with little or no respect for any culture outside USA.\n"We are the  best, we are the the first, no one else matters" is the common attitude. At school foreign languages are not taught well and students barely study one language, which they rarely master...And even if you learn another language, if you don't practice it, you forget it.\nI think that is a great disadvantage for Americans, because they are understood wherever they go, but they don't understand anybody ...
1129852
It's better to have two languages spoken. It would be more conveinient if everyone knew how to speak english, but that's a long and hard task to teach many.
251643
I wish I had an answer for you.  This is a sore subject with me.  You forgot to mention that not only are out schools overcrowded but they are also doing bi-lingual teaching which, if memory serves me correctly, is illegal in CA, and it hinders the learning process for the children who are english speaking only.  How do I know this?  Because my child went to a school where literally most of the teachers only taught in spanish and neglected the english only speaking students and my childs grades and learning abilities went into the toilet along with friends.  I quickly yanked my kid out of that particular school, went into another school district where  the non-english speaking children were taught in a different class for a certain amount of time during the school day so the other children were not distracted by the different language and they did not suffer in their studies.   Oh and let's not forget that it seems like all the stores now have all their signs posted in spanish first and english second, if we are lucky.\n\nOur country seems to do so much for the illegal aliens yet don't do jack crap for the citizens who were either born and raised here or who came to the country legally.\n\nLike I said, it is a sore subject with me so I guess it's time to get off my soapbox.\n\nps:  I highly doubt that California would be crippled economically if there were not illegal immigrant workers (illegal aliens).  The illegals don't pay taxes so the State already suffers.
765464
It is called the dumbing down of the American society! As a nation we can only assimilate so many non-English speaking immigrants. Because of the overload of immigrants dumped into the school systems, the focus has shifted to learning English rather than learning correct grammar and an advanced vocabulary.  The curriculum has to be watered down, or better yet Dumbed Down to a level that they can then understand at their grammar level. \nMix this with a bunch of people who cry for illegal immigrants rights to an education, even though statistics show that they will most likely drop out and prove that they were a waste of an education anyways. \nBAM! A DUMBED DOWN society where our children are not able to focus on the basics of proper English and writing skills because little "Juan" couldn't keep up and it was against his rights for others to be taught more than he is able to learn because of his initial inability to speak, read or write in English!
51689
cos speaking spanish requires this twist of tongue that only the natives can do it (or so it seems). it might help to converse frequently with real spanish people or live in a spanish populated area for a period of time.
217205
In the US there are many groups that meet weekly to practice speaking other languages. It is not connected with any school or program, but something the people set up on their own. They are often listed in the newspaper or community event forums.  You do not say where you are, but maybe they have something similar where you are.\n\nAnother answer would be at the college or university - many of them have international students from all over. Maybe you can offer to teach an English speaker your language in exchange for them helping you with your English.
340900
Maybe because you went to an English speaking college and they did not know the language as well? I'm sure that there are intelligent Mexicans! I know some!
532405
You should talk to the students who are having difficulties and ask how you could improve your teaching skills.  Maybe you speak too fast and they don't hear everything you say.  Perhaps you're moving through the curriculum too quickly.  Maybe it's not you at all- they could have problems at home or be busy with a part-time job.  Look for different ways to teach- use words, pictures, hands-on activities, videos, pop-quizzes, technical manuals, etc.\n\nThe important thing is to communicate with your students and ask what YOU can do to help them.  However, I can't help but wonder if it could be a language problem.  English obviously isn't your first language, and I had real problems in university with a Teaching Assistant for Computer Science who was not able to communicate in English.  It could be that you're not yet at the point in your language acquisition where you're ready to be teaching.
395194
Because some people are just too lazy to learn that there are another countries where people speaks spanish.\n\nNow, imagine people so lazy that they didn't even learn about the existence of El Salvador. Now, imagine how much they care about what american goverments have made in El Salvador. Now imagine this lazy guys replacing a "salvadoreño" by doing his job after he is expelled from the US for being an illegal.