Gingrich thinks bilingual = ghetto

During a speech today, former House Speaker and likely GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich compared being bilingual to living in the ghetto:

“The American people believe English should be the official language ofthe government. ... We should replace bilingual education withimmersion in English so people learn the common language of the countryand they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of livingin a ghetto," Gingrich said to cheers from the crowd of more than 100.

It looks like someone needs to take a journey outside the country club gates for a change!

This fear of other languages is not a new thing to Gingrich.  Back in 1998, the former Speaker of the House vented about this same issue, and it was reported in the Washington Times:

"When we allow children to stay trapped ina bilingual program, where you do not learn English, we aredestroying their economic future."

Even Gingrich cannot stop the fact that we are living in an interconnected world.  When you learn another language, you are not trapping yourself -- you are opening the doors of communication with other cultures.  With all the tough times abroad that we are facing today, maybe it's not a bad idea to stress the importance of communication and understanding.

If he wants to talk about the economy, then maybe he should talk to the thousands of interpretors across the country that are well-off financially because they work a high-demand job that uses their bilingual talents.

Comments

[Herman]

Maybe you should get a frickin clue. It's not about people learning another language, it's about taking spanish speaking kids (or sometimes just kids with spanish sounding names) and putting them in special classes that teaches them in spanish while teaching them english. He's just suggesting we do like other countries and go the total immersion route and just teach them english.

When my cousin's daughter was growing in Germany (he was in the Army), she went to school off-base. They didn't put her in a special class that taught her stuff in english while trying to teach her German, they just threw her in with the other students and now she knows and speaks German like a native. It took her a couple of weeks to catch on and within a month she was translating for her parents when they went out.

BTW-part of the article you missed: "Bilingual education programs teach students reading, arithmetic and other basic skills in their native language so they do not fall behind while mastering English."

I just love things like this. It's gets liberals frothing at the mouth about something they apparently don't understand.

[Chief Editor: Todd]

"It's gets liberals frothing at the mouth about something they apparently don't understand."

Do you habitually address all liberals as one?

The question is whether or not you think Gingrich's comment that used the word "ghetto" to describe bilingual education is out of line? Do you think the "ghetto" comment was out of line? If you agree with his quote, then be proud and say it.

Lastly, he said bilingual education should be REPLACED with immersion to English. Look at the quote. I don't agree with that comment. I think you can do both bilingual education and immersion to English. What's the problem with that?

[Herman]

Do I habitually address all liberals as one? These days, yes, I tend to. They all seem to be of a like mind. (Note: I'm not a real big fan of conservatives these days either. They do tend to stick their foot in their mouth with regularity.)

And yes, I think that bilingual education works best at keeping people down, and no, I don't think the word "ghetto" is out of line.

The problem with doing both bilingual education and immersion in English is that it does seem to make it harder for the kids to keep up. My Aunt, a retired foreign languages teacher used to think that bilingual education was the way to go until I asked her about the way she'd teach kids who were moving to Germany or France (she primarily taught those two languages, but I think she knows a couple more). When she realized that she'd do them as complete immersion in all subjects, she changed her mind on how Spanish speaking kids should be educated.

And, you post really seemed to be a rant about not having to learn a second language.

It's NOT about that. From what I read of the article, I didn't see him having a problem with people learning a second language. It's about two separate lines of education in our schools when he thinks there should be only one. I agree with him. Kids are smarter and seem to pick up a language doing total immersion faster than adults. And total immersion is teaching them everything in English. Not teaching them English and then going and teaching them math, history, science or whatever in Spanish (or whatever language is appropriate.

[v]

i dont like flame wars so i'll make this brief..if youre going to live in someone else's country, i dont care WHICH COUNTRY IT IS, you HAVE to learn the language of the nation. you need to. that much is clear. its a necessity.

the phrase of "learniing the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto", that is a hereditary slap in the face--not just to mexican immigrants, but if ANYONE remembers their history, Irish, Italians, Polish, and every other kin to who would now be "our" great-grandparents spoke in their native tongues, had schools FOR EASE OF TRANSITION, had eateries, and so forth in their native cuisiine--- these are things as Americans, historically, we have taken for granted. these things take time. notice how the descendants of those immigrants from the aforementioned lands now speak our language with clarity, have jobs, make money, etc. just because someone speaks in a language other than English, it doesnt necessitate that they are ignorant, it just means that they speak in another language.

things like this are not instant. and i dont think it fair to make a "ghetto" comment--another history moment that has been lost: ghettos were where Nazi Germans held the "undesireable" Jewish immigrants ( even those NATIVELY BORN INTO THE COUNTRY) in shabby neighborhoods, to keep an eye on them. Thats where the word originated, and maybe we as HUMANS (American or not) need to change the way we see real life.

the lessons from history are there, its up to us to learn from them

[Chief Editor: Todd]

My mother has been a teacher here in Seattle for nearly 35 years. My aunt is also a teacher. They would completely disagree about not teaching both immersion to English (for Spanish speakers) and foreign languages (for English speakers). Kids can handle it if you push them hard enough at an early age. Children have an easier time learning new languages than us adults.

Washington state has a large migrant population. When you press hard at teaching these non-American born children English, and then teach the English-speaking kids other languages (such as Spanish or whatever they choose), you prepare these kids for later on in life. Like it or not, Spanish is a fast-growing language and will continue to be. I don't get a violent reaction, unlike some, when I walk into a store and everyone is speaking Spanish. They can speak whatever they want. That is their right. But what troubles me is when foreign-born adults don't know how to speak English, which is different, because it hurts them economically and socially. So we need to teach them English early on. And we start doing that by fully funding head-start and the rest of our education programs, as opposed to passing along unfunded mandates to states.

Also, I don't like the ghetto comparison. Nearly 25 years ago, my mother helped found the Gifted Program for Seattle Public Schools while teaching in one of the poorest neighborhoods. These students would learn two, three, sometimes four languages at a time. Obviously different than most kids, who can only learn one or two. The gifted students, as you might guess, are more likely to be well-off financially later in life. Their parents want them to learn Spanish/Japanese/Arabic, etc. So no, it's not a ghetto language.

Another example. One decade ago my mother was the resource teacher at a school that was attended by some of the wealthiest families in the Northwest. The Microsoft parents sent their kids there. Same with the Starbucks, Tullys and most sports stars in the city. The the parents WANTED their children to learn other languages at an early age because it prepared them for reality. So again, I don't like the ghetto comparison.

[Herman]

You still don't seem to get it.

It's NOT about people learning a second language.

It's about kids in school being taught English in one class and then going and learning math, science, history or whatever in their native language. He's promoting that they get educated as fully and as quickly as possible in English instead of doing a half-assed job on a daily basis.

Other countries tend to not do things the same way and funny, a lot of countries tend to out do the US in education. (Yes, there's lots of reasons...)

So, it's not about people learning a second (or third or more) language. Have I made it clear enough?

[Chief Editor: Todd]

Sorry Herman, you have yet to objectively specify why Gingrich was right when he used the "ghetto" term.

You're also over-dramatizing something that both of us agree with -- that all people in this country have a socioeconomic incentive to learn the English language.

Also, the countries that "out do" the U.S. in education -- such as Japan -- make sure their children learn two, sometimes three languages. Studies have shown that children who are fluent in more than one language have an easier time socially adapting in high school and college, and are more likely to study abroad (and what a great experience that is!).

So again, what's the deal with this ghetto talk? (No one will laugh at you if you say Gingrich was out of line.)