The intersection of race, rhetoric and public policy, particularly pertaining to Latino politics, is a growing area of development. Albeit historically, most immigrants to America faced similar questions of cultural and linguistic allegiance, the case regarding Latinos is unique. Given their continual demographic growth, now occupying the nation’s largest “minority” group, much political debate and commentary has arisen regarding the nations state of national unity and identity. For instance, is there a negative correlation between increasing levels of Latino immigration and the stability of the English language as lingua franca? Alternatively, does increasing levels of Latino immigration threaten the sustainability of “American” values and beliefs? Named and defined as a policy “problem,” Latinos, Latino immigration and the Spanish language have become framed as policy “problems” needing solutions. In efforts to unpack this rhetorically rich debate over national identity, race, culture and language, the canon of invention is analyzed insofar as the creation of Latinos as policy “problems,” with close attention drawn also toward policy makers supposed “solutions.” Engaged in both past and present attempts toward declaring English the national language on both the state and federal level, this project largely concerns itself within the 2006 Senate English as the national language debate, along with the growth of one of the nation’s most out-spoken limited-immigration, English-only proponents, Tom Tancredo.

The purposes of this study were to 1) explore student attitudes toward the English-only environment in an intensive English program, and 2) find factors that either promote or inhibit students' desire to use English in their communication with compatriots in school. Qualitative research methods employed were a) a student questionnaire (with a total of 158 participants), b) semi-structured interviews with students (total 6 participants), and c) four student focus groups (with a total of 62 participants). The study was conducted at the English Language Center (ELC) at Brigham Young University. The participants were students of four native language groups (Spanish, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese) and varied levels of proficiency. The findings indicate that the majority of the students acknowledged the helpfulness of the English-only environment at the ELC, but recognized some factors that prevented them from speaking only English in the school building. These factors were grouped into five categories: sociocultural, linguistic, individual, psychological, and institutional. The sociocultural factors included peer pressure, fear of negative evaluation by compatriots, cultural communication patterns, maintaining friendship with compatriots, and need for cultural bonding. The linguistic factors included low language proficiency, difficulty in understanding teachers' assignments, translating habits, and linguistic differences between English and students' L1. The category of the individual factors consisted of the intensity of motivation and personality type. Lack of confidence, stress from speaking English, and fear of having a different personality when speaking English were categorized as psychological factors. Finally, the institutional category included physical factors (number of students of the same L1 in school/class, distance from the university campus), teacher factors (teachers' ability to motivate students, other teachers' characteristics [being sensitive to students' cultures, understanding students' individual circumstances, the ability to establish a rapport with students]), and curricular and administrative factors (poor enforcement of the English-only rule, weaknesses of speaking classes, lack of activities that promote interaction with students from other countries). This study provides a deep understanding of the reasons why many students speak their native language once they leave the English classroom. Based on these findings, recommendations regarding the development and modification of curricula in order to improve the language-learning environment at English institutions are offered to classroom teachers and program administrators.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-218).

This project explored the impact of the implementation of Proposition 227 on SAT-9 scores in grades 2-11 of the Leander Unified School District. Minimal growth in test scores was found as a result of replacing the bilingual programs with English-only programs, contradicting claims by proponents of the proposition.

In an effort to immerse learners in the target language, many IEPs in the U.S. hold fast to inflexible English Only policies (Auerbach, 1993; McMillan & Rivers, 2011). However, research has identified several shortcomings of such a rule, such as (1) the benefits of the L1 in L2 learning, and the lack of research supporting the exclusion of the mother tongue (Atkinson, 1993; Brooks-Lewis, 2009; Butzkamm, 2003), and (2) psychological, sociocultural, and linguistic factors that diminish the effectiveness of English Only and contribute to a negative learning environment (Shvidko, Evans, & Hartshorn, 2015). This body of research has prompted a large IEP in the U.S. to replace its English Only policy with initiatives that encourage English use, foster learner autonomy and create a more positive learning environment. This study evaluated this IEP's initiatives and found that this new perspective on language policy has created a viable alternative to English Only. These initiatives' intended objective to encourage English use was met while preserving learner autonomy and without sacrificing a high standard of excellence.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2008. / Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 82 p. Includes bibliographical references.

U. S. does not have an official language even though the country is home to the highest number of English speakers in the world and English is the primary language spoken there. Since 1980s, there have been efforts to make English the official language of the land. However, they have not been successful so far. The paper Language Policy in the U. S.: Debating Official Language attempts to clarify why English has never been officialized. First, the language policy debates since the American Revolution are examined and the role of official language in the debates is defined. Second, the actors of official English debates are introduced, their motivation is explained and arguments for and against making English official are presented. Third, potential impact of official language legislation is scrutinized based on a comparative analysis of five official English bills. Thus, the paper provides an overview of the topic of official English debates and gives reasons why the U. S. Congress has never passed an official language law.

This project investigates the benefits and practicality of applying Zimmerman's (1994) dimensions of self-regulated learning to co-curricular activities so as to increase students' willingness and opportunities to communicate in English in the hallways of intensive English programs. Three of these dimensions (social environment, motivation, and physical environment) work together to create a semi-structured liaison between in and out of class communicative environments and give students an occasion, location, and motivation to speak English with one another. To evaluate the effectiveness of such activities and conceptualize a means in which to assist intensive English programs effectively incorporate co-curricular activities in their curricula, the principal researcher designed and conducted a co-curricular activity based self-regulated learning. She obtained student feedback using surveys and interviews and found that the majority of students spoke mostly English, made new friends, practiced listening and speaking skills, and enjoyed themselves at this activity. As a result of this data, the principal researcher created a booklet to assist in the planning of future co-curricular activities. While only a preliminary study, this data and resulting booklet have great potential to fill the hallways of intensive English programs with English and thus create a holistic learning environment.

La première partie de cette étude est consacrée au cadre institutionnel dans lequel s’élaborent les politiques linguistiques américaines ; la Constitution des États-Unis, ainsi que ses amendements, s’avèrent déterminants dans leur formulation. Depuis l’adoption de politiques linguistiques nationales dans les années 1960, l’influence de l’État fédéral se trouve encore accrue. Néanmoins, la politique linguistique des États-Unis demeure lacunaire. La politique linguistique de l’État de New York, étudiée dans le deuxième chapitre, complète en partie cette politique en intervenant principalement dans les domaines de l’éducation et du droit de vote. La politique linguistique de l’État du New York est déterminée, d’une part, par un antagonisme structurel Ville-État et, d’autre part, par la lutte des Portoricains pour le respect de leurs droits linguistiques. La dernière partie de cette étude consiste en une étude de cas ; quarante entretiens semi-dirigés menés auprès d’immigrants russophones révèlent l’importance de la reconversion professionnelle dans le processus d’intégration linguistique. / In a first part, this study analyzes the institutional framework in which American language policies are elaborated; the Constitution of the United States and its amendments appear to play a major role in their elaboration. Since the adoption of national language policies in the 1960’s, federal influence has grown further. However, the language policy of the United States remains incomplete. The language policy of the State of New York, which is studied in the second chapter, supplements it by intervening in the fields of education and voting rights mainly. The language policy of New York is determined by, on the one hand, a structural City-State antagonism, and on the other hand, by the activism of Puerto Ricans who mobilized to assert their language rights. The last chapter of this study consists of a case-study; forty semi- conducted interviews were carried out with Russian-speaking immigrants. As a whole, they stress the importance of retraining in the language acquisition process.

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