Francis, Amy, editor. Should
the United States Be Multilingual?
Cengage(Gale,Lucent,Kidhaven/Blackbirch 2011 119p 23.85 978-0-7377-4893-2
hs/adult At Issue
(Cengage/Gale/Greenhaven) VG-BN
Primary and secondary sources examine the controversial topic of multingualism from a
variety of perspectives.
Internationally, students graduate
with proficiency in multiple
languages. One in
five Americans speak a foreign language at home. But in the
United States, the "melting pot" of nationalities,
education is generally
conducted in English and students are rarely proficient in
more than one
European language. To
successfully compete in a global economy and to
communicate with consumers at home and abroad, the need for
new language skills
has sparked controversy over multilingualism.
Watkins
gathered engaging essays from primary and secondary sources
representing a variety of perspectives to provide a
springboard for research,
classroom discussions, and debate. Included are bibliographies and annotated
lists of relevant organizations to round out future
research. Articles are
prefaced with succinct summaries, facilitating use by
students gathering
background information.
Timely and
topical, this collection of material addresses many
concerns. Is it time for the United States to officially
become multilingual?
What are the benefits/drawbacks of linguistic diversity?
Will steps taken in
this direction divide communities or bring them closer
together?
Welliver, Hilary
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