English, baby!

The American Language

Date: Jun 06 2006

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Immigration has always been a hot topic in the U.S. Recently, the debate has gotten hotter among average citizens and government representatives. One of the key issues in the debate is about language: Should English be the official language of the United States?

Last week, the U.S. Senate voted to make English the national language of the U.S. Listen to Dave and Taylor talk about English as the national language.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Taylor

Dave

Taylor: You know, Dave, President Bush here in America and the Republican government has been pushing for a bunch of immigration reforms and, ah, simultaneously, they’ve introduced, ah, to now proclaim English as the national language for the United States of America.

Dave: Right, the senate just voted on it to make it the national language, not the “official” language.

Taylor: Right.

Dave: I don’t know that there’s much of a difference there.

Taylor: That means that, ah, all paperwork is, they have no obligation to provide translation services for anybody who doesn’t speak English.

Dave: Right. Yeah, English has always been the dominant language and most people would argue that, “Well, yeah, it is kind of the official language by default.” But, to make it the actual official language is kind of a scary thing because along with that comes a lot of federal policies and federal regulations for education, for example.

Taylor: Mm hm. You know, they’re not all going to suddenly convert to conversing with everybody in English, you know.

Dave: Right. People don’t realize that when immigrants come to the U.S., it’s not the first generation who become assimilated. It’s the second and third generation who become assimilated.

Taylor: Right.

Quizzes

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Discussion

America is considerably underdeveloped when it comes to language diversity. Fewer than 10% of adults can speak a second language. Many Americans believe that a common language (in this case, English) promotes national unity. Two groups, English First and US English, have been trying to make English the official language of the U.S. for many years.

Multilingualism is common in many countries around the world. India has 18 official languages, with Hindi and English being the most widely spoken.

In Hong Kong, English and Chinese are official languages, and Cantonese is also widely used.

Luxembourg is a trilingual country where French, German and Luxembourgish are the official languages.

Do you think countries should have a single official language? Do you think having a common language promotes unity?

Comments

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21 through 30 of 30
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elainefxt

China

i like U.S english

but i can learn it well

sharlotta80

Uzbekistan

Hey! Everybody! Let’s make our life more easy & joyfull. I never mind what language is chosen as official by governments. Anyway, we must be ready how to meet each other!!! Right?

sharlotta80

Uzbekistan

I don't think that there is so much differences between US English. Perhaps, the government consider all chances to make the life better for young generation

missjob

China

The lap waste □puts! Hundred □□! Many kinds of □words blending
is the world □the step! England □did □most □exudes □passes
□has facilitated everybody exchange! Center □Qin Ch'ao □a
writing and □□□center □and even the world all has the heavy
general idea □! My drum □many □England □!

sergito3005

Costa Rica

i think it is good english be completely spoken in the united states. i think it will make inmigrants have to learn english faster because they will be obligated

tabiguets_061260

Philippines

Since English is a universal language we have to learn but it doesnt mean that it is our national language

virays

Russian Federation

i like dialogue and i am find freinds in the world, you help me ? i like with freinds everywhere and anybody.

xyu

China

Please increase the volume of record.It is kind of reflecting the fact in US today.English is a dominant language which also dominates many other aspects in life.It is another type of disability,not on body,but on language