Deck 6: Multilingual America; Standard American English; African American English

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT true about linguistic diversity in the U.S.?

A) Approximately 325 languages are used in the U.S.
B) Approximately 15 languages are used by over 500,000 people in the U.S.
C) Generally, there is a 2 to 3 generational shift from the heritage language to monolingual English
D) The U.S. government provides many opportunities for the maintenance of heritage languages, such as California Prop 227
E) The number of immigrants speaking Spanish and Asian languages have increased significantly in recent decades while speakers of Western European languages have primarily decreased

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In general, how long does it take for most immigrant groups to switch from their heritage languages to English monolingualism?

A) One generation
B) Two to three generations
C) Four or more generations
D) The experiences of immigrants are too diverse to form any kind of general pattern
E) The advance of the Internet and rapid global communications have largely eliminated language shift

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Of the following individuals, who has the fewest number of barriers to taking ESL courses and successfully learning English?

A) Amy, a 35-year-old mother of three who works two part-time jobs and who has been in the US for six months
B) Barbara, an 85-year-old widow who can no longer drive and who has lived in the US for twelve years
C) Charlie, a 50-year-old single man who works at a factory in a rural town
D) David, a 12-year-old who came to the US three months ago as an exchange student

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The Lau Guidelines claimed which of the following:

A) Bilingual programs are educationally ineffective
B) Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students should learn English at home
C) LEP students should be given access to school curricula solely in English
D) Bilingual education is the most appropriate educational program for LEP students
E) Arabic-speaking students require bilingual education programs more than other LEP students

Question 5

According to Census data, the percentage of people in the U.S. who use a language other than English at home falls within which of the following ranges?

A) Between 0 and 5 percent
B) Between 10 and 15 percent
C) Between 15 and 25 percent
D) Between 25 and 35 percent
E) Between 35 and 45 percent

Question 6

Which of the following has NOT been presented as a key argument against bilingual education?

A) Bilingual programs are expensive
B) Bilingual programs allow immigrants to resist assimilation
C) Bilingual programs are based on unproven educational theories
D) Bilingual programs were not needed for previous sets of immigrants
E) Bilingual programs are only able to provide services for Chinese speakers

Question 7

Which of the following describes a dual immersion language program in the United States?

A) A non-native language course in which language and culture are taught and in which proficiency is of concern. The course meets one hour per day, five times per week and instruction is in the target language.
B) A non-native language course that meets once a week for one hour in which both the native language and the target language are used. Proficiency is not of concern, but rather exposure and awareness are of primary importance.
C) By and large the school day is taught in a language other than English. English may however be taught as a school subject for a single period or during one day a week.
D) For half of the instruction time, Language A is the medium of instruction. For the other half Language B is the medium of instruction. Students are generally native speakers of either Language A or Language B.
E) Individuals who are non-native speakers of English receive small group or one-on-one English lessons during the normal school day while other students remain in traditional classes.

Question 8

Would you say the U.S. is a multilingual or monolingual country? Explain why the one and not the other.

Question 9

Is there such a thing as Standard American English? Explain your answer.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT true about the history and structure of African American English?

A) While AAE is generally discussed as a singular dialect, one does find variation in its structure across the country
B) Neither the trans-Atlantic voyage nor the living situation in the U.S. supported the continued use of African languages in North America, thus necessitating the development of a shared linguistic system
C) The history of the linguistic system is directly tied to the history of Africans in North America
D) The first Africans came the United States in the mid-1800s as "wetland farmers" in the Sea Islands
E) The structure of AAE reflects its origins in both English and West African languages

Question 11

Which of the following is TRUE about the 1996 Ebonics controversy?

A) The Oakland school board declared Ebonics to be the primary linguistic system of many of its students, and proposed that teachers recognize the existence of Ebonics in order to teach those students Standard English
B) The Oakland school board stated that Ebonics did not have linguistic rules like other American dialects, and it contained more slang than other dialects, so it was not suitable for the classroom
C) The Oakland school board found the term Ebonics to be racist
D) The Oakland school board did not recognize Ebonics as valid linguistic system
E) The Oakland school board did not acknowledge Ebonics as stemming from the history of the Africans in America