The Spanish, the Dutch, the French, and the English all practiced mercantilism. A term meaning that the world's wealth was finite and that only one nation could grow rich if another one failed. A nation had to extract more gold from a foreign land and export as little as possible to other na...

In Aria, the first section of the autobiography, Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, by Richard Rodriguez, there are many core issues and ideas that run throughout each section. Each recurring issue or idea is represented by different terms or concepts he uses. One of the conc...

The role of the English language in Richard Rodriguez's "Gains and Losses" The essay "Gains and Losses" by Richard Rodriguez deals with one of the most important and controversial questions in American society–what is the role of the English language in the United S...

The Significance of using Spanish and English in "Almost a Woman"Esmeralda Santiago i an american citizen with puerto rican origins who writes the novel called "Almost a Woman". Her book recalls her journey towards womanhood and describes the details of growing up Puerto Rican in the 1960's in Ameri...

Bilingual Education = Unilingual Education Bilingual education in America is a sound idea, but it is not truly bilingual education, it is only bilingual for those who do not already speak English. America is a country with more and more cultures mixing together with different areas of America spe...

"Hey nigga Word up," screams J Michael across the room to Omar! "Holla J I not seen yo in foreva, how yo ho doin'," he replies. "She be good, my ol' lady ain't be that great though," J Michael says in a somber mood. "Yo I sorry, I be stoppin d...

A Small Accident Do you know more than one language? If you do, have you ever found yourself starting a sentence in one language and ending it with another? As a young girl, I used to mix my languages. Naturally, I did this while learning the English language. I applied the rules of the Spanish l...

Good Morning Recently the United States Congress has been debating whether or not to declare that English is the national language of the United States and that all instruction in public schools is in English. There is no question what the language of this country is, it is irrefutably Englis...

Bilingualism has had a bad rap lately. Prop 227, the Unz Initiative, successfully passed removing bilingual education from California schools replacing it with English immersion. For some reason, Americans feel that only one language is necessary and that language is English only. Although the ge...

Difference Between Two Different Schools Many people wonder how it's different between schools here in the U.S. and schools in France. You may say that there isn't any difference because they are both where we kids learn and succeed in life, right? That is where you're wrong; go...

In her novel How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents, Julie Alvarez presents the reader with a series of 15 interlocking stories that narrate the difficulties of growing up bicultural in the United States. The Garcia girls are Carla, Sandra, Yolanda and Sofia, though Alvarez speaks ...

Imagine being an immigrant from a country where the Spanish language is practically ubiquitous. Now imagine trying to learn in an American school using a foreign language and being expected to move into the mainstream with the other children. For most English-proficient people, this scenario may be ...

Bilingual Education's Obsoleteness Throughout the world, language defines who you are and where you come from. Something unique to the United States of America is that we not only have one language that unites us, we have hundreds that separate us; that is the core of the problem. Instead of ...

Diversity is about change. Changes in population, changes in attitude, and changes in education. As this world continues to grow, meeting the challenges of diversity will also grow. Demographers across the world estimate that world population will increase to 10-11 billion by year 2050. United St...

The original objective of bilingual education was to allow students who didn't speak English well understand the curriculum and avoid falling behind in their academic studies, while at the same time teaching them English as a second language. Many parents want their children to be enrolled in b...

Children Are Our Future Bilingual education was created with the best of intentions. The purpose was to help Hispanic children become fluent in English, within American schools. The Bilingual Education Act failed to meet its goal. In the beginning, children were taught in their native languag...

Bilingual Education For decades, immigrant children have been taught in their native languages in schools across the country while slowly and simultaneously receiving English as a second language. But like anything, bilingual education is not without its flaws. In fact, it's plagued with them. ...

Is Black English a Language? There are hundreds of different languages around the world today, one of them being Black English. According to the Encarta dictionary, language is the principal means used by human beings to communicate with one another. Language is primarily spoken, although it can ...

Wat up yo? Many of you are sitting there wondering what in the world I just said, while on the other hand part of you accept what I just said as every day speech. What am I talking about? Ebonics. The debate over Ebonics produces one of the biggest paradoxes of our time. There are many different ...

I believe strongly that all immigrants that want to gain citizenship in the United States of America should be required to have Basic English skills before being granted citizenship. Our country is changing more for the immigrants than for ourselves. You see bi-lingual posters and sign all over th...

Aria was a somewhat odd essay. At first I couldn't determine if the purpose of his essay was to tell of his childhood difficulties or to tell of the changes made in public schools for bilingual children. I am still unsure of the sole purpose, but I have come to the conclusion that it is of bo...

We Americans have a very important decision to make. It will affect the future of our country, maybe even its future existance. Unfortunately, most Americans are not even aware of what's happening. It all has to do with immigration, legal and illegal.When I was a boy, my favorite uncle was my Uncle ...

Balancing Two Cultures I was born and raised in the United States but still deeply rooted in my Mexican culture. My parents did everything they knew to help my brothers and I learn and respect our Mexicanculture. Born into American culture but raised by immigrant parents, often was difficult for...

Personal Communications ReportI believe life is a learning experience and we all have certain personal strengths and weaknesses. Knowing what I am good at and what I am weak at can help me become a better person. By observing a variety of clues relating to my appearance, vocabulary, body language, ...

Bilingual EducationI am sure that if I was improperly placed in a bilingual program, others have also. How does this happen? What "characteristics" show school officials that a student needs the classes to begin with? These officials seem to think that standardized tests and parent questionnaires...