ELL: wsj editorial

[Doug Whalen]

   Dear all,
   Sorry to be delayed with this--for some reason, just as I posted my
reply to the WSJ editorial, I stopped receiving the EL list.  So I
had to look it up on the archive.
   Anyway, I think that the Mayflower Compact is a very faint
reflection of democracy.  It basically establishes a locally
responsible monarchy which, for practical reasons, could not be a
monarchy so it was elected.  I don't think that this document is the
stuff of revolutions, and I don't think it was the origin of American
democracy.  (And, again, the question of whether the specifics of the
League of the Iroquois were known to Franklin or anyone else is
irrelevant--the settlers had been *living* democracy where they
interacted with the Native political structure.  As Bill says, the
settlers *knew* about all sorts of examples, but it did not affect
what they did in Europe.)  But, perhaps that truly is enough of this
discussion as far as this list is concerned.  I included it in the
response because it is easier to engage people's interest with an
offshoot of language than with language itself.
   As for bilingual education, it is possible that I gave too much
credence to Miller's assertion of inability to be "fluent" in two
languages.  I just don't know if there is really enough evidence (as
a scientist, rather than a polemicist) to say one way or the other.
We certainly all know individuals who are phenomenally fluent in two
or more languages, but whether more typical balanced bilinguals can
express themselves to their fullest extent in both languages is
something that I just don't know about.  Has this been tested
adequately?  I think that we are after a level of competence here
that is not usually tested except for things like college entry,
which may not happen in both languages often enough to give us any
statistics.  My own belief is that it is typical that speakers will
attain the fluency they need and desire in a bilingual setting, but
(unlike Miller) I did not feel that I had enough data as a basis for
stating that opinion in that piece.
   The problem with bilingual education in the States is due, I think,
to the selection of teachers for their language knowledge rather than
for their knowledge of the content.  The mother language classes are
usually the most challenging in content (especially math), and yet
the teachers that end up teaching those subjects have not typically
been trained in them.  This is why the test score gains are so
minimal for bilingual programs.  I don't think that the theory of
teaching in the mother tongue is wrong, I think that it is
implemented in an inappropriate way.  Perhaps the experience of
programs in other countries would provide some more light on the
basic issue of whether bilingual education is a good thing and can
lead to fluency in both languages, but I don't know any situations
that would help out here.  If anyone on the list does have examples,
it would be good to have them aired (especially with references to
peer reviewed publications.)
   So, I guess the other reason I did a marginal job with the
bilingual issue is that my full story just went on too long.  So I'll
stop.  But thank you all for your comments.
   Doug DhW
--
Doug Whalen (whalen at haskins.yale.edu)
Haskins Laboratories
270 Crown St.
New Haven, CT 06511
203-865-6163, ext. 234
FAX:  203-865-8963
http://www.haskins.yale.edu/
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