English,_An_endangered_Language_

English, An endangered Language' English, An Endangered Language' The knowledge of more than one language has become a crucial element in a society noted for its diversity and multiculturalism where immigrants constitute an integral part of the population. However, there are those who claim that immigrants must abandon their native languages in order to fully integrate into American society. Some view the speaking of another language by immigrant populations as a threat to the unity and health of United States. There have been many attempts to ban bilingual education in schools fearing that immigrants maintaining their languages alive would result in the demise of the English language. In hopes of clearing up certain misconceptions, Alejandro Portes and Richard Schauffler of Johns Hopkins University conducted a study in Florida examining the children of immigrants and their language skills. Florida is a key state for such a study due to the high influx of immigrants. The study focuses on the children of immigrants who were either born ! in the United States or have resided here for more than 5 years. It looks at their ability as well as their desire to speak English and their retention of their parent’s language. english, language, immigrants, united, states, study, very, one, students, residence, length, immigrant, foreign, elements, cultural, certain, speaking, society, showed, second, place, parent’s, origin, greater, either, education, county, children, american, surveys, proficiency, preference, origins, national, home, generation, florida, feel, culture, concentration, command, class, born, bilingual, americans, age, years, using, toward, tightly