A. asset B. delayed C. deviates D. equivalent
E. identified F. intentions G. object H. overwhelming
I. permanently J. prevalent K. simultaneously L. stems
M. successively N. underlying O. visualizing
Quite often, educators tell families of children who are learning English as a second language to speak only English, and not their native language, at home. Although these educators may have good
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, their advice to families is misguided, and it
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from misunderstandings about the process of language acquisition. Educators may fear that children hearing two languages will become
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confused and thus their language development will be
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; this concern is not documented in the literature. Children are capable of learning more than one language, whether
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or sequentially (依次地). In fact, most children outside of the United States are expected to become bilingual or even, in many cases, multilingual. Globally, knowing more than one language is viewed as an
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and even a necessity in many areas.
It is also of concern that the misguided advice that students should speak only English is given primarily to poor families with limited educational opportunities, not to wealthier families who have many educational advantages. Since children from poor families often are
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as at-risk for academic failure, teachers believe that advising families to speak English only is appropriate. Teachers consider learning two languages to be too
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for children from poor families, believing that the children are already burdened by their home situations.
If families do not know English or have limited English skills themselves, how can they communicate in English Advising non-English-speaking families to speak only English is
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to telling them not to communicate with or interact with their children. Moreover, the
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message is that the family"s native language is not important or valued.