Why do Americans not learn to communicate in different languages? When waves of immigrants first began arriving on the shores of the United States, the inevitable fears many American citizens ad of the newcomers embedded itself into their hearts and minds. These fears gave way to feelings of prejudice and acts of discrimination against the new arrivals to the United States. Prejudices based on religion, color, and language by second generation immigrants who came to America from countries like Great Britain, Holland, and France against the Jews, Slavs, Irish, Italians, and Germans were expressed by acts of intolerance of ethnicity, nationality, language, and religion. These acts of discrimination often turned into violent acts of reprisals against those who differed from the mainstream society.

Second generation immigrant families who had managed to assimilate themselves into American culture and adopt English as their primary language, openly criticized and discriminated against immigrant who could not speak English and were Catholic or Jewish. Because Irish Catholics and Russian Jews differed so much from the mainstream society of the time period, they were singled out by racist groups for harassment. How does all of this connect with modern day Americans and why they continually resist learning different languages? During the height of immigration to the United States, fears and prejudices of Americans of those people who spoke languages other than English, caused changes in the laws of America regarding the use of only one language to be used in schools and other public places.

The majority of Americans then and now, feel that when people come to America they should learn to speak English. The resistance to making the learning of a second language mandatory in American public schools began during the time period when great masses of non English speaking immigrants came to the United States and is still continuing today. Great debates have taken place in schools systems around the country concerning the implementation of laws that would require that students enrolled in the public school systems complete atleast two years of instruction in a foreign language. Parents, teachers, and students have argued in the past that since nearly everyone in the world speak English as a second language, American students shouldn't be required to learn to speak and write in any other language besides English.

People who advocate for the passage of laws mandating that American students be required to learn a second language say that American students will find it difficult to compete for employment in a world economy. They emphasize that globalization makes it necessary for students in the United States to be able to communicate in language other than English that is widely used throughout the world like Spanish or French.

Learn more about this author, Danette M. Scott.
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