A Neglected Side in the Historiography of Language MovementAhmed Kamal (n.d.) believes there is a neglected side of the history of language movement. He believes that the seed of our language-based nationalism started from the language movement and his view has almost earned universal acceptance in the historiography of the educated middle class, Kamal (n.d.). Kamal (n.d.) "Badruddin Umar, who has authored three documentary volumes on the language movement, holds the view that the way this movement spread to the villages outside Dhaka proved that a deep concordance was already established between the social, economic, political and cultural problems of the people and the language movement of 1952." The article is more of a debate over specific negative issues that have occurred in history which are believed to have stemmed from the language movement.
Bilingualism Issue Rises AgainAmanda Paulson (2006) discusses bilingualism issues in the Massachusetts schools. She believes that student enrollment may flow with immigration patterns and that lessons that might normally take a day to teach to native English speakers often extend to two or three days in the state's controversial Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) program.
Increased attention to immigration including an amendment in the recent Senate bill declaring English the national language focuses a growing immigrant population. The primary focus for schools is to get non-English speakers, whose academic performance is measured under the No Child Left Behind law, up to speed in English-speaking classrooms, Paulson (2006). Paulson (2006) "â¦numerous studies have found that kids learn best if their native language is given an important role, and many studies have found there's no difference."It's Official: English-only Movement Gains Traction; Hispanic Civil Rights Groups AlarmedHoward Witt (2006) quotes O'Hare as saying "Our citizens are still majority non-Spanish speaking by far. Spanish probably will overtake the city if...
Language Movement
This essay contains a great deal of information, but it is very hard to follow because it lacks organization and fails to provide an adequate context in which to locate the information that it sets forth.
The first paragraph begins with a discussion of the language movement in "villages outside Dhaka." Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh, a small nation on the Indian subcontinent. The balance of the essay relates to the United States, and particularly to the state of Massachusetts. The essay leaves unanswered the question how the first paragraph connects to the balance of the essay.
It would also be helpful is the author explained the differences among the four sources that he has used. The Kamal piece is an internet item. Does it come from a reputable website, or is it just a personal posting. Nunberg was writing in what appears to be a scholarly journal, contained in the JSTOR database, which is often ued for university-level research. The Christian Science Monitor published Paulson's piece, giving it the relative credibility of that paper. Witt, appearing in the Chicago Tribune, is close to being primary source material, and unfortunately suffers from the weakness of newspaper material: it is often of uncertain credibility.
In short, the essay could used substantial improvement.
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