[Krashen] Governor: Speaking of English (published in Daily Breeze)

[Stephen Krashen's Mailing List]

Published in the Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA), June 19

Governor: Speaking of English
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's remarks ("Governor:
Spanish media hinder English," Friday) are contrary to
what is known about language acquisition as well as
the governor's own experience.
We don't acquire language when we are "forced to
speak" but when we understand what we hear and read.
The governor's avoidance of speaking German, in other
words, did not help him acquire English faster. I
wonder how much he avoided German.
I was a regular weightlifter at Venice Beach and
Gold's Gym when Arnold and his pal Franco Columbu
first arrived in California. I noticed that they spoke
German all the time with each other and kept it up for
years.
Watching television and reading books and newspapers
in Spanish can actually accelerate English language
acquisition.
As Alex Nogales pointed out, the information
immigrants get from Spanish media can help them
function in society. The information they get in
Spanish also helps make what they hear and read in
English more comprehensible, which accelerates English
acquisition.
Most disturbing about the governor's remarks, however,
is the assumption that Hispanic immigrants don't want
to acquire English and aren't trying. Every poll taken
confirms that Hispanics, like other groups, understand
the importance of English. Several reports have
confirmed that there are long waiting lists of
students wanting to take English as a second language
classes. If we are serious about helping immigrants
acquire English, we need to provide more ESL classes
and more accessible ESL classes.
These classes helped Schwarzenegger. In a speech
delivered in 2005 at Santa Monica College,
Schwarzenegger said that soon after he came to the
United States in 1968, he took a number of classes in
English as a second language at Santa Monica College,
and he described the classes as excellent.
- STEPHEN KRASHEN
USC Professor Emeritus,
Los Angeles

June 15
Governor: Spanish media hinder English
Schwarzenegger's remarks on the importance of learning
the language draw mixed reaction from members at
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
convention.
By Sudhin Thanawala
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's remarks
that immigrants should avoid Spanish-language media if
they want to learn English quickly left some Latino
journalists shaking their heads Thursday.
"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set"
and stay away from Spanish-language television, books
and newspapers, the Republican governor said Wednesday
night at the annual convention of the National
Association of Hispanic Journalists. "You're just
forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn
the language faster."
Schwarzenegger, who immigrated to the U.S. from
Austria, was responding to a question about how Latino
students can improve academic performance. The
audience included many journalists who work for
Spanish-language media
"I know this sounds odd and this is the politically
incorrect thing to say and I'm going to get myself in
trouble," he said. "But I know that when I came to
this country, I very rarely spoke German to anyone."
Some members of the audience said they were surprised
by Schwarzenegger's comments.
"I'm sitting shaking my head not believing that
someone would be so naive and out of it that he would
say something like that," said Alex Nogales, president
and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
Nogales said immigrants need Spanish-language media to
"function in this society."
Pilar Marrero, the political editor for the
Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion, chuckled at the
governor's comments, saying many Hispanics didn't have
time to learn English. "They're too busy working," she
said.
Rafael Olmeda, president of the National Association
of Hispanic Journalists, said most NAHJ members would
agree with the governor's statements.
"Most people I've spoken to walked away believing that
he was trying to say that we must learn English to
succeed in American society," Olmeda said.
The Governor's Office said the statements were no
different from what he's said before.
In a 2006 editorial published in the San Jose Mercury
News, Schwarzenegger said English-language immersion
was the best way to learn the language.

In October, the governor was criticized by Democrats
when he said some Mexican immigrants "try to stay
Mexican" when they come to the United States and urged
them to learn English.