i had the privilege of giving a talk at @buwheelock.bsky.social last week and fielded a question about the U.S. preference to fund and teach only English to which i replied
"I would argue that 'Americans' don't use English well at all.'
i knew it was provocative, but this executive order proves my point. to claim that particular documents being written in English says something about language capacity is a part of the problem. to write is not to *know* a language
colleagues i respect have rightfully argued that when US students complain that they cannot understand their inter/trans/national(ized) instructors it places a target on those instructors who often command English impeccably
so where is the disconnect? for one - the fact that knowing a language is not measured by production alone. not nearly enough attention is on the (white) listening subject (see flores & rosa, 2015 among others)
receptive languaging is central to any claims of language capacity
when will we consider that in US classrooms the varieties that are taught are imperial - US, Australian, British etc? in short -we have not developed our receptive literacies worth a damn.
just as in #WLeducation, when only one variety is shared, learners become limited in their capacities
Comments
"I would argue that 'Americans' don't use English well at all.'
https://www.bu.edu/wheelock/news/language-education-speaker-series/
receptive languaging is central to any claims of language capacity
but the burden should not lie at the feet of those who largely are producing English comprehensibly.
just as in #WLeducation, when only one variety is shared, learners become limited in their capacities