Riddle Me This, Batman, Fratch Version

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Okay, so my question is this: if there is no official language in the US of A, why is a CSer being forced to take an English proficiency course to go to college?

I'm not arguing if there IS an official language or not, but feel free to do so, if you like. I just want to know why does she have to take ANY language proficiency course at all, especially in light of the "language situation" over here in the states.

I just wanted to ask the question, and didn't want to get busted by the mods for veering into Fratching.

[BlaqueKatt]

Okay, so my question is this: if there is no official language in the US of A, why is a CSer being forced to take an English proficiency course to go to college?

My best educated* guess would be that test is needed as core classes are taught in English(american dialect)-and if a student doesn't understand English that well the student is going to be struggling and taking up a disproportionate amount of the professor's time, thus causing difficulty for the other students that require assistance.


*I saw this in high school quite a bit-ESL students monopolizing the teacher's time and the rest of us suffered horribly-as in the ESL students would spend 20-30 minutes of a class that lasted an hour asking questions every minute or two and then see the teacher after class for another 20-30 minutes-the teachers had very little time to teach-and at a college level-the professor have very limited time to assist students with questions.

[BroomJockey]

Okay, so my question is this: if there is no official language in the US of A, why is a CSer being forced to take an English proficiency course to go to college?

To add to what Blaquekatt said, a lack of an official language has nothing to do with a language of instruction. A school isn't obligated to provide translators for every possible language a student may speak, so to ensure that students don't try a discrimination case when they fail a class, and claim it's because they didn't understand the teacher or something, they just say "You must be at least THIS proficient in the language of instruction to attend this school." I'd expect the same thing in a Hispanic college, or a French college.

[Nyoibo]

Are they doing a degree in English studies?

[Boozy]

Canada's official languages are French and English.

Most of our colleges outside Quebec do not require a French proficiency exam because the classes are not taught in French. They require an English exam because they are taught in English.

Some jobs require you to speak English. Some don't. Some require you to speak Portuguese and nothing else. Sometimes a circumstance will require French. Most often it will not.

What has any of that got to do with our government's official languages? Nothing. There's no connection.

[Depot Denizen]

Hell, I've seen lots of American college students who need a remedial English course. The number of English-speaking college students who cannot write a cohesive paper astounds me.

Yes, I know you were referring to the spoken language.

[RootedPhoenix]

The number of English-speaking college students who cannot write a cohesive paper astounds me.

If that's the case (and I don't doubt it!), then why is it that everyone isn't asked to do this? Wouldn't that make a lot of things easier on the whole system? Why is it only those who come from other countries? Why assume anyone can speak or write the same level of English as the school has in mind?

[BroomJockey]

If that's the case (and I don't doubt it!), then why is it that everyone isn't asked to do this? Wouldn't that make a lot of things easier on the whole system? Why is it only those who come from other countries? Why assume anyone can speak or write the same level of English as the school has in mind?

Because colleges actually expect marks from local schools to mean something. If someone's got an "80%" in High School in the US, universities in the US expect that person to have a certain level of proficiency. Further, there are literally thousands of applicants to any given college, with that number reaching the tens of thousands easily for larger institutions. They simply don't have the time to test that many people for language comprehension. That ensures they continue to rely on HS marks as a guide. Unfortunately, HS teachers are marking softer and softer.

[AdminAssistant]

High school grades as well as college entrance exams, such as the SAT and ACT.

[Slytovhand]

related topic, but different.

If the US doesn't have an official language, then how can they legally make it a part of attaining citizenship??

[BroomJockey]

related topic, but different.

If the US doesn't have an official language, then how can they legally make it a part of attaining citizenship??

Because you need to be able to understand the oath you are taking when you're sworn in.

[Slytovhand]

Because you need to be able to understand the oath you are taking when you're sworn in.

So... why does the oath have to be in English???

[BroomJockey]

So... why does the oath have to be in English???

Because that's the de facto language of operation of the government, and they are under no obligation to provide translators, you know, since there isn't an official language. If there was, then they would have to provide the translators. But there isn't, so they don't.

[Slytovhand]

Sounds like a law-suit just waiting to happen...

[DesignFox]

Sounds like a law-suit just waiting to happen...

Let's not give any more assholes any ideas. I pay out the ass for other people's issues enough already.