History of Multilingual Competency in the U.S.

  • Languages on Manhattan Island

    Immigrants who migrated to the U.S. brought their native language with them. Approximately 18 colonial languages were spoken by immigrants on Manhattan Island (Diaz-Rico, 2012).
  • Articles of Confederation

    Because of the multilingualism in the United States, the Founding Fathers wrote the U.S. Articles of Confederation in English, French, and German (Diaz-Rico, 2012).
  • Ohio Embraces Bilingual Education

  • Multilingual Instruction in Louisiana

    Upon the parents' request, students in Louisiana allowed instruction in French, English, or both (Diaz-Rico, 2012).
  • 1st Antibilingual Education Legislation Passed

  • Meyer v. Nebraska

    "The U.S. Supreme Court Case Meyer v. Nebraska extended the protection of the Constitution to everyday speech and prohibited coercive language restriction on the part of states, the "frenzy of Americanization" had fundamentally changed public attitudes toward learning in other languges" (Diaz-Rico, 2012).
  • Civil Rights Act: Title VI

    This act states that no matter a pesons race, color, national origin, or limited proficiency in English, every citizen has the right to equal education (Diaz-Rico 121).
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    Lau v. Nichols and the Lau Remedies

    The Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court case states that every minority student based on their different languages deserves the right to differentialted treatment. The Lau Remedies were guidelines to evaluate and show where to place the students based on their language skills.
  • Plyler v. Doe

    The U.S. Supreme Court decides that a state’s statute that denies school enrollment to children of illegal immigrants “violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” (Diaz-Rico 122)
  • NCLB Act

    The No Child Left Behind Act, Title III is established, which allow federal funding for the schools that teach English learners.