ABSTRACT

Language policy in the United States has been one of laissez faire. Consequently, use of languages in education is vulnerable to political swings. Since the founding of this nation the choice of languages for education has changed due to different political, economic, and social pressures. Language policies are influenced by political relations between the United States and countries that represent those languages, by views toward immigration and the rights of language-minority populations, and by beliefs about the relationship between the language of the people and national unity.