America Paradox: Multilingual Educational and Equity in the United States
America Paradox: Multilingual Educational and Equity in the United States
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Issue Date
2025-10
Authors
Thorsos, Nilsa J.
Ryan, Mark
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Abstract
The United States has always been a nation of contradictions. It is celebrated as a land of immigrants, yet it has often been hostile to newcomers. It proclaims liberty while constraining rights. And perhaps most paradoxically, it is one of the most linguistically diverse nations in the world, yet it has built institutions, policies, and cultural narratives around English-only monolingualism.
This paradox is not incidental—it is woven into the very fabric of the American story. From the suppression of Indigenous languages in federal boarding schools to the Americanization campaigns that targeted European immigrants, and from the Cold War fear of linguistic difference to contemporary English-only initiatives, the United States has repeatedly enforced assimilation at the expense of linguistic diversity. Yet across every generation, families, educators, and communities have resisted—preserving heritage languages, nurturing bilingual programs, and affirming that multilingualism is not a threat to unity but its foundation.
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Keywords
monolingual , acculturation , assimilation , equity , Educational Leadership & Learning Lifelong , Sanford College of Education , Teacher Education Department