Susan J. Dicker was born in New York City of multilingual immigrant parents and, growing up, regularly heard Italian, Yiddish and Spanish at home. She holds Masters of Arts degrees in Spanish and TESOL and an Ed.D. in Applied Linguistics. She is Associate Professor of English at Hostos Community College, The City University of New York, in the ethnically diverse borough of the Bronx. Her articles on language pluralism appear in The Bilingual Review/La Revista Bilingüe, The Educational Forum, The Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, The Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, and Education and Society.

"This book makes a timely and necessary contribution to the debate about the status and use of minority languages in coutnries where English is the dominant language. Her book is essentially a worthy and articulate rebuke to those who would insist that English should be the only permissible language in the public life of the USA." Adrian, Blackledge, Educational Review Vol 49 No 3. "Dicker's text provides a generally commendable introduction to a broad range of issues and it has few peers among works aimed at a non-specialist readership." Terrence G. Wiley, Language in Society 27:4

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Language and Identity2 The Melting-Pot Mythology3 Common Misconceptions About Language Learning4 Languages in the Schools5 The Modern Official-English Movement6 Challenges to Language Restrictionism7 Lessons in Multilingualism Beyond the United States8 The Possibilities of a Pluralistic, Multilingual AmericaEpilogueReferencesIndex

Susan J. Dicker was born in New York City of multilingual immigrant parents and, growing up, regularly heard Italian, Yiddish and Spanish at home. She holds Masters of Arts degrees in Spanish and TESOL and an Ed.D. in Applied Linguistics. She is Associate Professor of English at Hostos Community College, The City University of New York, in the ethnically diverse borough of the Bronx. Her articles on language pluralism appear in The Bilingual Review/La Revista Bilingüe, The Educational Forum, The Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, The Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, and Education and Society.

"This book makes a timely and necessary contribution to the debate about the status and use of minority languages in coutnries where English is the dominant language. Her book is essentially a worthy and articulate rebuke to those who would insist that English should be the only permissible language in the public life of the USA." Adrian, Blackledge, Educational Review Vol 49 No 3. "Dicker's text provides a generally commendable introduction to a broad range of issues and it has few peers among works aimed at a non-specialist readership." Terrence G. Wiley, Language in Society 27:4

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Language and Identity2 The Melting-Pot Mythology3 Common Misconceptions About Language Learning4 Languages in the Schools5 The Modern Official-English Movement6 Challenges to Language Restrictionism7 Lessons in Multilingualism Beyond the United States8 The Possibilities of a Pluralistic, Multilingual AmericaEpilogueReferencesIndex

Susan J. Dicker was born in New York City of multilingual immigrant parents and, growing up, regularly heard Italian, Yiddish and Spanish at home. She holds Masters of Arts degrees in Spanish and TESOL and an Ed.D. in Applied Linguistics. She is Associate Professor of English at Hostos Community College, The City University of New York, in the ethnically diverse borough of the Bronx. Her articles on language pluralism appear in The Bilingual Review/La Revista Bilingüe, The Educational Forum, The Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, The Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, and Education and Society.

"This book makes a timely and necessary contribution to the debate about the status and use of minority languages in coutnries where English is the dominant language. Her book is essentially a worthy and articulate rebuke to those who would insist that English should be the only permissible language in the public life of the USA." Adrian, Blackledge, Educational Review Vol 49 No 3. "Dicker's text provides a generally commendable introduction to a broad range of issues and it has few peers among works aimed at a non-specialist readership." Terrence G. Wiley, Language in Society 27:4

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Language and Identity2 The Melting-Pot Mythology3 Common Misconceptions About Language Learning4 Languages in the Schools5 The Modern Official-English Movement6 Challenges to Language Restrictionism7 Lessons in Multilingualism Beyond the United States8 The Possibilities of a Pluralistic, Multilingual AmericaEpilogueReferencesIndex