Ms. Kahn and her students are discussing the fact that the United States does not specify an official language.

“The official language of a country should be the language that most people speak,” says Ricky. “And most people in the United States speak English, so it should be the official language.”

“That’s true,” says Sasha, “but I have many friends that speak another language at home with their parents because their parents are not as comfortable with English. It feels like xenophobia to exclude them.”

“But that is another reason to establish English as the official language. Anyone living in this country should be able to talk to others in the language that everyone else speaks. That would make us a more cohesive nation,” Ricky argued.

“Those are both good points,” says Ms. Kahn. “The U.S. Census is a great resource that collects data on the languages that people speak and how well they speak them. Perhaps it would be helpful to consider whether people who speak other languages at home also speak English well.”

Ms. Kahn located information from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey to share with her students.

What percentage of the population spoke a language other than English at home?

Of the people that spoke a language other than English at home, what was the percentage of people that spoke English “Very well” or better?

Discussion Question:

How might these data support both Sasha’s and Ricky’s positions?

If English were made the official language of the United States, should Spanish be considered as a second official language? Decide whether the data above would support your opinion.