English-only, Official English, and English First are various names used by a movement whose goal is to have English declared the official language of the United States such that all government business is conducted only in English. The current English-only movement began in 1981, when the late Senator S. I. Hayakawa of California introduced a joint resolution (S.J. Res. 72) to amend the U.S. constitution to have English declared the official language. Since then, there have been numerous bills introduced in the U.S. Congress with similar goals, and, to date, 27 states have declared English as their official language1. TESOL has historically opposed restrictive language policies, as stated by its Resolution on Language Rights (1987) and its Position Statement on Language Rights (2000). In discussing the merits of English-only, proponents have used a number of erroneous arguments to mislead the public on the nature and goals of such policies. Myth 1: English-only promotes unity. Proponents of English-only suggest that a linguistically and culturally diverse country is a divided one, and that divisions along linguistic lines contribute to racial and ethnic conflicts. They claim that the English language, then, is a common bond that holds a country together. Citing conflicts over language in other countries such as Canada, proponents of English-only suggest an official language in the United States will prevent such conflicts by unifying the nation and promoting assimilation by immigrants. Reality: Linguistic diversity is rarely the cause of conflict in other countries, but rather is often used as a symbol to reflect social inequalities, as is the case in Canada. More importantly, however, the argument above assumes that those who speak a language other than English are monolingual, and therefore cant communicate in English. The 2000 Census indicated that although the U.S. population is diverse, only 4% of the U.S. population speaks little or no English (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003). Moreover, the diverse population that speaks a language other than English is not a distinct group that is geographically or culturally isolated, but rather is spread throughout the county. As this population is tremendously diverse, there is no danger of some kind of unity within this population to challenge English-language speakers, therefore comparisons to situations in other countries is inaccurate. 1 Hawaii has both English and Hawaiian as its declared official languages. TESOL Position Paper on English-only Legislation in the United States 2 Myth 2: English-only will empower immigrants. According to proponents of English-only, conducting all government business in English-only will empower immigrants because they will understand that they must know English to fully participate and succeed in the United States. This myth would have people believe that providing multilingual government services sends a mixed signal and creates a dependence on linguistic welfare, isolating immigrants from mainstream society and encouraging the growth of linguistic enclaves and ghettoes. Reality: Immigrants fully understand that the ability to speak English is the key to success in the