January, 17 th , 2007
Dear Respected Industry Association, Language School and/or Agent:
The recent default by Amerispan Unlimited, Inc. on debts owed by it to language schools, and the related “seizure” of certain Amerispan assets by Don Quijote USA, Inc., has caused great consternation among language schools, agents and associations in the language travel industry.
Although it is not yet certain as to the total amount of money owed to language schools across the globe by Amerispan, preliminary indications are that it exceeds $500,000.
Amerispan Unlimited, Inc. has stated, “We will not be able to pay for any unpaid students who have studied at your school, nor do we have the assets or funds to remit to you on account of your claims against AmeriSpan.”
Don Quijote USA, Inc. has stated, “we are not liable for those students who started their course before January 1, 2007.”
Neither AmeriSpan nor Don Quijote has even hinted that they are considering an equitable and fair plan to compensate the schools for their losses. Instead, indications are that a few select schools, perhaps those already part of, or those selected to be part of, the Don Quijote – ENFOREX network, are being offered special terms and agreements, while others have been left wondering if they will receive any compensation at all.
We believe this sets a very dangerous precedent for our industry. If this situation is allowed to stand, what will prevent other agencies from defaulting to language schools in the future? What will happen to small language schools with little or no financial resources?
If allowed to stand, the current scenario is certain to damage the trust between schools and agents, jeopardizing the bedrock sales channel of our industry.
We are writing to inform you that we believe we have a possible solution to this current crisis, one that we believe will prove to be a win-win solution for everyone involved, directly or indirectly, including Don Quijote, USA, Inc.
To accomplish this end, we have created AULAS – (Association of Unpaid Language Schools). The mission of this association is to ensure that a fair and equitable solution is arrived at with respect to Amerispan Unlimited's default on its obligations to language schools worldwide.
We will reach out to the 40+ language schools that have been adversely affected, and ask each to submit a verified statement as to the total amount owed to them.
No matter what side of the spectrum a person may fall on, the history of the French language in Louisiana runs deep. It was introduced to this land in the eighteenth century as Europeans emigrated from France and the Acadian refugees ventured from Canada. French was Louisiana’s language. As mentioned earlier, efforts are being made to preserve the general French language and background of Louisiana ("Parlez-Vous? Some Louisiana Pupils Being Immersed in French Instruction", 2011). Louisiana currently has thirty schools that offer the French immersion program. CODOFIL is working diligently to increase the amount of schools that offer French immersion programs. It is crucial that these programs be implemented in order to maintain a unique and special characteristic of Louisiana ("Parlez-Vous? Some Louisiana Pupils Being Immersed in French Instruction").
After viewing the panel discussion about how our local school districts have implemented English Language Learning in their school, I am very intrigued. From what I gathered the field of ELL is a growing industry in education, especially in Colorado Springs. We have ELL’s students coming from all over the world. Here in Colorado Springs alone, school districts have to accommodate for over fifty different languages spoken by ELL’s. I can only imagine the challenge that comes with such a diverse group of non- English speakers in our community schools.
The schools that Greg build were not used and it is named as Ghost school, these ghost schools were known as one of CAI issues, but Greg did not bothered to fix it beside making excuse that people did not let their children attending schools. According Krakauer’s Part 3, page 47 in his book, a man named Tanya Rosen, who was an international lawyer, traveled to Pakistan and found ghost schools and learned that those schools were not provided with any funding for teaching and supplies. Although Greg is successfully promoting his book, people still put donating money to CAI, yet they did not know that their money were spent a lot but little was accomplished according to Krakauer’s article “Is It Time to Forgive Greg Mortenson?”. Based on the article,
Richard Rodriguez offers an alternate yet equally profound truth: While our heritage and culture may remain forever tied to and expressed in our native or "home" language, only through the dominant language of our country (English in most cases) can we achieve a place in society that gives us a feeling that we belong amongst everyone else. The only way we can truly become a part of our community and fit in is to dominate the current spoken language. In the United States, the dominant language is Standard English. In this excerpt from "Aria," a chapter in his autobiography entitled "Hunger of Memory": The Education of Richard Rodriguez, Rodriguez discusses public and private languages, and agrees that his achievements in English separated him from his Spanish family and culture but also brought him "the belief, the calming assurance that [he] belonged in public." We as human beings want to feel we belong. We search for that place in society where we are most comfortable all our lives. One should consider the benefits of mastering the dominant language of the society they live in, but should also take into account the harm of taking your native language for granted. I will attempt to explore both of these considerations and examine Rodriguez place in life now, by stating the facts of who is now by the childhood decisions that were made.
In Hunger of Memory, Richard Rodriguez situates his individual experiences with education in such a way as to expose what he sees as the fallacious logic behind bilingual education and affirmative action. He uses arguments to propagate the systematic problems with such programs. His autobiography explains in great detail the entangling problems all American children face by instituting bilingual programs and affirmative action endorsements.
“the Haitian Revolution forever transformed the world. It was a central part of the destruction of slavery in the Americas, and therefore a crucial moment in the history of democracy, one that laid the foundation for the continuing struggles for human rights everywhere. In this sense we are all descendants of the Haitian Revolution, and responsible to these ancestors.” (Dubois,
This institute did not receive all of the money it was supposed to get. “Mortenson was supposed to provide a contribution to CAI equal to the amount of royalty payments he received from the book purchases, but failed to do so, investigators concluded” (“Three Cups of Tea” author Greg Mortenson must pay $1 million to charity”). The charity program spent over three million dollars to buy copies of Mortenson’s books. In return, they didn’t receive anything back financially. Advancing on to a similar topic, Mortenson also used the money to purchase personal things. “These include expenses for such things as LL Bean clothing, iTunes, luggage, luxurious accommodations, and even vacations"(“Three Cups of Tea” author Greg Mortenson must pay $1 million to charity”). He used the money from the CAI for these purchases and spent about one million dollars. This money was supposed to go the materials needed for building schools. Although he did pay back some of the debt, he may not have if he was not forced to (“Three Cups of Tea” author Greg Mortenson must pay $1 million to charity”). The response Mortenson gave was another
Not Only English: Affirming America's Multilingual Heritage. 1990. The. ERIC. Web. The Web.
The earliest form of resistance against the contradictions inherent in the nature of the societies created by enslavement and indentured servitude can be seen long before the Haitian Revolution. There were many documented attempts against the lives of the white slave owners, but known was so critical as the events that mark the Haitian Revolution. The Haitian Revolution, which took place in the end of the 1700’s, was a defining moment that sought to end France’s control of the Island of Saint Dominique or modern day Haiti. This resistance began as an attempt to gain retribution for the hostile and inhuman conditions that the slaves were subjected to. According to C. L. R., the contradictions inherent in the nature of the societies created by enslavement, indenture and colonialism in the Caribbean created the very responses to an insurrection, by those who were being subjected to cruel and unjust
Many people immigrate to the United States from different countries to begin a better life. Once in the American territory, the first step for success is to learn the English language. Richard Rodriguez, the writer of "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood" describes the language decisions he faced as a child: "Outside the house was public society; inside the house was private" (16). The English language is the primary language in the United States, and it must be learned to be able to communicate with the public world. The language that we speak at home is considered to be private because it is only used in the presence of the people we feel comfortable with, our family. Families immigrate to the United States from Mexico to find and give their children a better opportunity to succeed. The children of immigrants who have been raised or born in the United States were able to adapt much faster to the English language. The Spanish language, in the case of Mexicans, is part of our origin that most of us inherit from our ancestors although in the United States many, including me, seem to add a new language, which gives us better opportunities.
The Haitian Revolution’s success is most notably because of the large number of slaves involved as well as the free colored people. As the sugar boom created a great demand for workers and more labor, the plantation owners depended more heavily on Africans to work their fields. In the late 1760’s slave imports averaged over 15,000 a year, by the late 1780’s they averaged over 30,000. In 1779, there were about 32,650 whites and about 249,098 slaves. This number would only double in the years to come. There were about 12 slaves to one white plantation owner. The plantation owners had harsh demands for the slaves. The slaves had to worry about physical punishment. The treatment of the slaves was supposed to be followed by the Code Noir but many plantation owners ignored this. Slave owners would whip their slaves, they would brand them with their initials and they would sometimes even cut off their ears for punishment. The slaves were able to see the division between the whites and the free men of color and that they had a chance for freedom. The slave revolts and the revolts from the free men of color proved to be very successful in aiding the Haitian Revolution. The slaves and the free men of color defeated the French and eliminated most of the white population in Saint-Domingue. They were able to overthrow an old ruling class and open way for a...
According to the New York Times article by Steve Cohen, the soaring cost of college a 1,225 percent increase
Thesis: Haiti is a country that’s been subject to poverty and underdevelopment for as long as we can remember. However, before its independence, the former French owned colony of St Domingue was the most fruitful and profitable colony the kingdom had, so much that it was even called the crown jewel of France. After the country declared its independence in 1804, it was shunned both politically and diplomatically by the rest of the world. In this paper we will explore how between 1804 and the mid 1900s the world powers at the time, whether it is France, the USA or even Germany contributed to making sure that Haiti’s efforts never came to fruition economically.
Levine, S. (1998) Getting to resolution turning conflict into collaboration. San Francisco, CA, Berrett-Koehler, (p.125)
The teaching of English in postcolonial, Third World countries is an issue that has received much debate in the TESOL profession. Opponents of the current global spread of English argue that this language dominance is a form of neo-colonialism and that its expansion should be halted, especially in postcolonial countries where English was previously a language of oppression. Phillipson (1992) goes so far as to term the spread of English “linguistic imperialism” in his work of that title and establishes the notion of “linguistic human rights,” calling for the preservation of native languages in the face of global monolingualism. For many others, though, the growing popularity of English does not have such ominous connotations. Rejecting the implied connection between the spread of English and Western cultural dominance, these applied linguists view English as an international language belonging to all, a valuable asset for global business and cross-cultural communication. Many also hail English as a language of development for the Third World, claiming that the access it provides to greater markets and wider communication stimulates economic and societal development. Language policy makers have adopted this view both in wealthy nations (e.g., U.S., U.K.), where large amounts ‘foreign aid’ moneys are spent on promoting English in the Third World, and in underdeveloped countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where English is now often the sole official language of instruction at all levels of education.