ILSC's One-language Policy: How Do You Feel about It?

Contributed by Shaikhah Alyalak & Preeyaphat Sriamontham, Journalism students, ILSC-Toronto.

สวัสดี สบายดีมั้ย. السلام عليكم. كيف الحال؟ Bonjour! Ça va? Hola. ¿Cómo estás?
こんにちは、お元気ですか？안녕하세요, 잘 지내? Oi, como vai você?



STOP!!!

English Only, please!

Students from all over the world come to ILSC to learn English as a second language. Roughly every month, a variety of nationalities arrive for this same purpose. They are different in every possible way: in the way they dress, express themselves, and interact with each other, yet they are the same in one thing only, which is speaking the English language. The policy of speaking English only is of great value to ILSC students, although some students may feel restricted or frustrated by this rule.



But surely, being put in this language-restricted environment is absolutely helpful. Not only does it make them improve their English, but it also takes advantage of being exposed to different cultures. By communicating with each other, students will have improved both their verbal abilities as well as knowledge of different cultures.

Here are some of the students’ responses about the English-only policy; we interviewed a range of nationalities, representative of students at ILSC (Toronto):

A young man from Japan proclaimed that he speaks English almost all the time and thinks that the policy is very good and helpful. It helps improve his English as he thinks that speaking English inside the classroom is as important as it is outside it.

A Korean speaker said that she speaks English all the time and she loves the policy and says that she has paid money to improve her English, and the policy has made it easier for her to be in a language-oriented environment.

Another student from Switzerland, who speaks Swiss French, told us that she has spent a lot of money to take classes at ILSC though she sometimes uses her own language. Because she doesn’t know how to express herself exactly using specific vocabulary in English, she sometimes uses words from her own language.

Another girl from Thailand (obviously everyone is afraid to have their name posted even though we promised not to report them!) said that she is so sad because she sometimes uses her own language when talking with friends from the same country. She does think that the policy pushes her to improve her English and also said that she hasn’t been caught speaking her own language. “I hope I won’t be caught,” she admits, “but I’m trying my best to keep using English only all the time with my friends from either my country or other countries for the sake of improving my English.”

A Spanish speaker confessed that she doesn’t follow the policy all the time, and she has been given a yellow card once for breaking it. Yet, she thinks that the policy is helpful as it pushes her and other students to practice English at school. She tries her best now not to be given another card for breaking the policy as she hopes her English will be improved by “being forced” to practice.

One student from Saudi Arabia (Arabic language speaker) said that he used to follow the rule when he first arrived, and he used to feel frustrated when hearing a language other than English. After spending one year at ILSC, he stopped speaking English with students who speak the same language as him though he hasn’t been given a yellow or a red card yet. He claimed that he used to feel guilty when speaking Arabic with Arabic-speaking students just for the sake of other students who always wish to hear English.

Last but not least, a Portuguese speaker said that 90% of his time at ILSC is spent speaking English. Although he sometimes uses his own language with friends from the same country, he thinks that the rule is perfect as he always needs to improve his English language. He also applies this outside the school. By doing so, he thinks that his English has already improved.

ILSC Toronto intends to step up its enforcement of the English-only Policy, so look out! If you’re caught speaking a language other than English on ILSC premises, you will get a yellow card, which is entered into the computer system as a warning. Subsequent cards are red and will cost you time from classes: the more you get, the more classes you will be excluded from.

White cards, on the other hand, are issued to students who consistently observe the policy. If you get one, you will be entered into a lottery to win a prize.