archetypal fool

I came to this country as a young boy (3-4 years old) and I learned English very quickly (around a year or so). That's to be expected. In older children, however, I know it's much harder to learn English. I know of three personally who came when they weer 14-16 and had a very hard time learning (and are still trying to, even 3 years after) to speak English. I believe this is because of a faulty ESOL curriculum (ESOL is composed of the classes which are supposed to teach English to immigrants). In ESOL, the Spanish language is emphasized more than English (according to the people I know who went through it) and so learning the language is much more difficult than it should be. A total revamp of the ESOL curriculum would solve this problem.

That being said, if Gingrich meant that foreign language classes should be abolished because they aren't English, then he is truly a stupid man, and is no better than those stupid rednecks who also spout their shit ("This is America, and everyone needs to know English. If you don't, leave, you're making things harder.", etc,etc...). However, if he meant that the current bilingual education system should be changed to facilitate the immersion into English society, then he's got a valid point.

In any case, he didn't do a good job of making clear what he meant, which puts him in the same pile as Bush...That's a no-no for a presidential candidate.