Voices: Trump’s English-only order will hurt Utah students like mine

As an English language arts and English language development teacher, I have the incredible privilege to witness the power of language. With multiple languages in and out of the classroom, my students achieve, succeed and build lasting connections — even when there are some around them who would like to build walls.

In my program at Viewmont High School, students move here from all over the world, and they speak multiple languages in each class period, including English, Spanish, Swahili, Portuguese, Arabic, Pashto and beyond. With translation support, expert classroom teachers and research-based strategies and practices, our students are developing as writers, readers, speakers and listeners. They are growing in content knowledge, in real-world skills and in linguistic diversity.

In multiple languages, our students write about their dreams, discuss universal components of human experience and read about powerful and strong characters — like themselves — who move to a new country with hope and with linguistic strengths among many others. They develop proficiency in English while strengthening and learning each other’s home languages. These students graduate with multilingual superpowers, creating a future where U.S. students are profession-ready in multiple languages.

This phenomenon isn’t unique to my classroom. Multilingualism has been part of our state and nation’s story and strength since before their conception. Before the arrival of Europeans, between 300 and 500 languages were spoken north of Mexico. At the time of our nation’s independence, non-English European immigrants made up one-fourth of the population. At that time, it is believed that “a third or more of all Americans spoke a language other than English.”

As diverse as our family trees, languages make up who we are. If you aren’t multilingual, chances are that your ancestors were. In the 1850s, my Danish and Norwegian speaking ancestors immigrated to America. Their education was a multilingual one — some learning English and Danish, others English and Norwegian.

Regardless of our profession, regardless of our political affiliation and regardless of whether we live in a red or blue state, we are all part of the red, white and blue. And our language diversity is, too.

The languages spoken throughout our nation’s history greatly outnumber our stars and stripes — yet language diversity makes up the history of the stripes and continues to shape the diversity and landscapes of our stars. Monuments and landmarks across our country, including the Washington Monument, are inscribed with multilingual text.

Multilingual education in America is a great equalizer, a freedom provider and a bridge to the American dream. It is not an intangible, “green light” or Gatsby-like dream, but a vocalized, written-out and concrete reality.

Across the United States, our students’ languages have been seen as strengths and have been declared a priority — until now.

The guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice on President Trump’s Executive Order 14224 is far from just. This order, signed March 1, 2025, designates English as the official language of the United States. This follow-up guidance from the DOJ of “removing extensive translation services and de-prioritizing multilingualism” is more than guidance. This declaration of “designating English as the Official Language of the United States” is more than a signed executive order. These are more than words on a page.

These words have harmful consequences and send a devastating message. They dramatically inhibit academic success and create a pivotal moment in our nation’s history for all. Some might think this executive order is harmless, but it limits access to translation services as well as devalues multilingual learners and our entire history. Linguistic diversity is one of the many parts of what makes our nation great. To make us all mono-lingual again would be detrimental to what makes us unique and goes directly against what made us America in the first place.

At a time when language in the United States is under attack, it has never been more important for us to use our voices.

What can be done? As teachers, we will continue to do what we do: Use our teacher voices and expertise to honor, celebrate, support and advocate for our multilingual learners — now more than ever — despite shrinking resources and funding.

If you aren’t a teacher and wondering how you can use your voice, start with spreading awareness on the dire consequences of this executive order.

Let’s all use our voices to advocate for multilingual services in our local schools and communities and to take a collective stand, a stand for multilingualism in American history. When linguistic diversity is declared a priority, the importance of dual immersion emphasized in our schools and multilingualism is celebrated as the official gift and strength that it is, all U.S. students leave our classrooms and enter our nation’s future with strengths beyond just language.

Carly Maloney has worked as an educator for 12 years. She is the 2024 Utah Teacher of the Year and a Utah Teacher Fellow.

The Salt Lake Tribune is committed to creating a space where Utahns can share ideas, perspectives and solutions that move our state forward. We rely on your insight to do this. Find out how to share your opinion here, and email us at voices@sltrib.com.