Recent developments have occurred which English teachers need to know about to make an accurate assessment of their role in combating the still growing form of nativism created by the English Only movement. First, a breakthrough in national politics has provided a tolerance and an appreciation of multilingualism in the United States. In the presidential campaign of 1988, the Democratic candidate addressed his convention in Spanish, and the Republic candidate had a member of his family, Hispanic herself, address that convention. Also, disclosures about and resignations of key individuals and political figures suggests that U.S. English--a lobby for English Only--has lost a major amount of prestige in the American press and that its leadership is in disarray. Secondly, a historical outline of English Only states reveals that the shift to the constitutional route for enacting this law has resulted in considerable difficulties or total defeat. Furthermore, even when passed, most of these English Only laws are either ignored by most persons or are viewed as "decorative and innocuous." Thirdly, new support for multilingualism exists at the federal level. Recent guidelines adopted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding rules about language use in the workplace and alterations to the wording of the English Only proposed amendments to the United States Constitution evidence increased tolerance for multilingualism. (Twenty-two references are attached.) (KEH)