Talk about U.S. Immigration

The Myth about Hispanic Undocumented Workers and the English Language

July 3, 2008 on 1:43 pm | In my view | 1 Comment

While it is a widely known fact that the undocumented workers find it difficult and are often unable to communicate in English and that it is imperative to know Spanish if you are in Latin America; it is erroneous to assume that undocumented workers do not want to learn English.

It is a common myth that Hispanic Immigrants don’t want to learn the English language and often restrictionists use it as one of the reasons to oppose immigration of foreign nationals into the United States. Although, far from truth the myth could raise doubts in common minds about whether immigrants in general, not just Hispanic immigrants, are willing to learn English.

I have come accross several foreign nationals, not just hispanics, who struggle to communicate in English or at the least, not able to speak English as freely as they would in their native languge, but certainly would be appreciative of another foreign nationals who had a good grasp over the language and would like to know how to attain the English language skills. All these foreign nationals had one thing in common and it is the desire to communicate their thoughts in English and communicate well.

The other myth is that linguistic skills are divine gift. Everyone starts learning the language their parents spoke ever since birth and additional languages sometime after birth. Our ability to communicate our thoughts in a language largely depends upon the people and the place surrounding us which also influence our determination and effort that we put forth to learn the language of the people to communicate effectively with them. That is why a foreign national who never spoke English in his country of birth begins to speak a few words of English after coming to U.S. and develops what one may call a broken English but their children who are raised in the United States converse fluently in English.

It is wrong to assume that Hispanic immigrants don’t want to learn English or don’t try. As far as I know, all immigrant parents in U.S., give high priority that their children become proficient in English and take pride in the fact that their offsprings speak better English than themselves.

According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) a survey conducted in 2006 reports that 1) majority of Hispanics (regardless of their income) agree that immigrants should speak English; 2) more than half of Latinos speak both English and Spanish; and 3) 96% of the foreign born Latinos believe that teaching English to their children is very important.

Often, foreign studets join the “English as a Second Language” (ESL) classes before seeking admission in an acredited academic institutions as a full time student. In Indiana, especially in my town, several Hispanics who came out of the ESL classes provide interpreter/translation services.

ESL classes are in high demand. According to the 2006 Survey, over 57% of the ESL providers reported placing their prospective students on waiting list. AILA reports the wait times ranged from 3 weeks to 3 years and that in New York the waiting list was replaced by a lottery system turning away 3 out of 4 applicants. In my view, knowledge of English is a priority among most immigrants in the United States.