Language Barriers are Problems Faced by Employers in Today’s Economic Workforce

Even the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Health and Human Services (HHS) are rallying support for those citizens who do not currently speak English well or at all. The EEOC is fighting

“No Habla English”. “21 million people living in the United States cannot speak English. Citizens are not just speaking Spanish, but Chinese and Russian are rising fast.” (U.S. Bureau of Census, 2009) To force a citizen to speak a new language is discrimination. Non-English speaking citizens and immigrants that are without good English skills will fall academically, in the judicial system and when receiving proper medical care.

There is a saying foreigners use that goes “If you speak three languages, you’re trilingual. If you speak two languages, you’re bilingual. If you speak one language, then you’re probably American.” Living in America, the home language is English. So when foreigners come and are unable to pronounce or understand the traditional language, they come off as a useless individual to some members of American society. On the contrary, America is one of the few countries that is so heavily dominated by just one language. There are around 40 million Spanish-speaking citizens in America, however, compared to America’s population of over 320 million people, that is under fourteen

“Bassackwards” by Jay Nordlinger, published by National Review Digital on January 29, 2007, is a short article arguing why immigrants should learn to speak English instead of supervisors learning the broken version of their language. Although Nordlinger wants immigrants from all around the world to learn English, he mainly focuses his writing on immigrants of Latin descent who speak Spanish. He talks about all the variations of Spanish that are taught to supervisors and business owners to help them communicate with their workers. There are classes such as “Restaurant Spanish,” “Fireman Spanish,” and “Health Care Spanish.” He then gives us an example of “Construction Spanish” which is the most popular, by

First it’s hard to get a job because so many places expect you to be bilingual. In this area most employers prefer you to be able to speak English and Spanish. In 2011-2012 the percentage of English language learners was 14% (National Center for Education Statistics). It is because of that percentage that it is understandable that employers would want to hire people that can speak a second language. Even with bilingual people in such high demand most colleges don’t require a second language to graduate (Grove). There are many solutions to this problem, but having immigrants learn English to get citizenship and having colleges require a second language to graduate are two easy

The author, Melinda D. Anderson, sheds light on a growing problem in America. Today, thousands of students are experiencing difficulties when trying to earn an education because of the language barriers that prohibit them. Additionally, educators are ignoring this dilemma and making matters worse by enforcing English-only policies. The author believes that educators should discover a way to intertwine languages in order to help struggling students to overcome their language barriers.

The language barrier in organizations can be a hurdle to get over. There are those that speak many languages and there are those that can only read and write in English. Those that are more comfortable speaking in their native language may do so with others that speak the same language due to the ease of understanding. There can be employee concerns for everyone in the organization. There are those that do not speak the language that may feel as if the employees are speaking about them or speaking about something that they do not want others to know. There are organizations like the case of EEOC v. Mesa Sys., Inc., D. Utah, No. 11-1201 where the organization goes too far. Employee concerns such as harassment, mistreatment, and being singled out for speaking their national origin, language for a reason to fire them.

Across the United States the amount of people who speak english as a second language or do not speak it at all keeps growing. This means some people could have neighbors that they cannot even ask for a cup or sugar from. There are even sections of the U.S. where immigrants have their own communities and they mostly do not speak english with each other. It is crazy how in a country whose foundation is english has portions of the population where it’s not spoken at all. A foreigner goes to a foreign country and expects to meet people that know the native language. It should be the same for the United States. Although not having english as the official language make coming into the U.S. easier for immigrants, english should be the official language of the United States.

Though America does not have an official language, English is the most spoken language. First, English is the language of the forefathers; those who are the foundation and reason our country is still in existence today. Whenever the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution were written, the Englishmen wrote them in English. Nonetheless, English has been spoken for many, many centuries. To add to that, the English language is what ties the country back to it’s roots. Secondly, knowing the English language does not just stop at ordering food at a restaurant, it is the language that countries use to trade with one another. Immigrants who know English do not have as much trouble ordering food or trying to sell items to other people. English is the native language of the United States; therefore, learning the language should be a requirement.

Many people in the United States have a sense of comfort with their own culture and language to the point where they will not abandon those things in order to pick up a new language and lifestyle. In the article named, “Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public,” written by Myriam Marquez, she explains how her family continues to use the Spanish in public in the United States, even though they have lived in the United States for over 40 years. Marquez explains, “For me and most of the bilingual people I know, it’s a matter of respect for our parents and comfort in our cultural roots” (542). People are simply not going to change who they are and where they come from just so they can conform to the normal population of the United States. For the most part, people who come the United States are happy that the country has not implemented a national language law because the people who come here can

All individuals that are from other culture and proficient and predominately speak a language other than English would be hurt by English only rules. English only speaking rules create barriers in the workplace and can also encourage a hostile working environment. These policies also encourage a working environment of lowliness, segregation, and fear. English only rules prohibit employees whose primary language is anything other than

According to The Washington Times “The direct cost of translators and bilingual education alone are billions, and many of these costs are borne by local governments. In Los Angeles in 2002, $15 million, or 15 percent of the election budget, was devoted to printing ballots in seven languages and hiring bilingual poll workers. Los Angeles county hires over 400 full-time court interpreters at a cost of $265 per day. In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law Executive Order 13166, which forces health care providers who accept Medicare and Medicaid payments to hire interpreters for any patient who requires one, at the provider's. own expense.” Just because people come from Spain,Europe, Australia,Asia,etc they don't know much english but a lot of people are surprised that they know as much english. Many people go in debt due to not having enough money to pay for all the medical bills and other expenses they are also need to be paid off, take over 50 plus years so get out of debt unless you pay them off since you got the money and everything . “On the other hand,Opponents of official English remind us that without legislation we have managed to get over ninety-seven percent

In the United States, it is important for a person to speak English fluently because it is the official language in America and everybody communicates in English. Many people believe that English should be the only language in America and that sometimes people may face prejudice when they speak English with an accent. For some parents, the fear of prejudice makes them decided not to teach their children their native tongue. On the other hand, there are many other reasons why some parents want to teach their children their native tongue. Gabriela Kuntz explains in My Spanish Standoff why she did not allow her children to speak Spanish at home. Kuntz’s explanations are acceptable, but some research studies reveal that most young children can

Yes, incentive pay should be offered to bilingual providers. Bilingual providers, especially those that speak rare languages, offer essential and necessary skill that normal providers do not. This increases their value in the workplace, as well as the value of the work setting. Professional interpreters should also be hired. Professional interpreters are trained to interpret languages, which bilingual providers may or may not be able to adequately do. Professional interpreters may be expected to have a thorough fluent understanding of languages, which a bilingual provided may not be able to do effectively. Professional interpreters may also improve healthcare environments decreasing communication errors, encouraging equal health care

From the time the Pilgrims landed in this great nation at Plymouth Rock, immigrants have been culturally diverse and have spoken many languages. When the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, they did not know how to communicate with the natives. Through intense study the natives learned the Pilgrims’ language. Even with the common language they were still a melting pot of different culture. Some would say that America has gotten over the language/ cultural barriers and now almost everyone speaks the common language of English, but there are still many immigrants who do not know English. Bilingual education is put into public schools for this reason, so that immigrant children can be assimilated to English gradually. The national language