Resistance Of Non English Speakers

Compared to other Countries, America stands less developed in bilingual abilities due to language requirements taught within our school systems curriculum. Being bilingual is an important skill to have in America, with multiple different prominent languages spoken within our country other than English, we are constantly surrounded by language. The problem that our country is dealing with now, is that we started with the idea that anyone that moved to America should adapt to our languages, instead of us Americans, taking the initiative to learn a new languages. In a report by Hyon Shin and Robert Kominski, showed the number of citizens in America that spoke a language other than English. The “data on speakers of languages other than English

The growth of English language has increased tremendously over the years and has become the most widely spoken languages in the United States. This observation aims to explore why when moving to the United States, many non-English speakers feel the social pressure to learn English and what difficulties they encounter. After my observation, I found that many feel the need to learn English in order to assimilate into a community, and though straddling two languages is difficult, it opens more opportunities, and language privilege.

More young americans nowadays are being raised in homes speaking non-English, but these students are falling behind in schools where there is not a bilingual program available. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in schools without a bilingual education program, 71% of English speakers are at or above the basic requirements for fourth grade reading while merely 30% of non-English speakers reach this level. 35% of English and 8% of non-English speakers reach proficient reading levels while only 9% of English and 1% of non-English speakers perform at advanced levels. It’s evident that the availability of a bilingual program is crucial to the success of an individual who needs the resources that can be given to them through the use of bilingual education. The percentages of the non-English speaking students previously mentioned could undoubtedly be comparable to those percentages of the English speaking students if the education they were being provided with was cohesive to their comfortability, and the material being taught was in a language they could better understand.

In her article “Why and When We Speak Spanish Among Ourselves in Public”, Marquez describes how speaking in her parent’s native language is a matter of respect and without a reason assumes that native English speakers will consider this rude in public environments. This brings two subjects to the table: the first being the wrong assumption, since the U.S tolerance for the use of other languages in all kinds of environments has become wider and wider, and second Marquez fails to realize that assimilation does not diminish the roots of one’s culture. Framing the context in her favor, Marquez expresses her disagreement on the preference of foreign immigrant’s descendants’ to use English rather than their “root” language. Just as Tan’s point of view, those descendants will develop their own life in the U.S not in the home country of their parents, therefore in the development of their tool making English a priority is understandable and isn’t a matter of disrespect or cultural

This situation is relative to real life instances of immigration, as those moving to America with the hopes of improving their own lives and the lives of their family members are, in some cases, unfamiliar with the English language. Therefore, they must somehow learn the ways of the new people surrounding them in order to be accepted in this environment and also be able to communicate with others so they can attempt to obtain jobs to support themselves and family. Understanding the same language clearly plays an important role in assimilating to new surroundings.

“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.

Language is considered a vital tool in the construction of someone’s identity and an expression of culture. English is the most widely spoken language in the world. The number of people who speak it as a second language is increasing dramatically. In the last couple of decades immigrants have chosen to make the United States their home, but some proceeded with caution by slowly adapting to the English language and culture. Others don’t want to learn and adapt to the English culture simply because they believe it will separate them from their own cultures and traditions. Therefore, the question struggling to be answered is, should English be the official language in the United States?

The impressive increase in earnings with length of time in the United States among immigrants is in large part due to their increase in English language proficiency the longer they live in the US. There are also many non-economic benefits for immigrants from becoming proficient in English. These include access to and participation in the civic, cultural, social, and political life of the country, including passing the language test in order to become a citizen (Chiswick & Miller forthcoming). Certain factors, however, make it more difficult for some individuals or immigrant groups to become proficient in spoken or

“Following the Immigration Act of 1965, legislation was passed to contribute the public schools in dealing with the influx of non-English-speaking students. Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 supported programs for educating these students, including transitional bilingual education programs” (Echevarria and Graves 2011, p.350). This Act did not fully articulate how to go about educating these students, so an unclear message was received or not received in whether there was going to be a process of their first languages or a complete transition to English. “The outcome was that most ELs were consigned in English-only classrooms without suitable

America has influenced and has been influenced from different points of view. Immigrants may find American culture confusing and different from theirs. Adapting to a new culture is difficult but necessary in order to feel more comfortable in the environment they live in. Even though Americans are known for wanting materialistic objects, focusing on the future is more important to achieving success. Immigrants should focus on being economically stable before focusing on what they want to buy. Assimilation takes time to get used to because having to adjust to different diversities takes patience. Immigrants usually come to America to become more successful so in order to do that they need to prioritize what is more important. It is their new homeland and it will take time to adapt to it. Learning the English language is essential to becoming successful. Being bilingual will provide the immigrants with more opportunities in their daily lives. It will make their transformation much easier. According to Munoz, “It was simultaneously the language of the white population and a path toward the richer, expansive identity of American” (Munoz 308). Munoz is saying that knowing the English language will give immigrants more paths to go down. It will provide them with tools to becoming a more successful and richer

In a country like America where people all over the world come to obtain a better future for themselves and their children, there is a large diversity in culture and languages. Most immigrant families come to America speaking a different language and have to adapt to the American language, English. However, several people do not learn English or have difficulty learning it. Usually older people struggle to learn English because they do not have time. Though, children may not have a hard time learning the English language because they are often sent to school. Currently children are now expected to learn a new foreign language, but most of the children’s families would like them to continue speaking their native language as well.

The USA is a very diverse nation with many different groups of people, and that being said it is a wonder our nation is able to coexist despite many cultures being integrated within our population. Several things that came to mind while researching this topic were; ,“What kind of social norms do other cultures have?”, “ How would I have turned out if I would have been born in that country with a different culture?”, and “ What do people from a different context think about the way I communicate?”. We oftentimes disregard a very crucial entity that is essential to any civilization, and that is the way the populous communicates with each other. Foreigners oftentimes struggle to adapt living in a new country because they have to overcome many endeavors, and have to deal with the initial culture shock. Aside from learning a new language they have to learn certain social cues that were not used in their native countries, and most of the time they will have to learn the social cues on their own. Even if you learn the language prior to your arrival you will still find it difficult to have a conversation with a local. There are two distinct ways to communicate, and it is oftentimes influenced by the culture an individual is born in. There are cultures that are considered to be high context, and their counterparts would be those who grew up in cultures considered to be low context. An individual’s upbringing greatly influences how well they would be able to adapt to communicating

Within ethnic communities, there are a huge number of people who face language barriers that prevents them from seeking employment outside of their ethnic community. People within these ethnic enclaves do not feel the need to learn the dominant language, because the majority of the population with their community speaks the same language as they do. Places like San Francisco’s China town has established their own enclave that includes everything from grocery shops to hospitals. This

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

Also, people belittle a foreigner's native language. Mujica reports a known politician in favor of adopting English as the official language for the United States, and she felt the train of thought was dense (217). Foreigners are singled out, for not comprehending English. Rodriguez recalls a gringo [American or English person] rudely asking "What can I do for you?", Rodriguez sensed he could not adapt to the gringos society, but stay safely tucked away in his Spanish society (213). Also, people make a foreigner's native language feel too formal. Rodriguez describes the nun who introduced him to his first classroom in his new academic career, and how her voice echoed with a dullness, while she sounded each syllable of his Hispanic last name (212). Equally important, people insinuate English to foreigners. Youngquist and Martínez-Griego observed that many of the families at a local learning center spoke Spanish, and limited English, and tried to teach English to their children. Instead of helping their children learn English, it interrupted the learning development for both languages (92). Peopl humble a foriegner's language.