Paying the Price for Proficiency
A recent edition of U.S.A Today splashed language across its cover: "Can't anyone here speak English?" was posed by the paper as the "politically incorrect question of the 1990s." Well, the answer is maybe some people can 't speak English. But if you pay for the programs, we can teach them...
Look at the figures: in 1990, about 14 million foreign-born residents were not English proficient. Many Americans assume that immigrants "can't learn, won't learn" English but 50,000 in New York City alone are waiting for a place in an ESL classroom. And even the lucky ones who get a place are taught little more than ³survival English," certainly not enough to get a decent job.
Proficiency in English language skills is the key to unlocking the door that shuts out immigrants from getting a foot on the ladder to self-fulfillment and financial success. One would think that ESOL programs would have garnered a good proportion of the federal funds to be allocated for education by President Clinton in his much-publicized drive to improve standards in the classroom. But instead of increasing the number of teaching programs, cutbacks are likely to occur.
Critics say that corporate America must take steps where the government fears to tread in order to improve the English language skills of their workers. As the report in U.S.A. Today pointed out, ELT programs like the one operated by Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis have simplified the training process and resulted in employees better able to meet the needs of their employers. But many employers are reluctant to pay for English tuition for their lowest-paid employees. After all, won't they just move on and get a better job if they can speak English?
Americans may gripe about foreigner's lack of English skills. Many of the complaints are no more than a thinly-disguised form of racism. But the cost to the country of limited-English-proficient residents is high. Somebody's got to pay for it.