Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h82Fw1726925; Tue, 2 Sep 2003 11:58:01 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 11:58:01 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <001301c3716b$cdbf1fc0$9404fea9@GatewayClient> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "pruett said" <said@ameritech.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:9359] RE: Accept English Only donation? X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 3488 Lines: 61 If only learning another language was as simple as wanting to. If someone offered us a magic pill that would allow us to know another language, all of us would take that pill. But learning another language takes time and energy--something many immigrants don't have. I had students who worked double shifts in meat packing plants and then came to my morning ESL class. They could only keep this up for a couple of weeks before they quit coming to class. Why did they work double shifts? For one thing they needed the money. If you only get paid $6.00 an hour you have to work a lot of hours to make ends meet and send some money back home to help the rest of your extended family make ends meet. Also most of my students were afraid if they refused to do anything that was asked of them they would be fired which in many cases would have meant they were also out of status since a number of them were here on work permits. I also had students who had health problems caused by Chernobyl and found themselves frequently sick due to impaired immunity. A few of my students were healthy and worked only one shift at a different place--these students came all the time but it still took them time to learn English. A couple of years ago I wrote an editorial against English-Only laws. Here are a few things I said: Why do we need a law to convince people to speak English? We don't. New immigrants would love to be able to speak English well. But learning another language is not something that one can do quickly. This is all the more true for adults who are working one or two jobs and have family responsibilities. It seems odd to me that Republicans (a Republican candidate was sponsoring the bill) who believe there is too much government control want to control what language we speak or maybe even how we speak it English-only laws are also unfunded or underfunded mandates. There are already programs in place at the state level but these programs have been consistently under-funded. If legislators are truly worried about people speaking English, then they should adequately fund those programs already in place. (BTW, I wrote this while living in Iowa. In Michigan, where I live now the adult education funding was cut by 80% this last year. We turned away almost a hundred people in our fall ESL program mainly because of lack of funding.Yet most of us teachers have around 35 students in each class.) While some people said they agreed with me, I also received hate mail at my home after this letter was printed in the local paper. One of the nicer things said to me in these letters was that I should go back where I came from. I found that interesting as I had grown up about three hours from where I wrote this letter. But this hate mail only reinforced my belief that English-only laws are a smokescreen for anti-immigrant sentiment. It seems to me that nation states have a need and a right to discuss immigration issues but why use language as the smokescreen. I also wrote and believe: English-only laws feed into fears that those different from ourselves may be changing our way of life. But people don't immigate here to change our way of life but to participate in our way of life. (Perhaps, in Miami this isn't so clear because people keep believing they will be able to go back to Cuba soon. BTW, most people don't come to the US to improve their lives [that rarely happens] but to improve their children's lives.) Theresa Pruett-Said ESL teacher Michigan
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