Why Don't Hispanic Immigrants Learn The English Language?
The Houston Chronicle has an interesting article about the failure of all Latino immigrants to learn the English language. The point of the article, as all of us who regularly deal with Hispanic clients understand, is that this failure to learn is not due to laziness or a conscious decision not to learn English. It's because English is not easy to learn -- especially by adults with full-time jobs and families to raise. Here are some excerpts from the article:
In the Edin Espino family, late of Guatemala and now living in one of southwest Houston's sprawling, immigrant-filled apartment complexes, the best English is spoken by 4 1/2 -year-old preschooler Edin Jr.The senior Espino, 27, understands enough to get by at his two jobs, one in a grocery store produce section and another at a nearby restaurant, but he can't hold a conversation. His wife, Clara, 33, understands the occasional word. Three-year-old German and Aida, 16 months, perk up when they hear "bye-bye" and other commonly used terms. But after six years in the U.S. living in one of the city's urban barrios, Spanish is the dominant language spoken inside and outside their home.
"I want to learn English. I know it would help me get ahead. But I have to work 65 hours a week to raise my children and pay my bills. That has to come first before anything," says Espino.
Fewer than half of the Houston residents who speak one of the city's top three non-English languages consider themselves fluent in English, according to recent census figures. The languages, unsurprisingly, are Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese.
The percentages are about the same nationwide for the same three languages.
"Many immigrants don't speak English, but it's not because they are lazy or don't want to learn it or want to make everyone else speak Spanish or Vietnamese. They just have other priorities like providing for their basic needs," says Nelson Reyes, executive director of the Gulfton Area Neighborhood Organization.