Los dos idiomas
I’ve been recently more bothered by the ‘learn English’ issue we have with immigrants. The bothersome part is that many people stop after that single notion, that single command. If we unpack the notion we find positive arguments for assimilation and civic duty, a vehicle for accessing the American Dream…on the other hand we get things like this or even this. I’ll argue that the individuals in these two photos stopped after the single notion (if not before, given their spelling aptitude). The trouble manifest in not further exploring a notion is ostensibly that nothing will come of it. Is ‘learn English’ a viable notion? Of course, and it’s one I latch onto. But I’ll argue that instead of presenting some beguiling, paradoxical ‘learn English’ picket sign, we act on the notion.
Enter our agency, where we recently developed a free, weekly course called Hablemos Español which provides enrichment tools aimed at keeping Spanish skills shared between the generations of a Hispanic immigrant family. Pair that with programs like Family Literacy, ELL, and job search assistance, among others, and we’ve rounded the edges to a complete package for education, integration and assimilation, while still stressing the importance of hanging on to culture and heritage.
So if you see a man who you know or assume to know doesn’t speak English and feel he should, don’t put a sign in his face (one he wouldn’t be able to read anyhow?) — send him our way, we will help him.
