ETHNICALLY SPEAKING by Larry Meeks on Creators.com

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Ethnically Speaking, September 26

Dear Larry: Everyone in America should learn to speak English. There is no excuse for anyone who is not able to speak English in this country. I know what I am talking about because I do volunteer work with an adult literacy group.

There are organizations in every state and in many towns and counties where adults can go to learn to speak, read and write English.

These organizations give instruction in classes, and many have individual tutoring. Some employers give their workers time to take classes, knowing it's good for business. I even know of some groups that will go to the workplace and give instruction.

The lack of adult literacy is appalling. Twenty-five to 35 percent of our adult population cannot compete because of a lack of English skills. What is even worse is most of them are native-born citizens.

The U.S. cannot compete in the global economy without a skilled work force, and we are falling behind. All areas of life are affected by low literacy: jobs, families, schools, communities and participation in our democracy.

Nearly 70 percent of the prison population is unable to read and write. And don't blame the schools. There are multiple reasons some people have not learned to read. Their having learning disabilities is only one of the reasons.

I could go on, but really I just wanted to get across the message that literacy is an avenue to success in life and that there is help. — Mary

Dear Mary: Thank you for the information and your tireless efforts to increase literacy in America.

I am sure your letter will help those who are willing to put in the time and effort.

That is what it takes for one to learn a second language. Almost everyone can learn to speak. It is not genetic or based upon a high IQ. Even people with low IQs can learn to speak. I admit that some people have an aptitude for languages and learn faster than others. But with enough time, effort and determination, most anyone can learn a second language.

Dear Larry: I am a minority single mother with a son who is a sophomore in high school. My son is a gifted athlete. He lives and breathes football. That is all he talks about, and he would watch it on TV 24/7 if he could. He knows almost all the players and their statistics in the NFL. He is able to predict the plays each team will run before the plays even start.

It is obvious my son is smart, but one never would know he is bright by his grades. My son barely has a C average. I am afraid he will not even graduate. He doesn't care, because he thinks he will be a great football player and become rich.

I know my son is a good player, but I do not know whether he is good enough to become a pro player. I want him to concentrate on his grades.

What can I do to motivate him? — Worried Mom

Dear Mom: I would use what he cares about the most: football. Let him know that pro players are chosen from the college ranks and that the average NFL career is 3 1/2 seasons. That means that if he wants to play pro football, he must graduate from high school and attend college.

If you are unable to reach him with your logic, talk to his high-school coach.

To find out more about Larry G. Meeks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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I agree with the first LW - everyone in America should have a decent command of the English language, and those who are recently arrived from foreign countries should be making every effort to learn. I was appalled when I read in one of Larry's recent columns (from a commenter) that some people have been living and working in this country for 25 years, yet still barely know any words. It has always been a source of ironic amusement for me that children in Japan, Romania, and everywhere in between are expected to learn English in school because it is such a dominant language the world over, yet it is no longer a priority here in the US. I often wish that our government had gone ahead and adopted it as our official language back in the 40's or 50's, or whenever it was still "politically possible" to get it done without being subjected to spurious accusations of racism or other prejudice against newcomers. Then perhaps it wouldn't be necessary to print the written driver licensing exam in fourteen languages. (And how is it that someone who can't read English well enough to take the exam, is going to be able to read traffic signs written in English, or understand English-language instructions from a police officer?)

Comment: #1
Posted by: Matt
Sat Sep 26, 2009 9:24 PM

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Re: Matt ---- I have been teaching ESL to adults for 17 years. Some of it was to international students from Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Germany or whatever developed country in the world. These people had attended good schools in their home countries and began studying English there, usually some time in 4th or 5th grade. They pay through the nose to attend language schools and universities in the U.S. to improve their English. The tuition is often up to $10,000 per semester (!), and they have no right to have a job in the U.S., so they have to have enough money to pay for their education and their living expenses. They have to present proof of having that money before they get a student visa to the U.S. That's a lot of money, Matt! I, personally, don't have that much to spend on learning a foreign language abroad. They also have all the time in the world to attend classes and study after school. I also taught in adult schools in the U.S., where working immigrants come to study English at night. These folks are often refugees or immigrants from poor countries. I have had students who lived through wars, refugee camps, malnutrition, and backbreaking labor since the age of 5 (!). Some of them have no functional literacy in their own language because they were not able to attend school at all. I've had students from Mexico and Salvador for whom having completed 8th grade was as much of an accomplishment as for an average American to complete a PhD. I've also had young men from Nicaragua in my adult school ESL classes, who could assemble an automatic weapon in seconds, but who didn't know what to do with a pencil. They were born and raised after 1979 in guerilla camps and spent their youth as fighters. These immigrants often work 2-3 minimum-wage jobs to support their families, and then they try to find time to learn English. I've had students coming to class and falling asleep in it because they had been up for 36 hours, working three different part-time jobs and getting by bus from one side of LA to anther - not a mean feat in a city with very limited public transit. Is it so surprising that finding time to take classes is hard? Is it so surprising that it is hard for them to learn to read and write in a foreign language for the first time at age 30 or 40? American expatriates in Europe and Japan, who tend to be well educated and well-off financially, often go years without bothering to learn local languages. I've met Americans who lived in the Netherlands or Denmark for a decade and haven't learned more than a few basic phrases in Dutch or Danish. I've met Americans coming back from working in Japan for 10 years with no literacy in Japanese whatsoever, and just a basic ability to talk with a million grammatical mistakes. I have not yet met an immigrant in the U.S. who hasn't *tried* to learn English. I wish so many Americans got off their high horses and tried to step in the shoes of some immigrants. Go live in Oaxaca or Burundi for a year or two, and live like the locals live, and then judge people who immigrate to the U.S. from there for not working hard enough to learn English.

Comment: #2
Posted by: Ariana
Sat Oct 3, 2009 10:46 AM

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Ethnically Speaking by Larry Meeks

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Ethnically Speaking, September 26

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