ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND HURDLES OF IMMIGRANTS:

Who in this world doesn’t dream to live an ideal life? An enthusiasm to catch up with their dreams led them to other developed countries. America, a superpower, attracts many of those people. But do they thrive there and pursue their dreams? Or do they just encounter unexpected problems; they have never thought of?

A language barrier makes it difficult for any immigrant to mingle with the multilingual American society. The story of Tran depicts this difficulty. Tran avoids going to American restaurants except Dany’s, as he knows the menu there.

Ji Yu Kim, who is trying to learn English, believes that she can’t defend herself even if she gets the wrong traffic ticket.

They have to face the weird looks of English-speaking shopkeepers whenever they buy from them. Many people fail to discuss the problems of their documents with authorities. Even immigrants require a translator to admit their children to school.

Los Angeles magazine times publishes many stories of the immigrants and their struggles.

Many other immigrants from countries like China, Korea, Vietnam, and Spain find it challenging to learn English. As in their countries, it is not essential to learn English as a second language.

They only prefer their mother languages. When they move to America, English becomes a nightmare for them. They never thought that language could become a first-hand problem to solve in the new country of dreams.

Without learning English, they cannot get decent wages compared to their English-speaking citizens. They cannot move without fear. They can’t understand American culture.

Non-English speaking immigrants do not understand existing laws or when rules change. They try to avoid encounters with law enforcement because it could mean deportation if the visa process is not complete.

If they don’t understand the language, how can they consent to police officers or judges to defend their case, to tell them if they are innocent. After the pandemic, due to changes in public charge rules, many immigrants do not have access to adequate healthcare. Many became jobless and came to square one of their lives.

Learning English requires extra effort for immigrants to make besides striving for livelihood. The federal government does not supply funds to teach non-residents English. States are challenged to provide public education and ESL classes from the same funds. When a person can’t speak English, the visa assimilation process is prolonged. Barriers to language, credentials, education, and culture bind to limit immigrant women’s ability to become productive members of society (Galindo, 2019).

It is not uncommon for US citizens to assume immigrants do not want to learn English or are lazy or have dull minds. But studies show it is difficult for adults to learn a new language (Chakraborty, Vijay Kumar, & Clement, 2021). The utmost desire of any immigrant is to learn English. Nevertheless, the economic conditions left them with no time and mental relaxation to learn a new language.

Many institutes offer cohorts and weekly classes to learn English. Other than that, without passing the English efficacy test ILETS, no one can get an immigration visa for Canada, Europe, and America.

It is crystal clear that immigrants can’t thrive in American society; still, they manage to somehow. Korean immigrants make 0.6% of the American population. In California, their population is 326,000. East LA has a 96.7% Latino population. While San Gabriel Valley L. A. is the region with the largest population of Chinese.

These areas have all the cultural amenities for respective populations like schools, restaurants, and grocery stores. Asians, Koreans, and other communities live in their specific neighborhoods worrying less about speaking English. However, at one level or next, this backlash to learn English affects their quality of life. English-speaking individuals have more economic opportunities than those struggling with English.

It is essential for the people who live in the US to speak and understand English. Similarly, knowing the native language in the region where you live is critical anywhere. Delaying or refusal to learn English is associated with reducing mental health and quality of life of immigrants. Without speaking English, an immigrant cannot get a proper job and or navigate her surroundings and feel safe. However, in countries like America, where people of different ethnicities dwell, immigrants somehow find their comfort zones to live easily. #resilient

The article depicts the difficulties of immigrants who can’t speak English in America. There are many barriers to quality-of-life for non-English speaking persons. Often, they face abundant strife and poor circumstances. How do they manage to learn English and strive in American society?

References

Chakraborty, R., Vijay Kumar, M. J., & Clement, J. P. (2021). Critical aspects of neurodevelopment. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 180, 107415. doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107415

Education Commission of the States. (2021). How States Allocate Funding for English Language Learners. Retrieved from https://ednote.ecs.org/how-states-allocate-funding-for-english-language-learners/

Galindo, K. (2019). Barriers to immigrant women in the Raleigh metropolitan area. Immigration Journal, 4(3), 162-170.