I work in a San Jose, California school and am amazed at how well and quickly Asian, East Indian, and Arab immigrant students progress and learn English. By comparison, Spanish speaking students seem able to go through elementary, middle, and high school and still struggle with English despite having special bilingual classes. There are no bilingual classes for the other languages. Some Spanish speakers actually say we Americans shoiuld learn Spanish. What's the answer? Should we give up on teaching immigrant Hispanics English since they resist learning it?
Immigration - 9 Answers
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1
Because they work harder its as simple as that. Its either thats the reason or that Hispanics are stupid to put it bluntly and since thats obviously not the case the only other option is that the other immigrants just work harder.
2
In many States, like New Mexico and Texas, they have no problems with Mexican immigrants not speaking English, because the majority culture simply refuses to molly-coddle them. My Step-mother and Step-Father were both born in Mexico and immigrated. Both of them speak flawless English. When they came here, they didn't have a choice. LIkewise, when my family moved to Puerto Rico (where both English and Spanish are taught) when I was in 3rd grade, I went to a Spanish speaking school, and was fluent in a matter of weeks Here in the Peoples Republic of California, the Liberal elites are intentionally trying to keep Hispanics down, so they will vote Democrat.
3
well i came to us in 2003 and i had to learn english and it took me 2 years! i was in 4th grade then so when i went to middle school i knew english all ready i didn't have to go through middle and high school!! well i think because some immigrants know some english before that is why they quickly learn english!! americans need to learn spanish because the NYS said to do so and i am taking spanish so spanish is my 3rd language!!!!
4
there's no need to insist on any rules or procedures. Let the results speak for itself. One will find out that you can progress and advance to better pay job if you speak English.
5
It's got to do with actually wanting to learn English. At my school, the Hispanics hang out together and never speak English. In English class, they speak Spanish to each other even when they are in a group with people who don't speak Spanish--it's so rude. Then they do bad on tests and blame the teacher for making it too hard. They accuse the teachers of being racist for failing them. I have Asian friends who have only lived here a few years and they want to speak English and work hard at learning it. Their parents go to night classes to learn English so that helps too. I think the Mexican immigrants are lazy and are only here to get enough money to go back to Mexico. They are not really interested in becoming Americans. That's the difference.
6
They have made their own cities and communities here in America. There is no need for them to assimilate and learn english. They go to their own stores, school and churches. They have made cities here in Southern California Little Mexico. I think we should cut the crap of coddling them and STOP all ESL classes and just immerse them into the English language. My Father spoke German until he went to school. They didn't make any allowances for him. By the end of the school year he was speaking English. I think another problem is that culturally Mexicans (not all) do not think education is a high priority. They do not push their kids and are not involved in their education like other cultures are. They use school as a babysitting service while they go to work.
7
I think the answer is that some groups of immigrants see the value of higher education whereas the Hispanics don't. They'd rather get by on welfare or on laboring jobs than study hard to get ahead. I think we should quit offering extra help and make them get on the way other immigrants do. I think the parents have a lot to do with discouraging their children because they are always talking about preserving their heritage. There are millions of Hispanics doing that in their home countries, so why must they constantly demand that we accommodate their heritage? They just don't want to become true Americans. There is no good reason to give them special help; in fact, I think that contributes to the problem.
8
Asian, East Indian, and Arab students come from a more disciplined school environment.
9
It's time to take a strong stand against immigrants who won't bother to learn English. So the New York school district (NYS) says 'we' must learn Spanish? Why? Because they are too lazy or too arrogant to learn English? Why weren't Americans required to learn German or Italian or whatever was the language of the large immigrants groups back then? I'll tell you why: It is important to have a common language; in America that happens to be English. The attitude of the New York schools shows where we are going wrong. It should not be easier to give in to the demands of one immigrant group. Doing so is undermining the need for all Americans to have a common language. I already speak 3 languages and I'm darned if I'll be coerced into learning another just because that group refuses to assimilate into my country's culture. On another note: Spanish is much more like English than are any of the Asian languages, yet immigrants from those countries work hard to learn English. Even those from countries like Vietnam, where the rural people do not come from a strong educational background, work hard to acquire English skills. It has to do with attitude.
