Preview

Language Barriers for Non-Speaking Citizens

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1061 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Language Barriers for Non-Speaking Citizens
The Language Barrier for Non-English Speaking Citizens
Lynne Lilley
Com/150
University of Phoenix
Com/150 March 8, 2010

The Language Barrier for Non-English Speaking Citizens “No Habla English”. “21 million people living in the United States cannot speak English. Citizens are not just speaking Spanish, but Chinese and Russian are rising fast.” (U.S. Bureau of Census, 2009) To force a citizen to speak a new language is discrimination. Non-English speaking citizens and immigrants that are without good English skills will fall academically, in the judicial system and when receiving proper medical care. 47 million Americans five years and older used a language other than English. The children that have no English skills will not be able to understand what the teacher is trying to teach. Children will not be able to do their assignments correctly and will eventually fail the class. ”Some illegal immigrants are raising their children without teaching them English, hoping that the school will do that job. The Washington Post recently reported that as many as two-thirds of the children in suburban Arlington County, Virginia, receiving language assistance from kindergarten through second-grade born in the United States to non-English-speaking parents who don’t read to them, talk to them, or provide them a background in any language. (Not Speakiing their Native Tongue, 1996) A child being educated in English opens many doors of opportunities. English as a Second Language learner has more benefits than those of native English. Native speakers tend to speak in slang or use clichés and have bad grammar skills. There are even laws to wanting to learn another language as opposed to not knowing another language. In Albany, Georgia, they are trying to pass a law that students no longer have Spanish classes in schools and parents need to hire a tutor to come in to their home and teach the child a foreign language. Learning English will benefit a child not knowing the



Cited: Lost in Translation. (2006, January 17). New York Times , pp. 1-2. Not Speakiing their Native Tongue. (1996, May 14). Washington Post , p. A1. U.S. Bureau of Census. (2009). Retrieved March 2, 2010, from U.S Bureau of Census website: http://factfinder.census.gov unknown. (n.d.). Yolanda Prtida, M. D. (2005). Language Policy and Practice in Healthcare. Fresno: Center for Medical & Eduacation Research.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    United States Census Bureau. (2012). 2009-2011 American community survey 3-year estimates: Selected economic characteristics [Data file]. Retrieved from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml…

    • 3377 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The pharmacist asked her to translate for the patient during the counseling session. I think the pharmacist did a very good job at trying to resolve the issue of the language barrier. I believe that cultural differences, like language, customs, beliefs, and social status should not prevent a healthcare professional from providing a good patient care. Therefore, it is very important for every health professional to be culturally competent, understand cultural differences, and know how to approach patients of a different ethnic, racial, religious, or social…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    8. (2013). Advanced Search – Search all data in American FactFinder. Retrieved November 24, 2013 from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk.…

    • 4688 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    2010 Census Profile

    • 2566 Words
    • 64 Pages

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2010 Summary File 1. Esri converted Census 2000 data into 2010 geography.…

    • 2566 Words
    • 64 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The issue of English language learners (ELL) and their rights to an education has been a major topic of debate for many years. Should ELL students be taught in their first language? Will they learn English, or should they be put into English speaking classes? That has been the topic of discussion amongst educators. Which method is better for the student? The arguments continue and many states and school districts have made a decision on what to do. One state in particular had a serious ELL problem, so California took action. In 1998, California implemented a program called Proposition 227.…

    • 2357 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Knowing the English language can make you more desirable to employers when going for a job interview. For example Latinos who talk very little English make 31% more money than a Latino who knows no English (xxxx). But a Latino who can speak fluently English will make up to 67% more then one who does not speak the language at all (xxxx). English is used in all schools in the US to teach children so for parents to know English makes it easy to communicate with their children and the teachers since they bounce back and forth between their primary language at home and using English when in school. If you learn English, you won’t just have access to a greater proportion of the vast amount of knowledge available on the internet; you’ll be able to educate yourself still further by being able to read books and newspapers…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    If you turn over a permission slip or handout from a public school in Southern California on the backside you will find the same English words translated into Spanish. The act of translating the paper for the “child’s” wellbeing only provides a false illusion to the parent’s that the need to learn English is trivial. In reality it actually hinders the immigrants’ chances of success by denying the full language immersion in English that is needed to thrive in America, not just survive. And once one group of immigrants is catered for, it unjustly secludes others of equal treatment. The responsibility of speaking English falls on the shoulders of every immigrant. The lack of a shared proficiency in the English language…

    • 1253 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    United States Census Bureau. (2011). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2012. Retrieved on October 14, 2011 from: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0038.pdf…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ems Compensation

    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages

    multpl NEWSLETTER. (2013, April). US Population by Year. Retrieved from US Popultation by Year: http://www.multpl.com/united-states-population/table…

    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    School is a challenge for non-English speaking children of migrant workers and for migrant workers themselves. “Children are being assigned to “special education” classes, or being placed in a lower level grade” (Parra-Cardona, Bulock, Imig, Villarruel, & Gold, 2006) because there are not enough bilingual teachers in our educational systems. When migrant farm workers must relocate many times during a school semester for employment, their children are forced to changed schools. Often with English as a second language, the children of migrant workers fall farther and farther behind in their education and many are ultimately forced to leave school and join their parents in the fields. (Parra-Cardona, Bulock, Imig, Villarruel, & Gold,…

    • 4103 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    When immigrants are welcomed in their own language and are provided services in their language it reduces their incentive to learn English. People do not think that they should learn English when the services are provided in their own native language. When the most essential services such as voting ballots, driver’s license exam, and government-funded translator in hospitals and schools are provided to the immigrants why would they think that they need to learn English in the first place. In his essay, “Why the U.S. Needs an Official Language” Mauro E. Mujica says, “The New York Times reports that Hispanics account for over 40 percent of the population of Hartford, Connecticut, and that the city is becoming “Latinized” (Mauro E. Mujica 581).” For example when Eddie Perez became the first Hispanic mayor in Hartford, he started to change everything that was in English to in Spanish such as making the city website bilingual and greeting callers to the mayor’s office by a message that is in Spanish. This in turn reduced the incentive of the Hispanic to learn English and caused in half of Hartford’s Hispanic’s to not speaking English. Even Mayor Perez notes that "we've become…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Immigrant students face the challenge of English learning to participate fully in an English speaking world. They face the pressure of academic subjects before they become fully proficient in English. The U.S. Supreme Court in Lau v. Nichols (1974) and the civil rights act of (1964) addressed this problem and defining the school's obligation to take affirmative steps to overcome immigrant students language barriers and provide access to education. Immigrant students need to develop the linguistic, cultural and cognitive skills necessary to succeed in the United…

    • 87 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Garcia, Jensen, and Scribner (2009) the term “English language learners (ELLs)” is used to refer to students who are not yet proficient enough in English in order to properly benefit from the instruction provided exclusively in this language. Garcia (2012) notes that research has categorized ELLs into three cohorts. Garcia (2012) exemplifies these three groups by indicating that in California, the long-term ELLs are the largest cohort that makes up about two-thirds of the ELL population in that state. The rest of the ELLs include recent immigrants who possess either low or high previous academic background (Freeman, Freeman & Mercuri, 2002). The report developed by the Grantmakers for Education (2010) states that even though many immigrant children are ELLs, most of the ELLs were born in the United States. Grantmakers for Education (2010) report that over 75% of ELLs enrolled in elementary grades are second generation or probably third generation Americans. This report also indicates that about 95% of immigrant children were born in the country. According to Garcia (2012) each of the three cohorts of ELLs identifies possess a unique set of academic and linguistic requirements. Distinguishing between U.S.-born ELLs and their immigrant counterparts is essential to meet the specific needs of each group through the use of different…

    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Today, English language learners (ELLs) are the “fastest growing group of students” in the United States, making up approximately 11% of the student body and totaling over 5.3 million (Echevarria, Short, & Vogt, 2013, p. 3, para. 1). These numbers only include students who are enrolled in language programs. The increase of a non-English speakers is due to a rise in immigration. Though most ELL students were born in America, they may come from a non-English speaking household (Echevarria et al, 2013).…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This book provides theoretical frameworks and practical examples from both English and non-English speaking countries on how to solve the problem of language barriers in the healthcare system when the country becomes culturally and linguistically diverse. Each chapter starts with a historical review, identifies a problem or issue, and then suggests a solution to the problem. After reviewing this book, I offer some reflections on the application of the book to the Taiwan context. Today, the numbers of international students, workers and other residents arriving from overseas in Taiwan have rapidly increased in the past 20 years. Of the 23 million people in Taiwan, about 5% were born overseas: 620,000 overseas workers, 80,000 international students, and 500,000 other residents. Alongside this continuous increase in the number of international students and workers, the Taiwanese birthrate has decreased to the lowest of any country. Continuous changes in the population composition of Taiwan amplify both cultural and language diversity. The changes also create language barriers and challenges to the healthcare system in Taiwan.…

    • 203 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays