About Edwards answer to: English as the national language thing

[BootinUp]

He first talked about immigration reform, I agreed with that part, but his strong point about an immigrant must learn English to become a citizen seemed a little out of the box for a Democrat.

1. How is that different than the current law? I thought English classes were a required part of becoming a citizen for those that cannot speak English.

2. Will his answer help him, hurt him, or neither in Nevada?



edited for typo

[Renew Deal]

1. English lasses are hot!

:evilgrin:

[BootinUp]

2. lol, add to that, English classes nt

[shireen]

3. LOL! Sometimes, I love typos!

:rofl:

[mac2]

4. It will help him

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/27/quote.roosevelt/index.html

We need a Progressive like Teddy today in America. The last surge of illegals was at the turn of the last century. We should learn by it.

Not knowing the language puts you at a disadvantage in the business world. More English is spoken than Spanish in Europe, China, etc. It keeps you in a certain box and only the next generation even makes it out.

I saw on TV where a young girl was supporting her whole family. Only she had the skills or the health\language to do so. Her parents both couldn't work...or wouldn't. They bring their sick here too for free benefits. I'm seeing older Polish and Chinese illegals in my community.

Our motto is "We are one." That means language and a united direction for our future.

[NastyRiffraff]

5. Love the typo!

But yeah, as far as I know, English classes are a requirement. I don't think it'll help or hurt him in Nevada or anyplace else; it's not out of the box for a Democrat at all.

[jsamuel]

6. 1 English is currently required. 2 Edwards said what he thinks and wasn't afraid of the consequence

in NV.

[Solon]

7. overlooking the typo, ESL classes are underfunded, and the waiting lists extend to months...

and the scheduling of them prevent people from attending them when convenient when they are trying to hold down a job at the same time. Not to mention the costs for some of these classes in some areas. If any candidate is actually serious about this, they would support full funding of these classes, flexible scheduling, and hiring of more ESL teachers.

[BootinUp]

8. good answer thanks. nt

[Solon]

9. I know a woman who is studying to be an ESL teacher...

the tragedy is that she is NOT looking to get hired in the States, but most likely South America or East Asia. She can make more money there than she can here, even though there is a SHORTAGE of such teachers domestically.

[jsamuel]

10. Edwards said (when allowed more time) that there will be specific classes for this that will be well

funded. He understands that there is currently a problem with this.

[SoonerShankle]

12. I presume you are speaking of adult ed classes...

as ESL instruction is provided in K-12 schools for immigrant children. And yes, all students are required to take English classes every year, and most accountability measures are made up in large part of language arts testing regardless of language ability. For example, in California, all high school students must pass the high school exit exam, which must be taken in English, regardless of how long the students have been in the U.S. (or other English speaking country). I have students who have been in the country less than 3 months taking the exit exam test.

So requiring English is a good thing, but properly assessing these students needs to be addressed too.

Then the adult education piece is an entirely different piece that needs to be folded in.

Big problem is the federal govt. has cut education funding overall. Title II funds used to pay for ESL training along with special education mandates continue to be grossly over bureaucratic and underfunded...

I happen to agree with Edwards on this topic though.

[Solon]

13. Yes, I'm referring to Adult Education. n/t

[Colobo]

11. 4 million Puerto Ricans born in the Island are citizens of the US.

More than 70% doesn't speak a word of English. Food for thought.

[JDPriestly]

14. I thought it was a good answer. Learn the language of the

country you live in.

People who live here and cannot speak good English have a terrible time. Today while canvassing my neighborhood on behalf of Edwards, I met an elderly Chinese immigrant who needed help. (She wasn't interested in anything else.) It seems that the city discontinued bus service on a line running from our neighborhood to the local grocery store. She explained to me that she and the other elderly people in the neighborhood cannot drive and cannot get to the store. They don't speak English and therefore are unable to even complain effectively about it. I believe that our councilman speaks Spanish, but, even so, people who do not speak English just don't have the confidence to ask for what they need. This is especially true for elderly immigrants.

We need to make English classes more available and we need to reward immigrants who bother to learn the language.

I feel free to comment on this. I lived in German speaking countries for many years. I did not know German when I first moved there. I learned the language while I was there. I never took a course. I just taught myself. I never mastered the grammar, but Germans appreciate the fact that I became fluent enough to handle myself in any situation. I even passed an oral driving test in Austria. (Yes, oral. The examiner sits in front of you and asks you questions one on one. I had to answer questions about the mechanics of the car. The Austrians used to say that the driving test was more an intelligence test than a driving test.)

If you live in a foreign country, you have an obligation to learn the language. You are never too old. It is good for your mind to try to learn a new language.

(Aside: Tip for learning a language for those who may have a relative who does not speak English: read in the language you are trying to learn about topics you already know about. It is easier to guess what is being said. A lot of learning a language is actually guessing at the meanings of words from the context. So, if you read texts on topics you understand, you learn a lot of the vocabulary between the words that you can figure out. Read a lot. Also, read children's books in the language you are trying to learn.)

[izquierdista]

15. Watch soap operas

Great for learning the actual working vocabulary of a language. If you can get it closed captioned, even better, because your ears AND eyes will be able to pick up what is being said.