Immigrant resettlement organizations, such the United Jewish Appeal, offer ESL programs using private philanthropy and some public funds. Religious organizations sometimes offer English classes taught by volunteers. Immigrants normally attend for free or pay only a nominal fee.
But amid a record influx of immigrants to the U.S., there are not enough seats in these courses to meet exploding demand. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, there were 1.1 million ESL students enrolled in programs backed by public funds. A survey conducted last year by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Educational Fund of 184 ESL providers in 22 cities found that 57% maintained waiting lists.
In Phoenix, the state's largest provider had a waiting list of more than 1,000 people, with waiting times of up to 18 months for evening classes. In Boston, at least 16,725 adults were on waiting lists, some of them for three years. In Albuquerque, providers reported waiting times of up to 14 months. In New York City, most ESL programs no longer keep waiting lists due to huge demand.
To close the gap, in recent years there has been a proliferation of private ESL programs, offered by colleges and language schools. However, private instruction, which can cost up to several thousand dollars per semester, is out of reach for most working-class newcomers.
Some employers, including many hospitals, offer on-site English training for their foreign workforce. However, by and large, U.S. companies don't provide or finance English classes for their employees. Thus, programs administered with public funds are likely to represent the lion's share of all ESL seats for the foreseeable future, experts say.
"The government and private sector should work together to increase capacity," says Elyse Rudolph, executive director of the Literacy Assistance Center, a hub of technical assistance and training for adult-education programs in New York state.
Opponents say the U.S. government shouldn't be in the business of paying language instruction for immigrants. "We don't agree with the idea that the government owes it to them to pay for their English proficiency," says Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. As FAIR sees it, he says, exploding demand for English classes is an indication that "the flow of immigration needs to slow down."
Some politicians, radio talk-show hosts and anti-immigrant groups express concern that the swelling ranks of Spanish speakers, whom they perceive as not wanting to learn English, are diluting U.S. culture. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 21.3 million residents (less than 10%) report speaking English "less than very well." Since the 1990s, several states have passed "English-only" laws designed to assert the dominance of English. Last week, the Senate passed an amendment to the immigration bill making English the country's "national language." Opponents called the measure demeaning and said they would try to kill it.
The primary federal source for ESL programs is through Title II of the Workforce Investment Act for adult education and literacy. Despite ballooning demand, the allocation hasn't kept pace, having stagnated at $570 million for the last three years. In 2005, the Bush administration proposed scaling back funding to $207 million for the 2006 fiscal year. State education officials fought back, averting the cut. But they say the episode highlights the fragile nature of federal support.
New York state's immigrant population has grown by nearly 1.3 million since 1990 to about four million today. Yet ESL programs added only 15,000 new seats over the same period; about 60,000 adults in the state are enrolled. Last year, the state allocated $144 million to adult education, which includes ESL classes, about the same as in 2005 -- including the federal funds, which states disburse to teaching centers. But the federal contribution has dropped, forcing states to pick up a bigger share of the tab. New York City is home to nearly three million foreign-born residents, and that population is expected to keep climbing. "We figure we're serving just 5% of the need" for English classes, says Ms. Rudolph of the Literacy Assistance Center.
Although the general public sometimes assumes that newcomers can learn English by carrying out their daily activities, experts estimate that between 500 and 1,000 hours of instruction are needed to master basic English verbal and literacy skills. Typically, a student enrolls for one-year, taking three cycles of 150 hours each, with the average class being 12 hours per week.
Immigrants are expected to account for most of the growth in the U.S. work force over the next two decades and to be key to the country's economic health. Research has indicated that knowledge of English is closely correlated with professional success and socioeconomic advancement. A 2005 study by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy found that median weekly earnings of proficient English speakers were 225% higher than those at a below basic level.
Students at the Queens Community House, which occupies several rooms in an office building near henna tattoo shops, halal butchers and other ethnic businesses, hail from more than 30 countries. But about 70% of the 650 students are native Spanish speakers, reflecting the booming numbers of Latin American immigrants to New York.
Rosa Maria Cossio, a 57-year-old immigrant from Colombia, succeeded in her third attempt to win a spot in an English course there. Currently, she works tending to a child with special needs. After completing the fifth and last English level, she plans to have enough English to enroll in a nursing course. "You know, without English you don't go far in this country," says Mrs. Cossio. Her husband, who is a barber, hopes to study English soon. Her daughter, Evelyn, who already speaks fluent English, is serving the U.S. Army in Iraq.
There are many ways to learn English, especially with cheap internet connections. Disney’s World of English and other programs are marketed abroad. I am glad people wish to learn English in the US. I doubt that teaching them in ESL classes, as this article describes, is the only way.
It shouldn’t be the government’s (and the taxpayers’) duty to fund a way for immigrants to become proficient in English, but at least they seems to be a desire to take up English among immigrants (and aliens).
They're good for little enough now as it is.
“The problem is we don’t provide enough classes.” The cost of attending private language centers is out of reach for most new immigrants”
I’ve taught English as a second language...
The students were REAL immigrants and paid for their own classes..
They were dependants of GIs and Vietnamese Boat people and they wanted to learn...
No tax money was used for their classes...
ping
The adults deemed illiterate in English include people who may be fluent in Spanish or another language but cannot comprehend English at its most simple level. Russ Whitehurst, director of the Institute of Education Sciences, said: "Eleven million people is an awful large number of folks who are not literate in English."
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Database/stats/developednations.html