Immigration reform is a hot topic in Washington, DC and in communities in the U.S. where immigrants tend to live. The president and Congress continue to argue over the details of any reform, and as they do another story is playing out in the trenches, where few would think to look. The system of teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in the U.S. is already strained to the breaking point from the perspective of budget. If more immigrants are allowed into the country legally, and enrolled in classes in these schools, it seems unlikely that the existing system will be able handle the influx. Without a lot more money, that is.
Both sides of the political aisle agree that the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants will have to learn English prior to being granted permanent legal status, aka – a "green card." Paul Musselman, the president of Carnegie Speech, a virtual learning company that makes language software, notes that the current ESL system is "cobbled together with toothpicks and Band-Aids." Leslie Robbins, executive director of Riverside Language Program in Manhattan, claims that it would be "insane" to require illegal immigrants to learn English. She added, "There's not enough funding currently to deal with the numbers of people who both need and want English-language instruction."
"We need to get out there that there has to be a different way for people to learn English fast and with digital skills," said Ada Williams Prince, the policy director for OneAmerica, a nonprofit immigration advocacy group. "It’s not enough to sit people in an ESL class." One thing is for certain – at some point someone is going to bring up the prospect of paying for this with taxpayer money. At that point, support for the concept is probably going to plummet, especially in the current atmosphere.
Both sides of the political aisle agree that the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants will have to learn English prior to being granted permanent legal status, aka – a "green card." Paul Musselman, the president of Carnegie Speech, a virtual learning company that makes language software, notes that the current ESL system is "cobbled together with toothpicks and Band-Aids." Leslie Robbins, executive director of Riverside Language Program in Manhattan, claims that it would be "insane" to require illegal immigrants to learn English. She added, "There's not enough funding currently to deal with the numbers of people who both need and want English-language instruction."
"We need to get out there that there has to be a different way for people to learn English fast and with digital skills," said Ada Williams Prince, the policy director for OneAmerica, a nonprofit immigration advocacy group. "It’s not enough to sit people in an ESL class." One thing is for certain – at some point someone is going to bring up the prospect of paying for this with taxpayer money. At that point, support for the concept is probably going to plummet, especially in the current atmosphere.