Should all immigrants be required to pass an English proficiency test to live and work in the U.S.?

Leuroth

they are going to be bilingual either way

lastdamnresponder

yes

Furball1999

Yes. I would learn the language of any country I lived in.

pachl@sbcglobal.net

Absolutely.

What many people don't realize is, that English is the easiest language on the planet, followed by Spanish.

If someone isn't learning English well, he is not putting forth a legitimate amount of effort, and the fault is his alone.

I am studying Czech, so compared to English, the level of difficulty is like the difference between chess and checkers. Until you learn so many aspects of Czech (declination, conjugation, etc.) you are unable to even say one sentence correctly. It is incredibly frustrating at the beginning.

In stark contrast, you can pretty much just slap words together in English and have a high rate of success in expressing a thought at least well enough for others to understand.

If we start lowering the standards of English in the U.S., we will literally be the laughing stock of the Western world. Just yesterday a Czech friend asked me to proofread his resumÃ©. Trust me on this: it was better than 99% of ones written by American students.

Rob

Absolutely, if immigrants are to have any hope of contributing to this country (which they all should), they must speak English. It is incredibly expensive for our government to service people in two languages. Signs must be reprinted, all forms must be provided in two languages, and legions of interpreters must be employed. The situation will be even worse if another language group flood the U.S. and introduces a 3rd language. This same problem is seen in E.R.s across the country, non-English speaking immigrants require an interpreter and twice as long to perform the interview as all communication must be relayed through the interpreter. Think about that the next time you're waiting 6 hours to be seen in an emergency. One country must speak one language.

bluebonnets1952

yes

Joel W

Of course.. it is a standard in the world that immigrants learn the language, and learn it well.

To this point, the Immigration Department has been giving sham tests on English and the immigrants pass by answering a couple of questions. To operate in ANY society, you must speak the common language.

Curly50

They will need to learn English.. so some knowledge is helpful..

Dirty Martini

Yes. Otherwise dont even THINK about coming here to live and work.

Sweetharttt

Positively. Just for their own safety reasons.

I'm gonna start another riot

I think the legal ones already do this

Ya heard me

Absolutely

TIMBO

YES YES YES IM SICK OF THE ILLEGAL TRASH COMING OVER HERE BANKRUPTING OUR COUNTRY

ICE 'em

Yes they should. The legal ones don't have a problem with learning our language, it's just the illegals that think we should learn theirs.

poLIteman

No, but all administration officers IRS, DMV, SSA even a police should talk ONLY English. If any immigrant wants to communicate needs to speak English or bring interpreter on his own cost.

gimpalomg

NO! I don't believe they should be REQUIRED to do so.

You can live here if you are a deaf mute so why is the language you speak of any consequence? As a capitalist I should be able to hire those I want and if I want a 100% Ukrainian business it is my problem not yours.

Now, having said that I would continue. I believe that ALL government agencies from the White House to the local Dog Catcher should operate in English. All forms should be in English. Your driver's test should be in English and the forms filled out to receive Welfare should be in English.

When a private concern caters to a specific class that is one thing, but when the Tax Payer is required to fund multilingual agencies that is different matter entirely. A few years ago I checked on the issue in California. At the time 17 languages were recognized by the State. That means 17 different ballots to print, tests to print, forms to print not to mention hiring translators and interpreters for each language.

If you can find a way to survive without learning English fine but if you want to do business with the Government in any way, shape, or form it should be conducted in English exclusively.

bong62

they dont need test because they know that they need to learn the language to be able to mingle with the people there..its a process anyway you will be good with the english language through time and practice

rare2findd

if that was the case, then we need to place the same restrictions on a good percentage of people who already live and work here!
Have you actually paid attention to the way a lot of our students write?
Have you?
And what about the New York City teacher ~~for 17 years no less~~ who, when attempting to explain deductions on payroll checks to his 9th grade students, had to actually ask them what "Net Pay:" meant.
So please
we need to re-educate our teachers.
and ourselves.

lcman5

It would be helpful to know the predominant language in whatever country one works in, but it shouldn't be necessary. In the case of the US, Spanish has already become necessary for many English speakers to know. It would be foolish, for instance, for a minority group of English speakers in a border town to insist upon the majority group of Spanish speakers to learn English. This shouldn't be construed as saying that one group always has to conform to the other, but being bilingual is almost always advantageous.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: