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peppermint -> RE: Last I looked... (8/5/2010 9:49:23 PM)
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It's not unusual for immigrants to not learn English. It has been happening since immigrants came to this country. An example is my own grandmother. She came from what is now Slovakia. The steel barons promised the men good jobs paying lots of money if they would come here to work. Most men came without wives but needed a place to stay, meals, and clean clothes. My grandmother not only took care of her 10 children, she and my grandfather took in boarders, those men without wives. She worked 7 days a week from before daylight until after dark, cooking, cleaning, washing. There was no time for her to learn English. Fortunately for her, others from her country settled in the same area. The butcher, the doctor, the grocer all spoke her language.
I was a teenager when my grandfather passed away. I remember my mom teaching my grandmother to write her name, something she had not needed to know before his death. One difference from today is that she did not feel entitled to interpreters. Someone from the family did that, taking turns staying with her when she was in the hospital 24/7. I never talked with my grandmother. None of the grandchildren were taught Slovak. You see, my mother's generation felt ashamed that their parents were foreigners and wanted us to blend in with other children. I often wish it has not been so. We only saw a small bit of the heritage that was ours.
So I feel pulled both ways on the issue of learning English. I do understand how important is it. Yet I also understand that it's not easy for some. Some have little time for study. Others just don't have a talent for learning a foreign language when they are in their adult years. Many, such as my grandparents live in isolated pockets where there neighbors, the doctor, the butcher, and the grocer all speak their language. That makes is so very difficult.
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