The Language of Opportunity

The United States of America was founded under principles such as liberty, justice, and

freedom. During the late 19th century, the population of the United Sates consisted of a large

number of immigrants from numerous different countries around the globe. Although the people

were unified as Americans by law, culturally they had very little in common. One of the largest

problems that faced the nation was communication between the people of different cultures.

Over time the rift between people of different ethnicities has subsided greatly and now a vast

majority of American citizens speak English as their first language. Although immigration to

America has slowed greatly since our time as a young nation there are still hundreds of

thousands of people immigrating to the United States each year, many of whom do not speak

English. Currently there is a debate over how to easily assimilate these new immigrants into

America. New immigrants to America should find a way to learn the English language on their

own because doing so is necessary to truly achieve success in this country and each individual is

responsible for reaching their highest potential.

America is widely known as the land of opportunity but there is little opportunity if one

does not know the English language. Although the United States does not have an official

language, over 80% of its citizens speak English as their first language (“United States: History,

Geography, Government, and Culture”). When conducting day to day activities, English is the

language most commonly heard. New immigrants to America can often find it difficult not only

adapting to a different culture but also adjusting a completely different language. Young

children can often pick up and learn a new language fairly quickly especially when they are

immersed in it such as when they are at school. Adults on the other hand have a very difficult

time picking up a brand new language and this hinders their potential to succeed in their new
country. “A lack of a common language causes labor disputes and the non-English-speaking

worker presents a much greater accident risk than the native worker. More work is spoiled, more

tools are ruined by the non-English-speaking worker who cannot understand directions and thus

takes a long time to learn” (401 Dayton-Wood). This makes a lot of sense logically because it

would be very hard to succeed in the work place if you could not understand what your boss was

saying. Potential immigrants should understand this before moving to America and use this

information to motivate themselves to find a means to learn English so they can increase their

chances of achieving success.

If the government was to put its time and money into ESL programs for immigrants, the

U.S. would be requiring people to learn the English language and conform to American society.

Culture and language are very closely related because there are both typically unique to each

ethnicity. In the article, Should English Be the Law, Robert King writes, “Language is not

primarily a means of communication but a means of communion… a bond of national identity”

(443). Immigrants often feel that by learning the language of a new country and adapting to a

new culture, they are in turn discounting language and culture that they grew up with. Moving to

a new country can be extremely difficult so immigrants often like to do and see things that

remind them of home. “To suppress the use of all languages in the United States except the

English will hinder rather than help Americanization. When you strike at the language of a

person, you strike at his feelings, his mother tongue, his childhood memories” (403 Dayton-

Wood). This is not what should be promoted by a country that prides itself on being a land of

diversity. If an immigrant is required to learn the language of the new country they feel

uncomfortably forced to conform to a new way of life, forgetting their old culture.
 It could be argued that without governmental assistance it is going to be very difficult for

new immigrants to succeed on their own. Many immigrants come to America with nothing,

hoping to make a better life for them and their family. If the government does not provide these

new immigrants with an ability to learn the language they potentially never will because they

don’t have the money to pay for it. It is also possible that because these new immigrants do not

speak English they will not be able to find out how to enroll in ESL classes or be able to afford

them. If Americans do not intend for new immigrants to learn the English language then they are

practically being used only for manual labor and other jobs that many American’s do not want to

do.

When people choose to move to a new country they usually do so to try and better their

circumstances. They should do this knowing full well that they might need to make some

sacrifices to adapt to their new surroundings. People immigrating to America are not forced to

move here, so if they have the desire to learn the English language it is their responsibility to do

so. There are plenty of English as a Second Language (ESL) programs around the country that

are designed to help new immigrants more easily acclimate themselves to America. Currently

our government is in trillions of dollars of debt and there is no need to spend even more money

on something that can be paid for by the individual who is using it. Government funding should

be designed to go to things that will be used by a vast majority of Americans such as roads,

electricity, and healthcare. ESL programs only benefit the small minority of people in America

who do not already speak the language; therefore it would not be an efficient use of government

money.

A large reason why the government should not and does not need to fund ESL programs

is because people are capable of living in America without speaking English. One of the benefits
of the United States not having an official language is that it is possible to get a job without

knowing much, if any, English. Most manual labor jobs around the country can and are done by

people who speak little English. Even though many of these jobs do not pay much more than

minimum wage, they still pay enough to live off of. As of July 24th, 2009 the national minimum

wage was $7.25 an hour (“State and Federal Minimum Wage Rates”). Based on this hourly

wage a person working any number of manual labor jobs, fulltime, could certainly afford some

type of language education. Once they have received this education they now have the

opportunity for significantly more financially rewarding careers. In many cases immigrants will

send money to their family back in their native country to provide much needed help. The

education of one person now benefits many people because of one person’s ability to be

successful in the workplace.

Even if a new immigrant somehow does not have the money required for ESL programs

there are still plenty of other ways to learn the language. The media is one of the cheapest and

easiest ways to pick up the language of a country. By going on the internet or watching

television a person can gain knowledge of the American language. With things such as free

videos on Youtube that teach English it is getting easier and easier for an immigrant to acclimate

to America. Other ways to learn the language are going to the public library and looking at

books or simply having a conversation with someone. When a person is immersed in culture it is

very difficult not to pick up any of the language that is spoken. Although this may not be the

best way to learn English, it is cost effective and beneficial to those who use the resources.

When people immigrate to the United States they usually are thinking about their long

term future. To become an American citizen there is, among other things, a test that you need to

take. Part of the exam tests your proficiency of the English language. I seriously doubt many
people moving to America plan on only living here until their visa expires; most want to live a

successful and fulfilling life in the United States. The best way to do that is to become a citizen.

This means that when people are attempting to immigrate to America they should be aware of

the need to learn English. If this is true and these potential immigrants know that they will need

to be able to speak English in order to become a citizen, then they should be prepared to find

ways to learn the language.

New immigrants to the United State should find their own way to learn the English

language because if an immigrant has the desire to succeed in America there are plenty of other

means for them to learn English. In an ideal world it would be nice if the US government had

enough money to fund these programs, but in reality they do not. Immigrants leave their country

of origin and come to America mostly for the freedoms and the opportunities that are available.

Because of this, they should anticipate the need to make sacrifices for potential long-term

benefits. The transition to America might be easier for immigrants if more Americans’ spoke a

foreign language but sadly this is not the case. Because America is so large and quite isolated it

is one of very few countries where the majority of citizens only speak one language. More and

more schools are emphasizing the need to speak a foreign language but it will take time before

those kids are a majority of the population. We are becoming more and more of a global society

and learning more than one language will only broaden peoples’ possibilities.
 Works Cited

Dayton-Wood, Amy. "Teaching English for a "Better America"." Rhetoric Review 27.4 (2008).
Web. 20 Feb 2010.

"State And Federal Minimum Wage Rates." Labor Law Center. Web. 21 Feb 2010.
<www.laborlawcenter.com>

"United States: History, Geography, Government, and Culture." infoplease. 2009. Pearson
Education, Web. 21 Feb 2010. <www.infoplease.com>.