This is America. Learn English.

• This is America. Learn English. - American
  • English - MKJ
  • My dad and I were just talking bout this - ermt
  • Schools' hands are tied in many states.... - sm
    • ESL students in elementary schools - MKJ
  • I teach English as a volunteer. - Theo
    • why can people immigrate to the US if they don't yet speak the language? Canada you have to speak - MKJ
      • Go for it. Most states cannot even get decent - JS
  • I could not agree more. I get mad when I am SM - Gets me so mad
  • Have a bad experience today? Why this out of the blue? - mt3
    • ESL - MKJ
    • ongoing topic - FLMT
    • Agree nothing wrong with speaking other language - TOO. But speak English when necessary. nm
    • Maybe not out of the blue. Maybe just finally had - enough. nm

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu

My spouse and I feel that if you are immigrating into the US, you need to speak English. Of course as an MT I do not like my work being threatened by India (I previously worked in bank customer service, and my company there outsourced 3000 jobs to India and laid off all the US CSRs). My spouse grew up in Detroit which is now classified as a" dead city" with the highest unemployment rate and some of the lowest house values in the nation due to outsourcing of the auto companies to Mexico and many auto parts and steel are now made in Asia.

However, we may even learn Spanish. He is retraining in Nursery and Greenhouse Management and it just makes sense as that will help him manage the laborers.  if he ever owns his own biz, we will insist on legitimate papers for every worker.

You can transcribe between two languages from home, just like you do MT from home. Spanish does not pay as much as, say, Arabic (a language I strongly wanted to learn) but there is more demand for it and it is easier to learn for an English speaker (and if we all get lucky, our overseas Middle East involvement will cease and there will be no more need for transcription of Arabic to English. Somehow I don't think we will get that lucky).

What gets me is people who move here and still do not speak the language after 5 or 10 years!!!

I would not even visit another country as a TOURIST without studying the language for months ahead of time if there was not a lot of English spoken there, and I would study some of the indigenous language anyway. It's just a sign of respect.

I think it is going to be to our benefit to be bilingual but I don't see us ever not having at least some ambivalence about the people we speak it to (but I think we will meet some good people as well).

I'm still shaking my head over this one, folks.  A member of our local school board, when asked about a child whose parents were told was failing all classes but in reality was only failing one said, "Well, a child can be behind their peers but still passing." 

I don't know about you all, but in my day and time of growing up, if you had a C or higher average in a class you were passing and parents weren't told the child was failing.

I love the ventriloquist and Cas Haley. I have gotten to really like Butterscotch in the last few weeks, but hope either Terry Fator or Cas wins. Tomorrow night will tell. 

Normally I avoid those types of shows like the plague but I like seeing all these people who are amateurs show what they can do and you can see them improving and polishing their act and their look and gaining stage presence...it's really kind of nice to see such a variety of people striving to make their dreams come true.

What is your favorite act?

America's Youngest Outcasts & Campaign to End Child Homelessness

Over 1.5 million American children are homeless each year. The National Center on Family Homelessness is launching a Campaign to End Child Homelessness to galvanize the public and political will to end this national crisis. Our goal is to ensure that not one child in the United States will be homeless for even one day.

Great report only as how they break down the information, and that there is someone out there looking a this. How is your state doing?

Who would want your rudeness around their children or good neighbors anyway?  Since you seem to be just a judgmental person, perhaps there is some utopia somewhere for the likes of folks like you....hmmmmm?  We wouldn't want you in the city nor the country as neighbors of our family, that's for sure, and WE DON'T IMBIBE...so there!

Rudeness and hate is taught in the home - now we know how it was for you.....poor thing....

In a revealing example of what she says the average homeowner faces, a California Congresswoman spent more than two hours on the phone trying, without success, to find someone at the Bank of America who could help a struggling constituent modify his mortgage payments. ABC News "Nightline" cameras were rolling as Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Ca.) was repeatedly put on hold for long stretches, disconnected, transferred to extensions that did not work and ultimately switched to a recording which directed her to the bank's website.

"The average American trying to negotiate a loan modification will not be able to get it done," said Waters. "It will be impossible for them to get in touch with the right person, and even if they get in touch with a so-called counselor, they have a cookie cutter kind of direction that they go in."

Since language is "our thing" - and particularly ESL - I thought you'd like to get a head start on what to expect from future Chinese dictators.  Get a load of these Chinese-to-English learning blocks (I'll post this as an URL you can paste into your browser since some are reluctant to click on links):

http://peer-see.com/blog/chumble-spuzz/2006/07/09/

I suggest we practice by forming sentences, such as:  "The patient is a construction worker who was operating a navvy when a crustacea flew into the cab.  Mistaking it for a darning needle, he swatted at the crustacea and lost control of the navvy, which crashed.  Unfortunately, he was not wearing a safety armet at the time and was knocked unconscious..."