Thread: Learn English; it helps fulfill American dream

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Learn English; it helps fulfill American dream

By MARCHIENA DAVIS
Published on: 08/02/06
"Instucciones bilingues al reverso" were the words on the front of the Bisquick box.

I'm fed up. Usually it takes a lot to make me feel that way, so this must have been building up with each bilingual sign that crosses my path.

Bisquick broke the camel's back for me. Indeed, on the reverse of the box were instructions in Spanish for mixing pancakes.

For whom are these Spanish instructions? Not for me to learn Spanish, but for the Hispanic population to not learn English.

This is upsetting because when we came to the United States from the Netherlands, there were no boxes or signs in Dutch and English for us to adjust. I am not upset that we were not given that benefit, but that the Spanish-speaking population is being babied.

My parents had high school English, which was the equivalent of my high school French, meaning that it was almost useless. When they needed to purchase something, they had to puzzle it out. Their mistakes benefited them. They learned in an accelerated fashion.

When youngsters are learning to read, they are taught strategies to figure out the words. They may have word sight recognition, or the ability to sound out the word. Other ways are to look for clues, such as examining illustrations on the page, or looking at the root of the word and backpedaling through their limited experience in word usage and how that root may appear in their experience.

This is using the brain, taxing the gray matter, creating more brain wrinkles that indicate that energy and thought are developing through learning something new. These strategies work for learning a new language, also, and at any age.

We came to the United States and my parents made a new rule: only English spoken. Through patience and tears and frustration, my sisters and brothers were immersed in elementary school and actually kept up with their American peers in academics. By the time I reached first grade, no one would have known that English was my second language. We had no accent; we knew the slang; we fit in. Our family had assimilated in one generation.

My parents were thrilled to be in America. This was evident in the efforts they took to adjust to the language and to the way things were done. My mom had to learn how to drive, how to shop for items that had one language on the label, to communicate with teachers, sew Halloween costumes, the whole nine yards.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for giving us the greatest gift of all. You brought us to the United States, taking a leap of faith that this was the best decision of your lives, and insisting that we assimilate as quickly as humanly possible. Because of that, we are each living the American dream.

I have to laugh. A few days ago I bought a water filter do-hickey that fits on your faucet. Normally it doesn't take much for me to figure these things out but I got to a point where the directions were needed. Nice big instructions in SPANISH......but I literally had to get the magnifying glass out to read the tiny, tiny, English instructions. Is that the next step? Make the English version microscopic?

For whom are these Spanish instructions? Not for me to learn Spanish, but for the Hispanic population to not learn English.

We can thank our lovely former President Clinton for this.
Is it just me or does many product instruction, and operators manuals, etc. seem to have the English version close to the end?

I recently bought a referigerator w/ an ice maker (self install). Anyway, the English version of the installation instructions were third down the list. Guess what, Spanish and French superceded the English version.
Go figure.

For whom are these Spanish instructions? Not for me to learn Spanish, but for the Hispanic population to not learn English.

This is upsetting because when we came to the United States from the Netherlands, there were no boxes or signs in Dutch and English for us to adjust. I am not upset that we were not given that benefit, but that the Spanish-speaking population is being babied.

Actually, I wanted to quote the entire article. It's all very important, and shows the difference...the people who immigrate with the intention of doing things legally and becoming AMERICANS, vs. those who wish AMERICANS to be like them, yet want all the benefits that we all worked and paid such a high price for.

Is it just me or does many product instruction, and operators manuals, etc. seem to have the English version close to the end?

No.....it's not just you. I'm getting a bit sick of it. I was looking to replace my weed whacker line and naturally I forgot to really check it out and counted on the store to have one in stock that I could refere to. They did.......but took me forever to find the tiny spot that had the English info. My eyes are slipping and it's tough enough....let alone to wade through all the other languages. Especially when it's brightly and hugely scrawled in Spanish.