Tens of thousands of immigrants are on waiting lists to get into English classes. Another indication of how important they feel learning English is for their future. DP
By Adam Phillips, New York
voanews.com: Today, more immigrants are coming to America than ever before. In order for these new arrivals to take full advantage of economic and cultural opportunities in the United States, competence in spoken and written English is almost essential. But recent studies indicate that the demand for English language training exceeds the supply. That's limiting many newcomers' ability to enter the American cultural and economic mainstream.
"English is really essential," says Phyllis Berman, the founder and director of the Riverside Language Program in New York City. "If immigrants don't learn English, they are not going to make a living."
They are also going to be distanced from their children Berman says, "as their kids begin to function in this country and in this language." Simply put, she says, learning English "is the key for them, and for the life they want."
That is why immigration experts are troubled by the serious shortage of English classes throughout the United States right now, even as immigration numbers, and the American economy are growing. According to a study by the Center for an Urban Future, a non-profit group that researches workforce and economic development issues in New York State, only five percent of immigrants with limited English skills are in a formal course to improve them. And across the nation, tens of thousands are on waiting lists to get into an English class.
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