Reading street signs, ordering a meal at a restaurant or listening to a conversation on the street can be difficult for those who speak a language other than English. Not fluently understanding English can place a burden on someone financially or socially and can become, in some instances, a life-or-death situation.
A new study — titled Quality Counts 2009: Portrait of a Population: How English-language learners Are Putting States to the Test — shows there are 4.3 million students nationally and almost 17,000 in Alabama for whom English is their second language.
English-only initiatives have been on ballots in numerous states. On many state constitutions, English is designated as the official language — Alabama among them. If those that push for English-only initiatives expect everyone to speak the language, then the instruction should be there to teach those trying to learn English.
