Which of the following statements are true: Immigrants do not want to speak English; immigrants cannot speak English; immigrants should speak English; everyone should be forced to take English classes; or should everyone be free to use their language of choice?

Should a new law be introduced or should the situation remain as it is? The debate surrounding English is not subsiding.

Last month, the U.S. Senate came out in favor of making English the sole national language in U.S. territory. The city of Hazelton, in Pennsylvania, has recently outlawed the speaking of languages other than English. President Bush has been vociferously calling on newly arrived immigrants to learn English. Great! Let’s learn! But are there enough spots in English classes for those interested?

The reality of the situation is that there are not.

“You limit yourself by not studying English; you deny the possibilities available to you,” stated Ruben del Rosario, a 27-year old Mexican immigrant living in Philadelphia. He arrived in the United States six years ago and started to learn the language by watching every single game of his favorite sports team and by listening to the sportscasters’ off-screen commentary. Later he began to pick up different words in the speech of passers-by. He was well armed for listening to Bush’s recent speech and understood its exact meaning. In addition, he registered for language classes and devotes three hours a day five days a week to studying English.

Rosario was one of the lucky ones who was able to find a spot in a class. Along with Ruben, another 1.2 million Philadelphia residents take English classes for non-native speakers, which are financed by the state and federal governments.

Additionally, some immigrants take classes held by charitable organizations; however, for quite some time the demand for these classes significantly exceeds the supply. Classes are packed and there is simply no space to take in more students. Despite all these problems, the government has decided to reduce funding for several language programs. In Philadelphia, the budget of the Even Start program has been slashed twice, and the program faces further cuts in 2007.

“We just don’t have the resources to teach everyone who is interested,” deplored Lisa Rodriguez, who has taught English classes to foreigners for 10 years.

Twenty-one-year-old Norma Flores, also from Mexico, went to a local emergency room when her infant daughter fell suddenly ill.

“We got to the ER, but no one spoke Spanish,” lamented the mother of four. “The doctor wanted to know if I had given my daughter any medication and if she had a fever. I wasn’t able to explain anything to him.”

Flores continued, “I felt...” She had trouble finding the right words. Her teacher Marla Bensey came to her aid, offering her a textbook opened to a section titled, “Emotions.” Flores studied the pictures for a while and then said, “I felt stressed, I felt sad.”

“Teaching the subtleties of English to those for whom it is already a second language is one thing. But when you’re working with people who don’t know a single word and don’t have the slightest comprehension of grammatical categories, believe me, it’s entirely different. This situation calls for lots of resources,” explained Bensey. And she is right. It takes a significant amount of money to offer undereducated immigrants in-depth English classes and then turn them out as English speakers.

It seems that the famous proverb, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” does not apply to this situation. Forget about the will, let’s talk about the way. Maybe it would be simpler to declare broken English the national language and be done with it.