Should English be the Official Language of the USA?

If English be the official language, immigrants would have better lives. Many people in the world consider English as one of the most important languages in the world with Mandarin, Spanish and French. English has become one of the Universal languages in the world because so many people migrate English speaking nations.

Immigrants wishing to obtain U.S. citizenship, should demonstrate sufficient proficiency in the English language. This is often done on the interview before the naturalization with the employee of the United States Citizenship Services and Immigration Services . The test is conducted strictly according to the instructions in the form of oral responses to questions, reading and writing in English. However, for the majority of immigrants to learn English is a desirable aim, because speaking English, it is easier to gain economic success and to participate in social and civic life. Although, if you want you can live in cultural enclaves in the U.S., where is the predominant foreign language, a good knowledge of English is still necessary for lasting prosperity and success.

Immigrants should be forced to learn English because it is after all America, and because the immigrants should integrate into what it is considered the American culture. Anyone who chooses to live in another country should be required to learn the national language. This will allow the individuals a better chance to find work and understand other member of American society. Immigrants are also particular vulnerable in a new environment, so it’s even more important for them to know English before choosing U.S. as their homeland, so they can be well versed in their rights and the laws protecting them in the work. The country obligates immigrants to learn English before naturalization, U.S. citizenship and immigration. If the people know more about the rights, they can have a better life and choose how they want to live. Immigrants need to learn English to find a good job in the U.S.

There is a difficult choice for many immigrants which language to teach children and what language they should talk to them at home. It is naturally that they want their children to know and understand their own language, but at the same time it is clear that children need to speak English in order to succeed in the United States, and to start earning a living. In addition, a study conducted by sociologist Min Zhou, shows that the majority of children of immigrants want to be similar to their American counterparts and they diligently study English, they want not to stand out. As a result, the children of immigrants usually depart from the native language of their parents and consider English to be their native language. Descendants of immigrants of the third generation are showing little interest in the development or use of the native language of their grandparents.

The employees have to follow the rules and policies of the corporation while they are working. People coming to America should study its official language. Everyone has to follow requirements and guidelines, when a candidate wants to get hired for the desired job.

Knowledge of the English language can lead to a successful job and the employment prospects. Many opportunities have bilingual people. It is easier to get a job knowing such languages as Spanish or Italian in the U. S. Being bilingual is important in many aspects of life. For example, big corporations see that as a big plus when hiring personnel. New doors will open for them, to be more successful in life and they can have a better work. Many companies have an international business in the United States and they want their employees to be bilingual. A lot of people speak Spanish in America and companies hire employees who can speak with these customers in Spanish. There is a big need for bilingual workers in certain parts of the United States, people can find such jobs anywhere.

Bilingual employees can find jobs for themselves everywhere. Most government offices are searching for bilingual people. They only hire people who know two languages. Multilingual employees are needed in such offices as Social Security and Social Services. Banks also need bilingual people, the employees should be qualified, but when they are able to speak two languages, it will give them many advantages. Many marketing centers need bilingual speakers in order to reach a wide audience. The salaries are very high for the bilingual workers. A multilingual staff can work in the customer service receiving calls from the people who live around the world. There is a shortage of nurses in America. A lot of Americans are looking for the registered nurses who know two languages. Bilingual teachers are in short supply, they are needed in big cities. There are a lot of jobs in broadcasting for the bilingual employees. Journalists are hired for the areas that have non-English speaking population.

Immigrants could gain many opportunities speaking English, even considering the hospitality industry. The staff of the company will be able to speak with many customers. The same rule could be in many industries, such as travel, telecommunications, tourism and sales. There are many problems with people who do not know English, they do not understand the orders of the native speakers. Here are the words of a waiter at the burger joint who has worked with immigrants, “When customers see us working and notice that I’m the only one who speaks well enough to carry on a conversation, they immediately ask for my help. This is all fine and good initially but when this happens over and over again during a work shift, I get overwhelmed quickly get exhausted by the constant requests or questions. I have to work harder than the non-English speakers so it’s as if I’m being punished for being fluent!” (Valdez, 2010). However, there is another difficulty working with co-worker who don’t know English, when they ask something to do, the native speaker or the person who speaks only English can not understand their requests. They speak only their language and there will be a miscommunication. A native speaker said that, “the task never gets completed and I sometimes get reported for not doing my job. So basically, I get in trouble with my managers because my co-workers don’t speak English. That’s not at all fair and it happens all the time” (Valdez, 2010).

Spencer H. Lewis believed that, "employers should carefully scrutinize their English-only policies and English fluency requirements to ensure they are not discriminating against employees on the basis of national origin" (Carrie, 2007) Many people do not agree with the fact that employees should speak English being at work, because they feel discomfort. Some workers often get offended when people do not speak English during the working time, because the English speaking people think that they are talking in the native language behind their backs. Carrie Kurzon considers that, “two Hispanic employees of The Salvation Army were fired because they did not speak English while at work, when they were required to”.

There is another advantage of speaking English, it provides a good communication with the coworkers of the same company. According to the study, people should speak one universal language on the job to avoid miscommunication among the employees and other coworkers of the company. It will make the communication easier and will help to understand what is happening at that moment without translating for the non-English speaking people. The employees show a sign of respect to the company, while they are speaking English. When the co-workers begin to speak their native language, people feel themselves awkwardly, because they do not know what is going on. Speaking the native language causes a sensation of anxiety for the English speakers. Managers should warn the employees who are talking in their native language during the business hours. The employees even do not know how they can affect the company, where they are working, by not communicating in English. The big corporations will not hire them if they do not want to study English. According to Trevino, "most businesses benefit by employing English speakers for many reasons, a tax break might be just the push reluctant employers need to support ESL classes. Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., recently re-introduced legislation that would give businesses tax breaks if they offer ESL classes. For a good model to follow, the restaurant industry is credited with spearheading efforts to develop such classes onsite" (Richard, 2009).

Thus, studying English, employees will have many opportunities in their future careers. There is a requirement to talk in English in most works, the coworker must understand each other and communicate effectively not offending anyone during the business hours. All employees should feel themselves fair and equal and a manager has to ask the employees to speak English in the business hours. It is a plus when a person knows an additional language. Many companies pay additional bonus for the two languages that the coworkers speak.