Lost in the Language

Imagine you’re a child whose family has moved from the United States to India. No one in your family speaks Hindi. You’re sent to a Hindi school where some people can speak English, but they don’t. All the other kids and the teachers speak Hindi. You’re given a math book, and when you open it to the current lesson, you see the text is all in their native language..

This is exactly what happens to many of our nation’s students. Of all the children in our schools, 21.6% speak a different language at home. The second most spoken language the United States is Spanish, followed by Chinese, followed by Tagalog which is spoken in the Philippines. In addition, there are approximately 150 different Native American languages spoken in American Homes.

Did you know that only 63% of ESL (English as a Second Language) students graduate from high school?

We need to help these kids. English in school, yes — but also speech-to-text, translation technology, and coaching in language arts are needed, too.

Do you know of any non-English speaking families starting school in your neighborhood or school district this year?

Reach out to them and take steps to help. They’ll be grateful someone understands.