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July 31, 2007

Two town councilors are objecting to a request that signs spelling out rules at a public beach be printed in Spanish.

Parks and Recreation Director Sherry Kalish asked last week for a sign with the rules in Spanish because some beachgoers can't read the existing sign in English.

But Town Councilors Finlay Rothhaus and Michael Malzone say signs should only be in English.

"I know where I live," Malzone said. "I am in the United States of America, and I am not going to spend my tax dollars to put up foreign-language signs."

Malzone said immigrants should learn English and respect the cultural and municipal rules if they want to live and work in the state."Read More...

July 30, 2007

Hispanic search engine marketing services are designed to strategically enhance search engine placement for companies interested in reaching the online Hispanic audience in the US and Latin America.

According to Affinity Spanish director Ron McCoy, “These new services are in response to market demand that we expect to increase going forward. The importance of the Hispanic market continues to gain momentum. We’ve made an investment in company capabilities and partnerships to allow us to position the company as an authoritative source for providing high quality Hispanic internet marketing services."Read More...

For the first time in its history, the Rugby World Cup is being held in a French-speaking country. For this exceptional event, the Foreign and European Affairs minister, TV5 Monde, RFI and the Alliance Française are launching a campaign, with the assistance of the French Rugby Federation, to promote the French language to the 450,000 foreign visitors who will attend the matches, and to all rugby fans. This operation will also be aimed at showing the modernity of the French language and to attract new audiences to study it at the network of French cultural establishments abroad. Read More...

July 21, 2007

According to research presented to Congress in May, even the children of immigrants prefer to speak English by the time they are adults.

Rubén G. Rumbaut, a sociologist at the University of California at Irvine, and his team of researchers looked at 5,700 adults in their 20s and 30s in Southern California from different generations to see how long their language survived. A key finding centered on 1,900 American-born children of immigrants. The shift toward English among them was swift: While 87 percent grew up speaking another language at home, only 34 percent said they spoke it well by adulthood. And nearly 70 percent said they preferred to speak English.

"English wins, and it does so in short order," said Rumbaut, who presented his findings to the US House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration in May. "What we're talking about is a real phenomenon."

It is difficult for children to sustain their parents' languages amid the tidal wave of American pop culture, including movies and television, coupled with societal pressure to speak only English. Most schools and communities do little to preserve bilingualism, Rumbaut said. Even bilingual education programs, which Massachusetts voters dismantled in 2002, were commonly designed to help students make the transition to English-only classrooms.

Spanish was found to survive longer, largely because Southern California is a high-immigrant area and Spanish is ubiquitous on television and radio and in newspapers.

Still, gaps emerged. Almost all second-generation Mexican- Americans were raised speaking Spanish, but only 60 percent spoke it well by early adulthood, and half preferred English. By the third generation, barely 10 percent spoke Spanish well, according to the study; almost all preferred English.

While Rumbaut's study did not include Massachusetts, he said it was even more likely that language loss would occur here, because immigrants make up only 14 percent of the population, about half the percentage in California, meaning that children here have more exposure to English.

Until now, much of the debate over language has focused on the successful campaigns in Massachusetts, California, and Arizona to end bilingual education in public schools. Bilingual education was still strong in California when the participants in Rumbaut's study were young, but Rumbaut said English still prevailed. Read More...

July 11, 2007

Kate and Kaory are among more than 200 Valley Elementary students who are taught entirely in Spanish for 50 percent to 90 percent of their school day. The program, which has attracted families from throughout the district, aims to achieve bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish.

Advocates of dual-language programs say they benefit both English-and Spanish-speakers. Native English speakers more easily learn another language at a young age and become truly bilingual, advocates say, and Spanish speakers learn academics in their native language, ensuring that they understand the material, then transition to English.

Although participants overall test lower in English-language skills in first and second grades, they ultimately do as well as or better than their peers in academic achievement by the fifth grade, plus they become bilingual, said Judy Lambert, education consultant for the California Department of Education, Language Policy and Leadership Office.

Under its program, kindergarten students are taught in Spanish for 90 percent of their day and in English for 10 percent. The ratio of Spanish to English shifts each year, with students gradually reaching 50/50 Spanish-English instruction in fifth grade.

“There's no difference between Spanish and English for (Georgia). It's so natural, she doesn't miss a beat,” Van Tyne said.

Like other dual-language classrooms, Araujo's class is split, with half native Spanish-speakers and half native English-speakers, although there are a few students at Valley whose native language is neither English nor Spanish.

The students learn from one another, and no one is self-conscious, say parents and teachers. Some parents say the program is comparable to a private school offering.

Kerr, who says she speaks only “ 'preschool Spanish' – I know my colors, numbers” – is thrilled with her boys' progress. “They speak Spanish at home with each other,” Kerr said. “They feel sorry for their friends who know only one language.Read More...

July 5, 2007

Hewlett-Packard, for example, is tailoring some of its products specifically for Spanish speakers. In April, the computer giant introduced a pair of personal computers that feature a Spanish-language operating system and keyboard. In November, H-P launched a Web site in Spanish and a toll-free number featuring bilingual sales representatives.

Another computer leader that reached out to U.S. Hispanics is Sony. Last April, Sony introduced a notebook computer that, like Hewlett Packard's PCs, featured a Spanish-language operating system and keyboard. The notebook, based on Sony's popular VAIO FJ Series, was the company's first Spanish-language computer in the U.S.

English-language (sites) have reached saturation; there is a segment of the Hispanic community that prefers or relies on Spanish; said Lee Vann, founder of Captura Group, a Web design and marketing firm specializing in the U.S. Hispanic market. "To the extent that you can make it easier for (Hispanics) to use sites in Spanish is a good business decision. Read More...

July 3, 2007

People have different reasons to learn Spanish language. Some learn when they plan their trip to Spanish speaking countries like Mexico, Spain or any other Latin American country. Some learn Spanish to communicate with neighbors. Some learn to get quick perks in their profession. Whatever may be the reason, learning a foreign language like Spanish will be an added advantage.

Really, learning Spanish will give an advantage in the life. You will enjoy your trip more if you learn Spanish before you go. In this way you can understand the culture and the people in a better way. You can easily move with your neighbors and clients.

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