English is vital for a good job, but immigrants can wait years for classes

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Language barriers
English is vital for a good job, but immigrants can wait years for classes

By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff  |  April 6, 2006

While Nelma Nascimento of Brockton waited for an English class opening,
the Brazilian biologist took a job at an area factory where, she says, her
hands were shredded with paper cuts every day. It would be for only a
short time, just until she could speak English well enough for a better
job. Or so she thought. Months passed, and then years. She had a child.
Still she waited. Four years later, her name came to the top of the list,
and she began attending classes. Before long, she found a better job
working in the Westgate Mall. While every immigrant's child will have
English classes in school, the parents -- who need the language skills as
much or more -- are waiting months or years for classes that teach English
to newcomers. Yet, as Nascimento's experience illustrates, learning
English has become an economic imperative, not just a social one.

In cities such as Brockton, where 980 people since November have added
their names to the waiting list for English classes at the Adult Learning
Center, the long wait is leaving immigrants, some of them skilled
professionals like Nascimento, stuck for years in low-tier jobs. Not only
do they earn far less -- sometimes not enough for their families to live
on -- but area businesses who need qualified workers lose the chance to
hire them. ''The primary competitive edge of Massachusetts has always been
the skill level of the workforce -- the Yankee ingenuity, the
productivity. But in light of recent demographic trends that are
highlighting slow growth, and sometimes the shrinkage of our population,
and the out-migration of younger and educated residents . . . there's a
growing importance of immigrants," said Michael Goodman, director of
economic and public policy research at the University of Massachusetts
Donahue Institute. A report released in June by the Massachusetts
Institute for a New Commonwealth, a nonpartisan public policy think tank,
found that an immigrant who speaks English earns more than 2.5 times that
of an immigrant who does not speak English well: a salary of $38,526 per
year versus $14,221.

Yet the Brockton Adult Learning Center turns away more than 1,500 people a
year because the center does not have enough spots to accommodate them. In
Brockton, about a quarter of those people who have signed up in recent
months for English classes are trained professionals: accountants, nurses,
or computer technicians in their own countries, said coordinator Linda
Faria Braun. Quincy Community Action Programs recently expanded the number
of classes, and has shortened the waiting list from 1 1/2 years to six to
nine months.  There are 200 people waiting at the Stoughton Adult Basic
Education Program; 100 at the Randolph Community Partnership Inc.

And those are just the people waiting for the free, curriculum-based
classes funded by the state Department of Education. Statewide, 17,000
people are waiting for such classes, which do not include those offered by
nonprofits, or for a fee. Because Southeastern Massachusetts is growing so
rapidly, it is in a unique position, Goodman said. ''Bristol and Plymouth
counties in particular have . . . a unique challenge in that they've got
more need to meet, but they've also got more to gain if they successfully
meet the challenge."

Quincy Community Action Programs estimated in 2003 that more than 10,000
people in the city spoke English ''less than very well." In Brockton, more
than 4,000 people in the 2000 Census reported speaking limited English --
likely a drastic underestimate, said Braun. Even in area communities that
aren't historically known to be immigrant magnets, the need is clear.
Lenore Cardoza, who has taught English classes in Brockton since 1990,
said that her husband, a teacher in suburban Middleborough, has begun
training so that he can administer English proficiency tests. Weymouth
schools Assistant Superintendent Leo Egan noted that the town is hoping to
offer language classes soon because of a growing need, with languages
ranging from Albanian to Brazilian to Urdu among parents who can't reach
their potential because they can't speak English.

More state funding may be coming. This year's budget includes $1.5 million
more for adult education than last year. The economic stimulus bill for
fiscal year 2006, which is in conference committee, would allot an
additional $3.5 million. But the future probably will depend on a
combination of public and private resources, said John Schneider, vice
president of the Massachusetts Institute for the New Commonwealth. ''The
state can only afford to do so much. We have to really focus on building
these public-private partnerships, helping employees understand that this
kind of training can make a difference," he said.

Last month, business leaders from communities south of Boston convened at
an ''English for All Workers" summit in Brockton, with a goal to cut the
region's 2,000-person waiting list by 500. Christopher Cooney, president
and chief executive officer of the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, said
that local businesses plan to request a $250,000 grant from the state's
workforce training fund to help fund English classes for workers and that
local businesses have been asked to pledge money. ''Our question to some
of these companies is: We're going to create a larger pool of
English-speaking workers for you -- what's that worth to you?" Cooney
said. ''If you hire an employee and they turn over -- for whatever reason
-- their English isn't good, or they get a better job for 50 cents more an
hour, the average cost if someone leaves your employ is $15,000."

Peter Neville, president of Concord Foods, which employs 215 people in the
Brockton area, said his company had a longstanding policy of paying for
English classes. Often, he said, English skills are tied to safety. If an
employee does not understand what ''shut the line off!" means, an ordinary
situation can become dangerous. The benefits are obvious to people whose
lives are changed. Karina Lourenco left Brazil four years ago; she had
worked as a saleswoman for a cellphone company there. ''When I came here I
was feeling bad, because in my country I didn't do those kinds of jobs --
cleaning bathrooms," she said. Now, she is the manager of a Dunkin' Donuts
and can help her 7-year-old daughter with homework.

Nascimento, the Brazilian biologist, hopes to go to Massasoit Community
College in the fall, and dreams of becoming a veterinarian. Her husband --
a psychologist who also started his professional life in America as a
factory worker -- would like to earn a master's degree. ''It's not false
propaganda," she said, referring to the idea that life will just be better
in America. ''My life is improving. It's a good feeling. I grew up a lot.
I don't intend to go back."

Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson at globe.com.


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