Resettling the West

Segment: Learning English

Song: "All because of that blasted English that I unable to speak. The gringo would say to me in his angry English, 'You wetback don't understand what you are supposed to do'."

Narrator: Inability to speak English is cited by many immigrants as a source of embarrassment, job difficulties and increased loneliness.

Gabriela Ruiz: The fact is I always try to find someone to go with me to interpret. I don't dare go anywhere all alone.

Narrator: When she first came to Rock Springs, Gabriella attended English classes at Western Wyoming Community College, but now she says it is hard to find time. Gabriella is not alone in her balancing act.

Narrator: The Umberto family in Cheyenne finds that using video courses at home is the best way for the parents to squeeze in English lessons.

???: We try to learn English, but our work is very hard. After half hour in class, you just fall asleep; there is no point in going to the classes. We bought a tape course, "English with Adverbs" and we try to spend time listening to it.

Narrator: Jay Hand in Rock Springs recently hired a mechanic from Mexico City. The two decided to solve their communication problem by enrolling Raul in adult classes at Western Wyoming Community College.

Raul: The problem we have is understanding each other, so we decided to take classes. He is going to learn Spanish, and I'm going to learn English so that we can communicate.

Jay Hand: He works hard. We have a little trouble communicating but other than that. I have to keep a big stick so that he can understand me--no he is good guy, good mechanic.

Narrator: Luz Maria who cleans homes and offices in Rock Springs has lived in Wyoming for nearly 9 years and still does not speak much English. She is now a regular student in the Adult Basic English classes at Western.

Luz Maria Magana: I decided to study English because I can't understand what my children are saying. I need to take care of business matters, go to the shops and so forth. What happened is that I never thought I would spend so much time here in the United States. It's a real worry for me now, because I can't understand my children. With my husband, they speak only in English, while with me, they have to speak Spanish.