Image source: Speculum Mundi

Editor’s note: We continue our coverage of NPR’s special series “Two Languages, Many Voices” with a preview of today’s story, which will air on Morning Edition, related to bilingual families and technology. 

Access to the internet and being able to afford a computer doesn’t necessarily mean one can make use of either. This is the case for many Latino immigrants in the United States.

The Bilingual Families and Technology report in the NPR series, “Two Languages, Many Voices: Latinos in the U.S.” gives us a glimpse into what it’s like to live in today’s world without being able to access things that are now increasingly available online.

The problem for the immigrant parents is two-fold; Often times not only do they not know how to use the technology, but lack of English skills plays an equal role — That’s where the children come in.

Without the help of their bilingual children, many parents would not be able to use online bill pay, get driving directions, assist with homework research, or find local businesses. The bilingual children of immigrants, with a foot in each world, have traditionally always shouldered a lot of responsibility in helping non-English speaking parents, but that is even more so today.

I love this report by NPR because I’ve seen this same scenario play out in my own home. While I’m a native English speaker and I can cruise the internet with ease, my husband, a native Spanish speaker from El Salvador who had very little experience with computers upon arriving in the United States, has often needed assistance.

Over the years my husband, intelligent and determined as he is, has learned a lot. He speaks English proficiently enough that he is now attending a college level class for the first time, and he now knows his way around the world wide web. However he would be the first to admit that he didn’t get to where he’s at without the help of our bilingual children clicking the mouse for him every now and then.

{Photo by: cliff1066™}

As I mentioned last week, NPR is dedicating the next few days to a series entitled Two Languages, Many Voices: Latinos in the U.S. about bicultural Latinos and their impact on education, technology, religion and entertainment.

The first part in the series about the town of West Liberty in Iowa and how the majority of its population is Latino aired earlier today in Morning Edition. The story, along with an interactive map of how Latinos are reshaping communities are both available on NPR’s website. (Be forewarned, as usual, not all the comments are pleasant or even informed.)

By the way, I must say I was astounded on Friday when NPR teased the series on their Facebook fan page saying it would be exploring bilingual life in the U.S. and asked how English and Spanish affected the lives of its fans. The prompt got over 1,000 comments. My surprise was not with the racist and ignorant comments – sadly, I’ve become used to those already – but with the many, many people who supported bilingualism and shared their own stories of growing up or raising kids with two languages. Bravo!

The fact that NPR is dedicating a whole week to this series speaks volumes of what it means to be the largest minority in this country, 50.5 million and counting. It should also serve as a reminder that Latinos have been here since before this country officially became the United States and that regardless of the broken immigration system, we’re here to stay.

My first reaction after listening to today’s story was that West Liberty sounds like an oasis at a time when anti-immigrant laws – the toughest of which were just passed in Alabama – have become the “in” thing to do.

I know there are Latinos pretty much anywhere in the United States, but prior to listening to this story, I had no idea they were in Iowa, and much less that many of them have been there for generations. In fact, the first Latino immigrants arrived in the 1930s to work in the town’s turkey plant (I guess little has changed since then) and apparently many never left.

My favorite character in the story was the mayor, Chad Thomas, who moved to West Liberty 11 years ago because of its diversity AND… dual language school which is in its 14th year.

“A big factor for us since we were thinking about kids was the dual language school program, so the thought of our children being able to go through the school system and come out speaking Spanish relatively fluently,” Thomas gave as an explanation. If only more people could be open enough to the benefits of bilingualism, dual language programs would be the norm around the country.

On another note, I was introduced to professor Rubén G. Rumbaut a sociologist who’s been studying children of immigrants since the 1990s. I think I might have heard his name before, but it reminded me that this is someone I’d really like to read more about because his research sounds invaluable to someone like me who is raising children of immigrants.

“To be bicultural, to be bilingual, means to feel comfortable in two cultural worlds, to feel comfortable and proficient in two languages,” Rumbaut said, describing exactly what I, and many of you who read this blog, can identify with easily.

In the next few days we plan to bring you previews of some of the other stories in NPR’s series and hopefully an exclusive interview with Claudio Sanchez, the station’s education correspondent who spent some time in Coral Way Elementary School in Miami, the nation’s oldest bilingual immersion program in the country.

{Photo by: makdune}

I’ve been a fan of NPR for a very long time for a lot of reasons, but mainly because, as a journalist, I feel there’s little quality news programming left out there. If you listen to NPR, you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, then this would be a great time for you to check it out.

Starting next week, NPR will begin a series entitled Two Languages, Many Voices: Latinos in the U.S. on Morning Edition. The series will run from Monday, Oct. 10 through Monday, Oct. 17. As soon as we found out, we knew we wanted to share this with you because many of the topics to be covered in the series are not only of utmost interest, but relevant to many of the conversations we have in this space.

Check for yourself what will be covered in Two Languages, Many Voices:

Dual Language Public Schools in Iowa – Mon. 10/10

Really? Yes! There’s a place in the state that’s the first majority minority town where, over the last 30 to 40 years, Mexican immigrants have moved to work in a meat processing plant. Many of them have stayed and made West Liberty their home. The town has a strong Latino culture, including dual language programs in its public schools, and now others (read: non-Latinos) want to take advantage of this.

I’m really looking forward to this story because, while I know Latinos are pretty much anywhere in the country, I find it fascinating that given the anti-immigrant sentiment we currently live, some people are able to appreciate the contribution of immigrants and the value of the Latino culture and everything that comes with it. Along with the on-air story, NPR tells us there’ll be all sorts of multimedia content online, including photos and maps.

Bilingual Families & Technology – Wed. 10/12

This report will look at how access to technology differs depending on the language you speak. In other words, while you might be able to access the internet, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to find all the useful information it has to offer if English is not your dominant language.

The part I’m interested in is the reporter’s visit with a three-generational bilingual family where everyone has the same technology, but not the same access to the internet. 

Oldest Bilingual Immersion School – Friday 10/14

NPR’s education correspondent Claudio Sanchez reports on Coral Way Elementary School, which is in Miami and has the oldest bilingual immersion program in the nation. While it started with a bilingual program to help English language learners – in this case Cuban exiles in the 60s –assimilate to their new environment, it is now a dual language immersion school. (Oh, how I miss Miami!)

As you can imagine, this is right up our alley – especially because Sanchez will explore what we all want to know: why haven’t more schools adopted this immersion model? Plus, we’re super excited to announce that we’ll be interviewing him about this story and the topic as a whole some time next week, so be sure to come back for that.

In fact, we’re working with NPR to bring you not only that interview, but also previews of some of the programming they’ll have starting next week. By the way, besides the stories mentioned above, there will also be others on marketing, religion and Hollywood – definitely something for everyone.

What do you think about NPR dedicating a whole week to topics related to Latinos in the U.S. Which story sounds the most interesting to you? Why?