How come a person from Mexico, who has been here for 5 years plus, REFUSES to learn english in the USA??

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Mer-Dory - (Queen of Doryland)

I can't answer your question I'm afraid, but I can tell you we do have a similar problem in England, I know quite a few Indian people who have lived her for years, and they just grunt at you, they don't even try to speak! The ones that speak English, or at least try to be understood are fine, I don't mind that, I go out of my way to try and understand them, but since when has 'uh, ugh uhhh' been any form on language? (well except cavemen of course).

AFwife

i don't know, i agree with you it doesn't make any sense, if i moved to mexico that would be my top priority!

NANCY A

It's not as easy as it sounds. Learning a new language can be pretty hard. We been here for about 12-13 years and I been trying my hardest to teach my parents English and even though they try to learn between long hours of work and other responsabilities they just haven't been able to. It depends on the age and the effort of the individual. I don't think americans are doing us a favor by translating stuff though like the first comments made it seem I just think that business are willing to go the extra mile so Mexicans can purchase their items.

ciao mi gente!

bbq

yes what hardyangel said

sparks_mex

How many gringos who retire or winter in Mexico can say they speak much Spanish. Not only are they lazy but getting old and a new language is not easy.

Could also be the Mexicans in the US are working so hard they don't have time to go to school? I guess if they thought they were suffering enough they would

Your Avon/Mark Rep.

because they we are hardworkers, therefore, sometimes they dont have time to go to school. they are so tired that once they get home they just want to eat, take a shower and go to bed.

and like other people said... there is really no need in learning english since everything (almost everything) is translated to spanish.

someguy

Because CA is so flooded with Mexicans they barely even notice they're out of their home country. Pretty soon Mexicans will be saying, "why don't these Californians learn to speak English, we're in Mexico after all...aren't we?"

oaklandkc1

BECAUSE OUR LAWS REFUSE TO INFORCE THAT LAW. IF THEY WERE TO LEARN IT AFTER A CERTAIN TIME FRAME THEN THEY PROBABLY WOOD. BUT IF THE LAW IS NOT ENFORCING IT THEN THEY WILL CONTINUE TO GET AWAY WITH IT. C. HABLO NO ESPANOL.

Jimbo.is.back

My inlaws, who moved here from Korea 5 years ago are the same. The reason is that many communities are set up in a way where all the businesses are owned by that culture group. There is no push to learn English because everything around them is in their native tongue.

TooBeauCoup

Like everyone has said, it's because the USA has accomodated them by providing everything in Spanish. I believe that when you move to a new country, you should put forth an effort to fit in and learn the language. If I went to Mexico, I wouldn't want to stick out like a sore thumb and have people think that I was a rude American, I would make an effort to learn Spanish.

Oedipus Schmoedipus

I live in MÃ©xico and used to have a neighbor from the US, he had been living in this city for some years and he barely knew a couple of words in spanish and this isn't a tourist spot, so not many english speakers. The reasons? I have no clue.

I can tell you that you can buy in the supermarket without problems since good are with labels in english/spanish, that's a common practice around the world these days. I still don't know why he wouldn't try learning, maybe he felt he couldn't do it and didn't risk with disappointment (seems it's harder for older people), who knows...

Mommyme

Because we in the USA have accomodated them by having everything in English and Spanish. They think we are suppose to have everything translated. If we stop handing them everything maybe they'll put forth and effort.

MisteryBazaar

Who exactly are we talking about? Is this a friend of yours? Are we talking about your grandmother? I guess you must know them personally since you've known they have been here 5 years and you have been able to keep in touch to evaluate their English skills. My question is: why does it bother YOU so much? Obviously their lack of English skills doesn't seem to bother them that much. Choose who you associate with and lend a helping hand instead of finger pointing. Personally, the Mexican folks *I* know (like my family members) are highly educated and own homes on both sides of the border. ;-)

In any case, why does it matter if the person is from MEXICO or not? Would if matter if he/she was from Europe, China, Africa? Mexican bashing in Southern California that is carefully (and not so carefully) camouflaged as "concern" needs to STOP.

Yes my friends...not all Mexicans refuse to learn... I not only speak English and Spanish, I also know French and Italian. Nobody has ever done ME any favors. I went to school in Northern California and absolutely all my teachers spoke English to me. Any jobs I had that required a leven of leadership required for the candidate to speak English fluently. I paid for my education out of my own pocked and yes...all my classes and texbooks were in English.

Learning a language takes effort and in many cases, money and time. A lot of monolingual Spanish speakers are so marginalized that they can't even afford to try. ALso, they may be able to "get by" just by speanking Spanish. Who are you to judge? If a person refuses to learn it must be out of a personal choice -in the same way that many Americans may refuse to learn a second language.

Fue un placer darte mi opinion! :-)

MexPapi

i worry more about AMERICANS that refuse to learn Eglish. Few can even spell. Case in point: Yahoo answers. Come on people, you call that English???!!!

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