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West Valley City • Thirty-five languages are spoken at Granger High School, making it impossible for educators to communicate with everyone in their native tongue. So students are forced to pick up English quickly.
"Our students are very, very fast learners," Principal Jerry Haslam said. "Put in a situation where they have to learn English, they learn it."
English proficiency is so important to Granger that it offers free English classes to students' parents, said Robert Wessman, the school's grant administrator. Students are better off when educators can communicate with their parents, he said, and they benefit from knowing a common language, while retaining Spanish, Vietnamese, African dialects and other languages.
Haslam's and Wessan's experiences with immigrant students make them supporters of a West Valley City program encouraging residents to learn English. The voluntary program, which also urges businesses to use English in their signs and promotions, was announced at a Tuesday news conference by Mayor Mike Winder and Councilman Steve Buhler.
West Valley City is the second-largest city in Utah and its most diverse, with 45 percent of its population ethnic minorities.
Winder and Buhler say they're proud of the mix of cultures and want residents to speak multiple languages, but they see English as a glue that helps bind the community together.
At the news conference, Winder said problems arise when teachers can't communicate with students, when parents can't help their children with homework and when neighbors don't understand city ordinances such as the requirement to mow their lawns.
"The largest obstacle to becoming a cohesive community is the language barrier," the mayor said.
Buhler, a lawyer, said he has represented many clients who needed interpreters, and his wife, a teacher, has taught children whose parents are unable to help them study.
If you can't speak the language, "you are cheating yourself out of the American dream," he said.
Also at the news conference were Utah Minuteman Project Chairman Eli Cawley and state Sen. Luz Robles, D-Salt Lake City, who both spoke in favor of the program.
"At one point, we all came from different backgrounds," said Robles, whose district covers the west side of Salt Lake City and parts of West Valley City. "We recognize that the language to be successful is English."
Cawley agreed that learning English is important. But he cautioned, "It's missing the point that we focus only on English," saying the United States is undergoing an "illegal alien invasion."
At Rancho Market at West Valley City's Latino Mall, 2470 S. Redwood Road, the city's effort got a thumbs up from manager Victor de la Cruz. Knowing English "is really important," said de la Cruz, who is bilingual.
Shopper Joan Hamilton, a West Valley native, agreed. She has worked with Spanish and Tongan speakers, she said, and has answered neighbors' questions about city ordinances on property upkeep.
A few miles away, administrative assistant Alicia Martin of SOS Staffing, 2723 W. 2700 West, said the job-placement service gets requests from employers for bilingual workers. Only a few companies will hire employees who speak only Spanish, she said.
"I think it's a great thing," Martin said of the program. "If you're going to be here, you should be able to speak English."
Sami Cao works a few doors down at Galleria Nails & Spa. Her customers are generally native English speakers, she said, and she went to classes to learn English when she came to Utah from Vietnam. She believes the city's plan to urge others to learn English is a good idea.
The program also encourages residents to learn multiple languages, including their ancestral tongue.
Those who successfully complete an English course will be recognized with a certificate of achievement at a City Council meeting.
A list of groups offering English classes — some of them free — has been posted at http://www.englishwvc.org. If necessary, Granite Peaks Learning Center will add an extra teacher to accommodate registrants for upcoming classes, said Kimberly Jackson, coordinator of adult high school and community education.
Rhosby Barker, of Casa Chiapas, a West Valley City nonprofit group that teaches English and promotes civic education, said residents "have to learn English to be part of the community. To learn English is the beginning."
About West Valley City'sEnglish program
The voluntary program:
Urges all residents to learn English and invites them to visit http://www.englishwvc.org for a list of classes.
Encourages all businesses and housing providers to use English in signs, advertisements, promotions and menus.
Recognizes the value of learning multiple languages, including ancestral tongues. One provider, Granite Peaks Learning Center, is holding registration for a night English as a Second Language class from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Granger High School, 3690 S. 3600 West. The class is free to parents of Granger High students and $30 for others.