ESL in the USA

The American dream of equal opportunity can only thrive when everyone has access to the tools for success. Whether it’s capital to start a business, or simply a fair shot to prove their value for a promotion, when our best and brightest can rise everyone benefits. But one barrier, perhaps more than any other, impedes that dream: language.

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Our friends and neighbors who were born and raised in this country, but who don’t yet have strong English proficiency, earn half as much as the rest of us. The gap is even wider for unskilled labor, where it’s easiest to exploit and take advantage.

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Pew Research estimates the widest wage gaps for race and gender are ~30% and ~40% respectively, but data from Canada, the US and the UK indicates that households that don’t speak English at home earn as much as 45% less than those which do, even after multiple generations.

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But there’s an easy solution. With an hour a day of education a student can rise from no knowledge to A2 within a year, and with our language program it can be accomplished even faster. By unleashing the full potential of our citizens, we can ensure the American dream lives on.

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