Versión EspañolPerla Lozada, 18, reads out loud, slowly but surely enunciating every syllable, “What is the author saying when they talk about ‘threads so slight and sticky?”
Lozada is a student in Stacey Lang’s ESL night class at PPEP Tech, 1840 East Benson Highway. She is one of several who are studying hard to learn the English language.
Stacey Lang, who has been teaching at PPEP Tech for two years, says that the majority are motivated to learn in order “to get a job and to go to college.”
Aside from the economic benefits, there is also the citizenship aspect. Customs and Immigration Services requires proficiency in English, proven in an oral interview, as one of many requirements for naturalization.
While learning English is certainly beneficial, Spanish is still very much a part of the identity and life of South Tucson. One sees this in the Mexican restaurants that people from far and wide enjoy and where the language of back home is widely spoken. Of course, those who live on the south side do not only work in south side establishments.
“It’s a part of my life,” says Mayena Valenzuela, a south side resident originally from Caborca, Sonora, who has been working at the Dunkin Donuts at University and Tyndall for the past six years.
Immigration is a big part of the reason for the vibrancy of the Spanish language in South Tucson. The constant stream of immigrants from Mexico and their role in maintaining use of the Spanish language has been well established in studies since López first studied the topic in 1978.
This trend is certainly being lived out in South Tucson. According to the 2000 US Census, 80.5 percent of the population in the city of South Tucson speaks a language other than English at home. Out of those, 77 percent speak Spanish at home. The services of the area reflect this demographic.
According to Leanne Yoeder, the branch manager of the Sam Lena library in South Tucson, 22 percent of the books they carry are written in Spanish. The second largest Spanish collection in the Tucson library system is at the Quincie-Douglas Branch where 13 percent of the collection consists of Spanish-language literature. Much of the population who frequents the library cannot speak any other language. This focus on the needs of the neighborhood, seen in libraries all over the city, is proven successful by its usage. Last month, the gate count showed about 11,000 patrons using library services.
While many in the current political environment may complain, saying that such services discourages the learning of English, Yoeder takes pride in the fact that her library serves the Hispanic populace so well.
“I hope that families are passing the language down,” she says.
As for those who believe that American culture might not be being passed down, this is not so says Lang.
“We read a lot in the classroom. We do plays and read magazines,” these are just some of the methods Lang uses to pass the language down onto these new learners.
When asked whether she only teaches them in English, Lang says she has no choice due to a perceived lack of Spanish skills on her part.
For Perla, “it’s better like that. It’s better to learn that way.”
