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Whenever I ask the cooks for how long it will be for something to get made, they repeat it in whichever language they are fluent in (Spanish or French I think).
Seems weird that you ask them a question in English and appear to understand, yet answer you in a language they know you don't speak.
FWIW, one of my colleagues is from Taiwan and I long ago gave up trying to help him with his English. He is 65, has been in this country for almost 40 years yet still speaks like a no-tickee-no-shirtee caricature. If I listen carefully I can understand what he's saying, and I sometimes have to repeat back what I think he said, only to find out it's not what he was trying to say. You get used to it, though.
FWIW, one of my colleagues is from Taiwan and I long ago gave up trying to help him with his English. He is 65, has been in this country for almost 40 years yet still speaks like a no-tickee-no-shirtee caricature. If I listen carefully I can understand what he's saying, and I sometimes have to repeat back what I think he said, only to find out it's not what he was trying to say. You get used to it, though.
That's interesting. At 65, it's pretty much a lost cause, but I think most young Taiwanese speak English now.
With my old call center job, we got calls from a very diverse number of backgrounds, many which could only speak very basic English. This frustrated the fact that are calls were supposed to be very strongly scripted. Many people screwed up completely by rushing the call to fit the needs of call compliance. This just led to them calling back and even angrier customers.
To overcome this, you had to take the call step by step, listen carefully, and become familiar with the callers' understanding of English. After each handful of words, say "yes" or "yeah" to show you understand them, or "no, no" if you didn't get something. Then, carefully repeat back what they say, get them to say "yeah" after each baby step, doing whatever it takes to be on the same wavelength.
One time I had this complaint call from this really angry guy. The guy's request was only very simple, but they couldn't get the help they wanted because all the other customer service people couldn't deal with their poor English. He ranted to me for a straight ten minutes in broken English until it was obvious they weren't leaving.
Instead of looking at English in MY point of view, I looked at it in THEIRS. I learned what words they understood, and relied on those. I learned what arrangement of grammar they were most comfortable with, and replied in the same way. We repeated things very carefully to each other. Although it was painstakingly slow, it was freeing to throw away all the scripts and to talk like adults.
I didn't try to teach them, be better than them or be their Superior-English-Speaking-Person. And they were also just as liable to start chatting and wasting time when they suddenly felt like it (like any caller) and it took time and patience to gently steer them back on track. I worked out what they wanted, without scripts or instructions, and at the end of it, they said "Thank you, no one else would have done this." It was an amazing feeling to actually help a guy who kept being let down so bad.
Above all, I just believed they were equal to me. That the trick to it. Nothing special.
They should never have been hired in the first place.
That's my thought too. However, I'm guessing it wasn't that simple. Those who could speak English probably had much better job prospects, so they pursued those better jobs instead.
If not that, those that don't speak English were probably cheaper (management could justify paying them lower wages), so they were hired since any business often needs to save money wherever it can.
You must live in an area with a large number of Caribbean Spanish Speakers, from places like Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico? They are THE WORST when it comes to trying to understand their spoken Spanish. A lot of native Spanish speakers from other parts of Latin America can't even understand them.
It also doesn't help those most of the low wage, Spanish speaking immigrants who come over to the US aren't very educated anyway, which also affects their speech and how well others can understand them.
Very heavy on Puerto Rican, with a smattering of Mayan-Yucatán style Mexicans.
I started French in fifth grade, took it for 3 years, and could barely ask "What time is it". Yes, it is hard.
Some people have a knack for language. I don't think I need to argue about how "hard" and "easy" acquiring a second language is/can be. For some it is, for some it isn't.
And fwiw, I took Spanish from 7th-12th grade and majored in it and was surrounded by in cultural by being in south Texas. It's also about environment and immersing yourself in it. If OP were to try to learn they'd probably pick it up a bit more easily since they're in the environment. I have an African client who works in a hotel who is now picking up Spanish and English from her time there. She has answered me in both during our meetings where neither of those are her first language, kinyarwandan is.
Obviously you have not been outside the US. It's very common for Americans to work in foreign countries without having the ability to speak the local language. It's not just work, it's just about anywhere we go for any reason, employment, travel, tourist, etc. We don't realize how prevalent American's lack of language is because the rest of the world has no issue learning multiple languages so it's more common for foreigners to speak English compared to american speaking anything else.
No matter how much people whine and stomp their feet in a baby tantrum, it is not going to change, so learn spanish or get left behind!
Haha! What an idiot you sound like. "Learn Spanish or get left behind"? Yeah, I'll take my law degree (which I didn't need Spanish to get, by the way) and my current life over that of an immigrant kitchen hand who can barely (if at all) speak English. How's his knowledge of Spanish working out for him so far?
And you think nothing is going to change? I don't know, Trump is deporting any and all illegals (which the person who the OP is talking about probably is) his agents can get their hands on. Oh, and don't forget that the guy whose whole premise was deporting illegals actually won the last election. Most Americans aren't stupid. We know when enough is enough. And people like you are the ones who have been whining and stomping their feet since November.
Slowly but surely, Americans will do what needs to be done.
Yes, people need to learn English. But how/when/where do they learn English if they need to be at work from 9am until 10pm at work to provide for their families?
Just a thought.
The days of only having night school to learn English are long gone. Now, one can find classes morning, noon and night 7 days a week.
There are those who volunteer to teach English one on one free of charge, so not having money is no excuse.
I was written up negatively on an evaluation in California for my English. I was told my English was too proper for the employees. I started publishing key metrics with smiley faces or frowny faces.
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