Define

Joshua is recent immigrant to the U.S who’s mother tongue is Portuguese. This P. O. V was chosen because he is a non-native English speaker, which would exacerbate the effects of language barriers on him. He was also chosen because he did not learn English at a young age, so the language wouldn’t come naturally to him.

P. O. V Statement: Joshua, a recent immigrant to the who is looking for work, is a native Portuguese speaker who needs more opportunities for success. Progressing career wise (or in any other way) in the Anglo-sphere is difficult without knowing English.

P. O. V Questions:

1. How might we make it easier to learn English?
2. How might we incorporate foreign languages into the environment?
3. How might we create more multilingual native English speakers?
4. How might we create forms of communication other than language?

Support:

• 15.2% of students had at least some trouble traveling around the city
• Language barriers make it difficult to pick up on nuances in speech, as well as the speaker’s tone. This leads to even more misunderstandings, on top of the language differences

Alternative P. O. V Statement 1:

Joanna is a native English speaker who would like to receive better healthcare, because her doctor is a native Spanish speaker.

P. O. V Questions:

1. How might we increase the availability of translators?
2. How might we help patients convey their symptoms using nonverbal methods?

Support:

One of our research articles showed that patients rated the quality of their conversations with practitioners, the quality was lessened when the two spoke a different primary language

Alternative P. O. V Statement 2:

Willie is a elementary school teacher with several students who are in the process of learning English. He needs to find a way to help kids succeed on standardized tests, so that he isn’t reprimanded by the school.

P. O. V Questions:

1. How might we account for other languages when creating standardized tests?
2. How might we eliminate standardized tests?
3. How might accelerate the kids’ progress in learning English?

Support:

– 50% of people who took the survey thought schooling was harder for non-English speakers, and 90% thought they would have at least a little bit of a disadvantage on standardized tests