1 in 5 Riverside County residents can't
read in English. Here's what the valley is doing to help
Inside Coachella's Cardenas Market, picking up groceries is
English-optional.
One hot spring afternoon, as Latin music played through the
supermarket speakers, a woman picked up a mango under a sign
reading "frutas," bringing it to her nose to search for the
scent indicating the fruit is at the perfect ripeness.
Nearby, shoppers were lured to PanaderÃa Cardenas by fresh
conchas and other kinds of pan dulce, or sweet breads, showcased in the
clear display cases by the entrance.
Those standing in line to order fresh chilaquiles, a fried
tortilla-based dish, and tacos de tripitas, or seasoned small intestine,
from Cocina Cardenas, can be heard speaking in Spanish to one another,
peppering their conversation with perhaps a word or two in English before
returning to the language with which they are more comfortable.
In many parts of the majority-Latino east valley, you can easily
go without needing to speak or read English. Many don’t. About 90
percent of Coachella residents don’t speak English at home, according to
the U.S. Census, and 45 percent don’t speak English at all. About 20
percent of the U.S. population is estimated to be going through life not
speaking any English, a designation that's fine with some of the people to
which it applies, but others find that without a functional knowledge of
English they have a hard time finding a well-paying job, navigating governmental
bureaucracies and keeping up with the next generation.
As a whole, Riverside County is the 16th least English literate
county in California, according to a 2003 estimate done by the National
Center for Educational Statistics,
with one fifth of its population lacking basic English prose literacy
skills.
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In
Riverside County, one of the challenges adult educators face are enclaves of
people who remain illiterate in part because they live in largely Latino
communities where one can get along without being able to read or write in English.
This is why a large part of the Riverside
County Adult Literacy Program focuses on teaching English as
a Second Language classes, also known as ESL. Similar classes are also taught
through institutions such as the Coachella Valley Adult School, College of the
Desert and several churches throughout the valley. WATCH VIDEO
