You don’t have to speak the language to live in L.A., but it’s a prerequisite for advancement

Almost every afternoon and night inside the drab beige walls of the Fremont Community Adult School, more than 500 foreign students walk into 21 English-language classes in search of a better life.

They are at this South Central Los Angeles school because for years they have been living in a world of confusion, where most of the population speaks a language they don’t understand and where written signs are incomprehensible.

Many can exist in L.A. without speaking English. Indeed, it is possible to live in immigrant communities where everyone speaks a foreign language. There also are two local Spanish-language television stations, 11 Spanish-language radio stations and one daily newspaper. There are publications and broadcasts in Los Angeles for those who speak Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Farsi.

But most everyone at Fremont realizes that’s not the way to get ahead. For that, English becomes key.

When Jaime Bautista came to Los Angeles from the small town of Tlacolula, Mexico 15 years ago, he spoke nary a word of English. For his first job, a cousin introduced him to a Mexican restaurant owner, who hired Bautista as a dishwasher. “Only one person didn’t speak Spanish at the restaurant. That was the cashier,” he recalls.

Learning the language at Fremont helped him land a job with the Nordstrom restaurant at Westside Pavilion. During his 10 years with Nordstrom, Bautista, 37, has moved up the ranks to assistant kitchen manager. Three months ago, Bautista became a citizen.

“You can make it in the United States without speaking English, but you’re going to live like the homeless,” said Juan Contreras, 28, who arrived here 11 years ago because he felt there was no room for advancement in his native Mexico. “If you can’t speak English, there is no way you are really going to make it. Life is not as pleasant. Of course, when you first get here you are going to hang around with people who speak your language. But then it’s up to you to separate yourself.”

Contreras’ English was spotty when he came to L.A. and he didn’t have a high school education. With the help of a friend, he enrolled in classes and graduated from Chatsworth High School after two and a half years. He will soon be getting a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Los Angeles. He intends to become a legal interpreter in L.A.’s court system. Right now, he supports himself as an exotic dancer.

Because English is such a valuable tool for raising economic standards, the Los Angeles Unified School District operates 39 accredited community adult schools and occupational centers in Los Angeles. Within these schools, which have branches in churches, schools and community centers, there are 1,500 English as a Second Language classes that are virtually free, said Jim Figueroa, LAUSD’s assistant superintendent of adult and career education.

“California probably has the highest-developed adult-education system in the country, and the best funded. It has a 150-year-old history because of the number of immigrants we get here,” Figueroa said. “The whole area of literacy is something we are dealing with more and more because so many of the people coming to Los Angeles don’t have any schooling in their own countries.”

An example is Catalina Carranza, a 56-year-old woman who emigrated from El Salvador 20 years ago. She had so little education in El Salvador that she couldn’t even read or write Spanish when she arrived. But after taking classes off and on for the past three years, she is learning to read and write both English and Spanish.

“For many years I couldn’t even read the street signs in Los Angeles. I had to stay close to where I lived,” says Carranza, who has supported her two sons, now adults, with various government assistance programs. Currently she has a job caring for an elderly Spanish-speaking woman. “Now I can read the signs and I have gotten my driver’s license. People treat you with more respect when you speak English.”

Ironically, the improved economy has led to a decrease in demand for ESL classes. As immigrants find that their manual labor skills are in greater demand, they are working more and spending less time in class.

At Evans Community Adult School near Chinatown, Assistant Principal Roberto Ceja says that trend has affected his school. “It’s funny,” he says. “When we asked them in a survey why they are coming here, it was always to get a better job. But so often, we lose them to a better job.”