In foreign continent, library language lessons offer sense of stability

Kamila Fortes left her hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil a year and a half ago.

Her husband, a financial manager, got a job at Faurecia in Columbus, about 5,000 miles away.

With that new job, the couple was able to get visas so they could move to Indiana.

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Now they live in Greenwood, and Fortes has had to adjust to not only a language foreign to her native Portuguese, but a new climate and culture. Fortes took private tutoring lessons to learn English, but her time at the Johnson County Public Library, which offers English lessons of its own, was more effective, she said.

Her lack of fluency in English made it difficult to communicate at first, she said.

“There are some people who are impatient but on the other (hand) there are people who are nice and can understand and have more patience,” Fortes said.

In the library, she can learn with people who also come from other countries around the world, she said.

“I like the library’s lessons more than the private lessons,” Fortes said. “We can speak more on different subjects. Each class is different and is dynamic.”

The students tackle different lesson each week at the library. Last week, for example, students discussed American culture, the 50 states, current events, which included reading a newspaper made for adults learning English, and how to navigate simple English conversations, said Wendy Preilis, manager of the library’s adult learning center.

Like Fortes, Yukiko Nishizawa left her homeland of Japan due to her husband’s job with Honda. After leaving Japan, she lived in China and Canada before moving to the United States. She and her husband lived in Ohio before moving to Johnson County in March 2018.

Nishizawa enjoys learning with other immigrants and appreciates that the lessons are free, she said.

“Every day we have a lesson, we can learn about different things,” Nishizawa said. “On Monday, we learned about grammar, we learned about the states of America, and on Wednesday, we do a conversation class. On Friday, we use the (language learners) newspaper.”

Aside from leaving their home countries for their husband’s jobs, Nishizawa and Fortes have something else in common: they are not pursuing citizenship.

They are choosing to abstain because of the uncertainty about where their husbands’ jobs will take them next. They might have to move to another country in the middle of the citizenship process, both women said.

Immigrants who don’t seek citizenship are fairly common in central Indiana, said Graham Melendez, a client services coordinator for the Immigrant Welcome Center in Indiana.

Of the 100 most populated cities in the United States, Indianapolis is 99th in terms of the percentage of people (40 percent) who go through the naturalization process to become citizens once they establish residency, Melendez said.

Most of Preilis’ students don’t seek citizenship, as their residence is also tied to their husbands’ jobs, she said.

Others, however, might be hesitant to start the process due to misconceptions about how long it will take or how expensive it will be, Melendez said.

“A lot of people are ready to be naturalized and have the qualifications (to be citizens), if they had the education to know the process,” Melendez said.

“It’s not explained through the government. They are having to pay $750 for a naturalization application, but a lot of low-income families don’t have that support. They don’t know they can get a fee waiver if they qualify.”

Other misconceptions about the process include the length of time. People often think it takes 10 years to become a citizen, but it actually takes four years and nine months, or two years and nine months if married to a U.S. citizen, Melendez said.

A certain level of fluency in English is also needed to pass the citizenship test, he said.

For those who haven’t attained citizenship, the Immigration Welcome Center and Sarah Burrow, an immigration attorney with Lewis and Kappes, an Indianapolis law firm, will hold a “Know Your Rights: Immigration 101” presentation at the Franklin branch of the Johnson County Public Library. The goal is to give immigrants useful knowledge on interacting with police and immigration officials.

“They have the misconception that they don’t have rights, especially when they’re pulled over by the police,” Melendez said of non-citizen immigrants.

“Immigrants and refugees, when asked (by police) to search the trunk, they think they have to open it. (The officer) has to have a warrant. We are part of the legal system. We want to make sure they are aware of things happening legally. If immigration (officers are) at the door, they have to have a warrant to (require the resident) to answer the door. It’s just letting them know what their rights are.”

The Immigration Welcome Center will also tell event attendees about its mission and services for immigrants, which includes details about the citizenship process, according to the library.

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What: Know Your Rights: Immigration 101

Where: Johnson County Public Library, Franklin branch, 401 State Street

When: 6-7:30 p.m. June 18

Who: Open to the public

Cost: Free

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