Long Waitlists for ESL Classes

Teaching English to immigrants is one the most neglected public policy issues in the country, according to a study released this week by a Washington think tank.

Meanwhile, new poll says 62 percent of Americans think immigrants don't even try to learn English within a reasonable amount of time.

But the demand for English language classes in Massachusetts is so great that there's a three-year waiting list, and state spending to teach English to adults hasn't increased since 2000. More than 200,000 new immigrants have arrived here since then. WBUR's Bianca Vazquez Toness reports.