![]() ![]() ![]() “They have to get used to the basic English commands,” she said. She said nearly 40% of her students speak Arabic. The same is true at Kanor Driving School in Cypress, which offers instruction in Arabic, said school manager Teresa Farell. “When we ask them to make a left and a right, we do it in English, because that is what the instructor will do,” Balanji said. The lessons are conducted by a bilingual instructor who teaches students the key English phrases they may hear during the driving test, he said. Not surprisingly, preparing non-English speakers for a date with the DMV has become a cottage industry in Southern California.ĭozens of driving schools from Orange County to the San Fernando Valley advertise lessons in Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese, among other languages.Īt King Driving School in Glendale, lessons in Armenian have become very popular, accounting for more than a third of the classes, said school owner Martin Balanji, who started the business seven years ago. Often, they stop the car and quickly draw a picture on a piece of paper to express an instruction. If a crucial phrase is not in the pamphlet, Johnson said, the examiners rely on gestures. The examiners use the phrases to give instructions to the applicant during the test. That doesn’t work during a driving test, so the DMV supplies its examiners with pamphlets that list key phrases and words in eight languages. Once she locates that person, she sets up a three-way conference call with the customer. If a customer speaks Russian, for example, Johnson must consult a list to find a local DMV employee who knows the language. Johnson, the former DMV examiner, said things can get sticky when a non-English speaker comes into a field office to discuss a complicated problem, such as a drunk driving conviction or a lost vehicle registration. ![]() Spanish is the only language that qualifies under the law.īut DMV spokesman Steven Haskins said his department goes beyond the minimum requirement to make safe and legal drivers out of as many motorists as possible. The agency is required only to translate its material into languages spoken by more than 5% of the population. State law does not require the DMV to be so accommodating. In 1998, the agency began offering the written test in its latest language, Turkish.īut English is still the official language of the American road, so the DMV also tests all license applicants to ensure that they understand the meaning of every street sign.įor example, Spanish speakers who see the “No U-turn” sign on a test must choose the corresponding phrase prohibido dar vuelta en U. Based on the results, the department decides whether to publish the driving test or the handbooks in a new language. (It is also given in American Sign Language.)Įvery two years, the DMV conducts a survey to determine which languages are spoken by its clients. The written test is published in 31 tongues, from Arabic to Vietnamese. The California driver’s handbook-the Cliff Notes for the driving test-is offered in five languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Tagalog. “I rarely run into a problem.”įew other state agencies publish their literature in as many languages as the DMV. “Hand signals work fairly well,” she said.
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