- 22 Nov 13, 10:35#381769
After the agony of defeat, success will be sweet!
There seems to be two "distinct" groups of Italian immigrants that settled in Toronto!
One group always found work with other Italians in Italian run businesses and were not
in a situation where learning English was "the" most important issue in their lives.
The other group found work with companies/community employers where English was
a "must" if they wanted to communicate. Even though their written skills may not have
been up to par, they learnt to speak it well enough to understand/make themselves
understood, many even had a working knowledge in reading.
My parents belonged to that second group; but, Mom doesn't "get" the double entendres,
which suits my brothers and I just fine!! haha...
One group always found work with other Italians in Italian run businesses and were not
in a situation where learning English was "the" most important issue in their lives.
The other group found work with companies/community employers where English was
a "must" if they wanted to communicate. Even though their written skills may not have
been up to par, they learnt to speak it well enough to understand/make themselves
understood, many even had a working knowledge in reading.
My parents belonged to that second group; but, Mom doesn't "get" the double entendres,
which suits my brothers and I just fine!! haha...
After the agony of defeat, success will be sweet!
!! 
is better!!