The article by Wilson (2012) explores the role of the nonprofit organization in the process of delivery of language access services to persons with limited English proficiency in the setting of Philadelphia. The author utilizes the results of several interviews, findings of document analysis, and secondary data to establish a connection between the public and the nonprofit sources sectors in the facilitation of English access. According to Wilson (2012), the language barrier is one of the most significant and persistent barriers to the integration of immigrant residents. In addition, while the importance of language proficiency in the domains of health care, public safety, and the legislature is firmly established by numerous studies, little is known about the specificities of language access practices in relation to public administration.
Based on the information obtained from the available sources, Wilson (2012) concludes that local government and the nonprofit organizations in the studied area share responsibilities in the process of improving language access to the population with limited English proficiency. The identified collaboration is based on the capability of the nonprofit organizations to provide community outreach and public support as well as on the access to protocols and municipal directives provided by the local government and, to some degree, a favorable political climate. In addition, the author identifies a distinctive approach utilized by the nonprofits in the engagement of language access services, namely the informal practice of immigrant accompaniment (Wilson, 2012). Considering that the local administration is usually unable to provide sufficient coverage of the issue on its own, it would be reasonable to identify the potential collaborative agents and allocate responsibilities in the most efficient way.
The article demonstrates sufficient level of compliance with academic standards. The author provides all the necessary operational definitions and thoroughly explores the topic of language barriers in the process of immigrant integration in the literature review. All sources of information used in the paper are cited in accordance with scholarly standards. The legal and social backgrounds of the study are provided. The choice of research approach, sources of data, and the process of data analysis are clearly stated and substantiated with evidence. The conclusions are laid out clearly and comprehensively. Three sets of recommendations based on the findings are provided in the discussion section.
Two points should be considered with regard to the information provided by the article. First, it would be interesting to explore the effects of the proposed collaboration outside the language acquisition domain and determine its broader influence on the social spectrum. Second, since the author does not provide information on the limitations of the study, it would also be necessary to discuss the possible factor of researcher bias, especially considering the absence of robust metrics confirming the success of the improved language access.
Reference
Wilson, C. E. (2012). Collaboration of nonprofit organizations with local government for immigrant language acquisition. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 42(5), 963-984.