Marisa Runco, who is also learning English at a separate community program, describes her timidness in talking with English speakers, saying "We have scared," using proper Spanish grammar for what an American would express as "We are scared."

Marisa Runco, who has attended class just once a week for the past four months, has more difficulty speaking English but understands a lot and is determined to learn more. Like her husband, she needs help communicating with English-speaking clients.

"We need to work with American people to understand, to speak," she says.

While the survey found that many immigrants are trying to learn English, it also found nearly 80 percent of employers said they didn't believe their employees had utilized such a service. Fewer than one-third of employers said they had strategies in place to build the English proficiency of their employees.

Employer-sponsored programs outside of work hours sometimes aren't as successful because of the time constraints, Crim said. Companies that have been most successful eliminate the time barrier by finding paid time at work to teach English, he said. Those programs can be as little as 20 minutes a day, and some are structured around work tasks.

"Companies that do that typically have great success," he said. "There are good models of language services that integrate instruction with the work day and language tools people are trying to gain."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com