Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week called on the Hispanic community to get away from Spanish media and learn English.

When asked by a national convention of Hispanic journalists for advice on improving academic performance among Hispanics, the California governor said, “You’ve got to turn off the Spanish television set.”

When he moved to the U.S. from Austria, Schwarzenegger says he “rarely spoke German to anyone.”

Immersion helps an immigrant learn the language faster. Like Schwarzenegger, I know this from experience. I came to the U.S. from Brazil when I was nine years old. There was nothing here in Portuguese for me or anyone in my family to watch or read. We had no choice but to learn.

If we didn’t know English, we’d have no TV, no books and no friends.

I’m certain being immersed in English helped me learn faster than I would have otherwise.

We picked up English so quickly that my older sister and I went on to win second and first place, respectively, in a spelling bee at our middle school.

Yes, a spelling bee in English.

It’s too easy for Spanish-only speakers to avoid English in this country.

Hispanics in America outnumber blacks, making up 14.4 percent of the U.S. population (blacks make up 12.8 percent), according to a U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate. This is a significant-enough number that socializing doesn’t require knowing English.

Satellite provider DirecTV offers more than 40 Spanish-language channels. DISH Network offers 37 channels. Wal-Mart sells books in Spanish. Many DVDs feature at least Spanish subtitles, if not an entire re-dub.

Easy access to Spanish media makes it easy to avoid learning English and, consequently, limits the ability to contribute to society at full potential.

Schwarzenegger admits this isn’t a politically correct thing to say, and he’s taking some flak for it. PR-Inside.com reports that Alex Nogales, CEO and president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, said that “Schwarzenegger has forgotten the difficulties of being an immigrant in the United States. Hispanic immigrants need Spanish-language media to stay informed and ‘function in this society.'”

Of course, immigrants need access to news and entertainment. And they can get it pretty readily.

I’m not suggesting we ban non-English TV channels and books, or multiple languages on product packaging. These companies have the same rights as everyone else to provide their product in whatever language is financially viable, and people have a right to be entertained and informed in any number of languages.

Critics have also called Schwarzenegger a hypocrite on this front because his Web site, gov.ca.gov, features a link that displays the site in Spanish.

I don’t think it’s hypocritical. Many other Web sites offer multilingual versions. Most search engines can translate Web sites.

We don’t have to wipe out everything in this country that’s not in English, but those who migrate to the U.S. and don’t speak English would benefit if they didn’t always use those resources.

The burden to learn English lies with the student. Hispanic immigrants should exhibit some willpower and turn off Univision once in a while.

Get used to a country that speaks English. You’ll be better off for it.