Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English Promising Futures (2017) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Demography of the English Learner Population
3 The Demography of the English Learner Population
Pages 63-106
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From page 63... ...
Finally, the term "indigenous heritage language learners" is used to refer to American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students whose first language is English and who are learning their heritage language. The population of ELs is demographically diverse (Espinosa, 2013; García et al., 2009; Hammer et al., 2011)
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, ELs can be identified only using proxy indicators that capture whether children speak English less than "very well" (Ruiz Soto et al., 2015)
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THE ORIGINS OF ENGLISH LEARNERS The annual number of immigrants admitted to the United States increased from about 320,000 in the 1960s to approximately 1 million in the following decade (Martin and Midgely, 2006)
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From page 66... ...
economy and local communities. As noted above, they are a highly heterogeneous group, with different home languages, different ages at arrival, varying proficiency in English, differing legal status, diverse racial and ethnic identities, and varying educational outcomes (Crosnoe and López Turley, 2011; Rumbaut, 2004; Suárez-Orozco et al., 2010)
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From page 67... ...
. Recent immigration trends also are associated with changes in the distribution of languages spoken in the United States.
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In a qualitative study of Central American immigrant families residing in Los Angeles, Lavadenz (2008) found that linguistic diversity among Central Americans who migrated to the United States served to identify each group with its homeland and linked compatriots to one another.
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, contemporary Asian immigrants exemplify "hyper-selectivity," meaning that on average, they have higher levels of education and higher skills than others in their home countries; they also are more highly educated than the average American. There are exceptions to this generalization, such as some Southeast Asian immigrants, but it nonetheless remains largely true.
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ELs of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Origin More than 1.2 million Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders were living in the United States as of 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012)
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, everyone in the household over age 14 has limited English proficiency or speaks English less than "very well" (Empowering Pacific Islander Communities and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, 2014)
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From page 72... ...
Eastern European immigrant parents often reported difficulties with their children's diminishing obedience and respect for the authority of parents, elders, and teachers. This finding is consistent with those of previous research on Latin American, Asian, Middle Eastern, and African immigrant parents in the United States who lack extended family to reinforce important language and cultural norms (Nesteruk and Marks, 2011)
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From page 73... ...
According to his estimates, 40 percent of black immigrant children speak Spanish at home, reflecting the increasing number of black immigrants from Central America, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Another 18.1 percent speak French Creole; 7.5 percent speak French; and the remaining 34 percent speak an assortment of languages, including Yoruba, Fulani, Swahili, Portuguese, and Arabic.
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From page 74... ...
. American Indian and Alaska Native Indigenous Heritage Language Learners The ACS codes 381 distinct non-English languages, 169 of which are Native North American languages, although the speakers of these latter languages number less than half a million (Siebens and Julian, 2011)
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Spanish speakers (5% of the population residing in American Indian or Alaska Native areas) are almost as common as speakers of Native North American languages.
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States with More Than 200 Percent EL Growth (1997-1998 to 2007-2008) FIGURE 3-4 States with large and rapidly growing populations of English learners (ELs)
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Saint Paul Public Schools in Minnesota reported 31.5 percent Asian students in 2014, with the highest percentage in grade 11 (40.7%)
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and 2012 American Community Survey (1% IPUMS)
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. In Maryland in 2000, 3 The full commissioned paper is titled Characteristics of the Workforce Who Are Educating and Supporting Children Who Are English Language Learners (Arias and Markos, 2016)
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SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND STATUS OF ENGLISH LEARNERS Family Income and Poverty As noted earlier, children in immigrant families are more likely than their counterparts with U.S.-born parents to grow up in economically disadvantaged circumstances (Borjas, 2011; Capps, 2015; Fry, 2007)
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Sample = children ages 5-18. ELs are defined based on responses to the American Community Survey question of how well individuals who speak a language other than English at home speak English.
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NOTE: Sample = children ages 5-18. ELs = English learners; P.I.
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From page 83... ...
ELs are defined as children who speak English less than "very well." SOURCE: Data are from the American Community Survey, 2008-2012. and Asian non-ELs are exceptions to this pattern: approximately one-third of non-ELs in both groups have parents with low levels of English proficiency.
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From page 84... ...
ELs = English learners; P.I. = Pacific Islander.
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The diversity of languages spoken at home by ELs is captured in Figure 3-7. Spanish is by far the most common of these languages (73%)
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, 2008-2012. SOURCE: Migration Policy Institute analysis of the American Community Survey, 2008-2012, presented by Capps (2015)
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Adjustment to migration is a complex process that differs for immigrant children with different characteristics. Because language acquisition becomes more challenging as children grow older, learning English is more difficult for children who migrate when they are older (Chiswick and Miller, 2008)
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From page 88... ...
Undocumented ELs Another dimension of recent immigration trends is the increasing salience of undocumented immigrant status. The size of the undocumented immigrant population increased from 8.6 million in 2000 to 11.5 million in 2011, leveling off at an estimated 11.2 million in 2014 (Passel and Cohn, 2016; Pew Hispanic Center, 2014; Zong and Batalova, 2016)
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From page 89... ...
But as the number of unauthorized Mexicans declined, the numbers of unauthorized immigrants from South America, European countries, and Canada held steady (Passel and Cohn, 2014) , and unauthorized immigrants from Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, and other countries grew slightly.
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reports that the persistently negative representation of undocumented immigrants as "criminals" affects how immigrant children understand and experience "illegality" in their day-to-day lives. She found that the undocumented immigrants she interviewed feared deportation; had a general sense of insecurity; and often felt that they could not depend on police, emergency services, or authority figures to protect them.
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From page 91... ...
Between 2002 and 2012, U.S. courts deported more than 2,700 persons to the Pacific Islands, mainly to Fiji, Micronesia, Tonga, and Western Samoa (Empowering Pacific Islander Communities and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, 2014)
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From page 92... ...
Upper-middleclass families from such countries as Hong Kong, and Taiwan sometimes send middle and high school-age students to study abroad living with their mothers while fathers remain in the home country. Other families may send children to the United States to live with extended family or family contacts while both parents remain in the home country (Waters, 2002, 2003)
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. Refugees Newcomers with refugee or asylum status are unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin because of persecution, and they may have left close or extended family members behind.
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. The Vietnamese are a bifurcated group: a significant portion are poorly educated and have not graduated from high school, and another significant portion are highly educated and have attained at least a college degree.
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. The early Cuban refugees were predominantly skilled, upper-class, white, and entrepreneurial and were more likely to speak English than the later waves of Cuban refugees, referred to as the Marielitos' migration, who were less privileged (Borjas, 2015)
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From page 96... ...
Approximately 20 percent of second-generation Hispanic children and 16 percent of second-generation Asian children speak English less than very well, compared with less than 5 percent of U.S.-born blacks and non-Hispanic whites. By the third and higher generations, many of the group differences in English proficiency disappear; even within the third generation, however, at least 5 percent of Hispanic children still speak English less than very well -- the highest percentage across ethnic categories.
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From page 97... ...
They argue, however, that in looking at linguistic integration, it is important to consider both language acquisition and preservation of the heritage language. Their study revealed that among later generations of the Mexican immigrant population in Los Angeles, a preference for the English language only was almost universal (99% of the 3.5 generation)
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From page 98... ...
CONCLUSIONS Conclusion 3-1: The cultures, languages, and experiences of English learners are highly diverse and constitute assets for their development, as well as for the nation. Conclusion 3-2: Many English learners grow up in contexts that expose them to a number of risk factors (e.g., low levels of parental education, low family income, refugee status, homelessness)
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From page 99... ...
Presentation to the National Research Council Committee on Fostering School Success for English Learners, Washington, DC, May 28. Available: http://www.national academies.org/hmd/~/media/Files/Activity%20Files/Children/DualLanguage Learners/2015-MAY-28/1Capps%20Randy.pdf [November 18, 2016]
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, 3-33. Empowering Pacific Islander Communities and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
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. Family separation and reunification as a factor in the educational success of immigrant children.
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. Heritage language maintenance and loss among the children of Eastern European immigrants in the United States.
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. Top Languages Spoken by English Language Learners Nationally and by State.
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. Household context, generational status, and English proficiency among the children of African immigrants in the United States.
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From page 105... ...
Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. Available: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and immigration-united-states [November 6, 2016]
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