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This piece offers an in-depth look at pressing language barriers facing the estimated 2.23 million adults in this country who are Limited English Proficient (LEP)—and how best to solve them. It provides background information about issues concerning English speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), identifies promising program practices, and highlights policy priorities for increasing adult English learners’ access to high-quality ESOL courses.
This publication provides national- and state-level data from the 2000 Census on who speaks English and who does not, broken down by type of household, age of householder, education, and income.
English language ability is correlated with a worker's wages, and limited English proficient (LEP) workers who improve their communications abilities by acquiring better English skills are shown to have greater economic mobility. These notes, from a presentation in Denver, provide an overview of recent research on the economics of language and looks at the potential implications for LEP workers.
This study draws lessons for other states from the program and policy landscape of immigrant education in California, which is home to 40 percent of the nation’s ELLs. It assesses the national controversy surrounding “bilingual” versus English-only education. Detailed policy recommendations include addressing significant challenges immigrant students face aside from learning English: reducing stigmatization of immigrant and ELL students, fostering parental participation, dealing with legal and immigration-related issues, and helping children navigate the school system and access health care.
This study examines the linguistic assimilation of children of immigrants, comparing the historical experience with the current trends of these populations. It finds that since 1960, English is almost universally accepted by the children and grandchildren of immigrants, and that by the third generation, only a minority in any group maintains bilingualism.
English is almost universally accepted by the children and grandchildren of the immigrants who have come to the US in great numbers since the 1960s, which means these children have high levels of linguistic assimilation. Moreover, by the third generation (grandchildren of immigrants), only a minority in any group maintains bilingualism.
This report examines the discrepancy between California's goal of providing free English classes and the reality that the current funding system for providing classes is about 30 years out of date. During those 30 years, the state's immigrant population has exploded. The gap between goal and reality has created an excessive financial burden on some local school districts--which provide most of the state's English as a Second Language (ESL) classes--and may be forcing other districts to turn away immigrants who want to learn English.
Dual-language programs for children age three to eight may be better than English-only programs for the cognitive, academic, social, and cultural development of children who speak a language other than English at home.
Dual-language programs for children aged three to eight may be better than English-only programs for the cognitive, academic, social, and cultural development of children who speak a language other than English at home.
Children in immigrant families account for nearly one-fourth (24 percent) of all children as of 2010, and the vast majority (88 percent) are U.S. citizens. In fact, children of immigrants account for nearly the entire growth in the U.S. child population between 1990 and 2008.1 This policy brief draws on key indicators from the Foundation for Child Development Child Well-Being Index (CWI), as well as additional data, to highlight both similarities and differences in the circumstances of children in immigrant and native-born families.
Creating a Formula for Success: Why English Language Learner Students Are Dropping Out of School, and How to Increase Graduation Rates
This report uses school data and student focus groups to assess why increasing numbers of English language learners (ELLs) in New York City dropped out of school after the state adopted higher graduation standards. Recommendations include: 1) targeting middle and high schools where 248 ELLS are underperforming; 2) implementing new strategies to reach students at high risk because they arrive in the United States as teenagers; 3) improving instruction in both ESL and core classes as well as increasing the number of teachers certified for ESL and bilingual instruction; 4) implementing a language access policy to enable immigrant parents to participate more actively in their children's education.
Illinois' English education system is broken. ESL enrollments are falling, funding is shrinking, and students are not gaining the English skills they need to fully contribute to our economy and society. ICIRR's new report, Empty Promises: The Unmet Need for English Instruction Across Illinois, documents these failures, but also points to successful community initiatives that are helping immigrant learners move forward. Our state needs a new vision and new investment in English to build the coherent effective adult education system that will prepare our state for the 21st century economy.
The report was underwritten through the generous support of the Joyce Foundation.
The study identifies who the limited English speakers in the United States are, and explains how they differ from immigrants in general and why TANF and WIA providers should be concerned about them. The author makes these suggestions: bilingual staff should be hired when possible; English language, literacy and numeracy training should be integrated with job training; and that existing education and training programs be adapted to include limited English speakers.
This paper reviews data on how immigrants fare under the work-focused, time-limited Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. It also discusses policy implications of research showing that many immigrants who remain on welfare rolls have significant barriers to employment, including limited proficiency in English and low skill levels.
More than one in ten of all preK-12 students in the U.S.—totaling over 5.3 million children—are English Language Learners (ELLs), yet common assumptions about this fast-growing population are often incorrect. The majority of young ELLs are not immigrants: over 75 percent of ELL elementary students were born in the U.S. Although the largest ELL groups are in California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Arizona, ELLs are a growing presence throughout the country, with the fastest growing ELL populations in South Carolina, Indiana, Nevada, Arkansas, North Carolina, Virginia and Delaware. And many of America’s schools are not yet able to serve these millions of students effectively. The report underscores what school leaders, policymakers and funders can do to improve instruction and supports for these students.
Analyzes 2000 Census data on languages spoken at home by school-age children in newcomer families, and finds that English is almost universally accepted by the children and grandchildren of the immigrants who have come to the United States in great numbers since the 1960s, similar to earlier generations of immigrants.
More than eight million working-age adults in the United States—5 percent of all adults—speak English poorly or do not speak it at all. Immigrant populations, many of them limited English proficient, are going to be essential for the growth of the U.S. workforce in the years to come. This study recommends improving the resources for language and job training available to LEP populations. It Ddescribes the demographics and economic circumstances of low-income LEP adults; profiles successful language and job training services available to them, including a summary of research findings on employment programs for low-skilled adults; and recommends policies and practices that can help LEP adults gain access to higher-paying jobs.
This report, part of a series that presents population and housing data collected in the 2000 Census, Ppresents data on language spoken at home and the ability of people ages five and over to speak English. I t describes population distributions and characteristics for the United States, as well as regions, states, counties, and selected places with populations of 100,000 or more.
This paper applies the theoretical literature on nonparametric bounds on treatment effects to the estimation of how limited English proficiency (LEP) affects wages and employment opportunities for Hispanic workers in the U.S. The author stresses the interactions between LEP and education, occupation, and immigration status.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) holds every state, district, and school accountable for students’ academic progress. It also revealed the extent to which schools have failed non-English-speaking students by requiring states and districts for the first time to disaggregate their reading and math scores on annual assessments. The large achievement gap has moved educators, scholars, and policymakers to try urgently to reverse decades of neglect, even as the scale of the challenge is growing exponentially. This brief spotlights major issues facing those taking up this challenge and offers them emerging policy solutions. The primary focus will be on the 75 percent of ELLs who speak Spanish, and who are believed by scholars to be at high risk for school failure.
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