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Getting the most out of DiversityRx
Why Language
and Culture Are Important
Experts Speak Out
Demographics
and Statistics
Glossary
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Report:
Language Characteristics and Schooling in the United States,
A Changing Picture: 1979 and 1989
By the National Center for Education Statistics, Office of Educational
Research and Improvement, US Department of Education
Report Summary:
This report offers a snapshot of the linguistic diversity of American
schoolchildren and their families, a useful proxy for assessing the linguistic
needs of potential health and human services consumers.
The report examines the following issues:
- how the numbers and proportions of persons speaking languages other
than English, and their English ability, have changed;
- what are the characteristics of persons who speak languages other than
English at home (e.g., immigration status, age distribution, educational
attainment, family income);
- are there linkages between language spoken at home, schooling progress
for children eight to fifteen years old, and other characteristics (e.g.
race and ethnicity, immigration status, difficulty speaking English, parents'
education);
- is there a relationship between educational attainment of sixteen-
to twenty-four-year-olds and language characteristics, difficulty speaking
English, immigration status and parents' education.
Released in November of 1993, it is based on an analysis of selected
data from the Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) of
November 1979 and November 1989. Some data are also included (for reference
purposes) from the 1980 and 1990 decennial censuses. These surveys collected
information on respondents' socioeconomic status, educational attainment,
migration status and other aspects of their lives. In addition, the CPS
surveys posed the following questions on language:
- do you speak a language other than English at home?
- what is that language?
- how well do you speak English (response categories: very well, well,
not well, not at all)?
Appendices to the report provide further information on data sources
and definitions, alternate measures of non-English language usage and English
language proficiency, accuracy of estimates and statistical procedures and
standard error tables.
Report Results:
Between 1979 and 1989, the number of persons five years and older who
spoke a language other than English in the home rose by 41 per cent. At
the same time, the distribution of non-English speakers among language groups
changed significantly: the number of Spanish speakers increased by 65 per
cent, while the number of speakers of Asian and Pacific Island languages
nearly doubled. In contrast, the number of speakers of European languages
such as German and Italian declined.
For respondents who reported speaking a language other than English in
the home, 47 per cent claimed difficulty speaking English (i.e., they reported
speaking English less than 'very well'). Among those reporting difficulty
speaking English, a disproportionately high number were over 25 years old
or were speakers of Spanish, Asian and Pacific Island languages.
In 1979, children between the ages of eight and fifteen who reported
speaking a language other than English in the home were more likely to be
behind in school than their peers who spoke only English in the home. Ten
years later, this discrepancy had disappeared, but not because the performance
of bilingual children had improved markedly relative to the past. Instead,
children who spoke only English in the home had become 40 per cent more
likely to be behind modal grade. However, the proportion of children who
reported speaking English with difficulty and were behind in school dropped
fifteen per cent, to about the level of English-only children and speakers
of other languages as a whole.
For sixteen- to twenty-four-year-olds, language spoken at home and English
ability appeared to be related to enrollment status. Other factors (e.g.,
place of birth, period of immigration, parental education) influenced the
relationship between language and educational attainment, however. Among
individuals with similar levels of parental education, enrollment status
tends to remain constant even when language spoken at home varies.
Where to get it:
The report is out of print, but copies may be
on file at your local or university library.
Ref: ISBN 0-16-042998-6 |
