US: Latino Immigrants ’ Chil dren Found Acquiring English

[Harold Schiffman]

November 30, 2007

Latino Immigrants' Children Found Grasping English
By JULIA PRESTON

Most children of Hispanic immigrants in the United States learn to
speak English well by the time they are adults, even though
three-quarters of their parents speak mainly Spanish and do not have a
command of English, according to a report released yesterday by the
Pew Hispanic Center in Washington. Only 23 percent of first-generation
immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries said they spoke English
very well, the report found. But 88 percent of the members of the
second generation in Latino immigrant families described themselves as
strong English speakers, a figure that increased to 94 percent for the
grandchildren's generation. "The ability to speak English and the
likelihood of using it in everyday life rise sharply from Hispanic
immigrants to their U.S.-born adult children," the survey reported.

The Pew Hispanic Center is a nonpartisan research organization that
does not take a position in the contentious immigration debate. The
new report is based on an analysis of six surveys the center conducted
from April 2002 to October 2006, covering more than 14,000 Latino
adults over 18 years old. The findings address rising worries among
some voters that immigrants arriving from Latin America in the last
two decades have resisted learning English and are failing to
assimilate into American society. Advocates of tighter borders and
reduced immigration have said that Spanish may be competing for
dominance with English in states like Texas and California with large
Latino populations.

At least one state, Kansas, adopted a law this year declaring English
its official language and eliminating requirements that official
documents be produced in Spanish as well as English, according to the
National Conference of State Legislatures. Measures favoring English
have also proliferated in counties and towns. The Pew report found
that Hispanics are generally eager to master English, believing it is
"necessary for success in the United States."  Many Hispanics believe
they will face discrimination if they speak Spanish and lack strong
English skills, according to the report. In the analysis, 46 percent
of Latinos cited poor English skills as the leading cause of
discrimination against them, a far more significant cause than race or
immigration status. In a survey this year, 54 percent of Latinos said
they saw discrimination as a major obstacle to their progress.

The report sought to measure English skills as "a marker of
attachment" to American society, said D'Vera Cohn, a Pew center
researcher who wrote the report with Shirin Hakimzadeh, another Pew
researcher. The English skills of recently arrived immigrants varied
widely depending on the countries they came from. Among Mexicans, who
are by far the largest national group among recent immigrants, 71
percent said they spoke little or no English. Of Hispanics born
outside the 50 states, Puerto Ricans were the most likely to speak
English well. Even as many Latinos learn English, they continue to
retain and use Spanish. According to the report, 44 percent of Latino
adults, whether born abroad or in the United States, said they were
bilingual, while 41 percent said they spoke mainly Spanish. Only 15
percent of Latino adults said they were "largely English speakers."




-- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/us/30immig.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to
its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner
or sponsor of
the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who
disagree with a
message are encouraged to post a rebuttal. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)
*******************************************