Asian ELL Students

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Intervention; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Rights, Students;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses: What are the disparities in well-being among U.S racial and ethnic groups?

Findings:

Asian Americans in New Jersey, with the highest Index scores, experience levels of well-being that, if current trends continue, the country as a whole will reach in about fifty years. At the other end of the spectrum, Native Americans in South Dakota lag more than a half-century behind the rest of the nation in terms of health, education, and income. Asian Americans in New Jersey live, on average, an astonishing 26 years longer, are 11 times more likely to have a graduate degree, and earn $35,610 more per year than South Dakota Native Americans.
• Asian Americans live the longest (86.6 years), followed by Latinos (82.8 years);
• African American life expectancy today is on par with that of the average American three decades ago;
• Latinos outlive whites, on average, by over four years, and in all but four states, Latinos either equal or surpass the national average in life span.
• In no U.S. states do African Americans, Latinos, or Native Americans earn more than Asian Americans or whites;
• Asian Americans and whites earn the most; Latinos and Native Americans earn the least. Native Americans' median earnings are less than $22,000, while whites' are more than $30,000;
• African Americans in Maryland earn almost $16,000 a year more than African Americans in Louisiana.
• Nearly one in five Asian American adults has a graduate degree;
• Latinos lag in education; nearly four in ten adults age 25 and older did not complete high school;
• In Florida, Maryland, and Virginia, about one in five Latino adults age 25 and older have obtained at least a bachelor's degree.

• Read the Full Report

Lewis, K. & Burd-Sharps, S. (2010). A Century Apart: Revealing Alarming Disparities in Well-Being among U.S. Racial and Ethnic Groups. Brooklyn, NY: American Human Development Project.

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School, Post-Secondary

• Link to Full Report

Pew Hispanic Center. (2006). A Statistical Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population at Mid-Decade. Pew Hispanic Center: Washington, DC.

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Intervention; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• What are the characteristics and data demographics of Asian Americans in the state of Washington?
• How can Asian American ELLs be better served to improve English proficiency, school achievement, and student outcomes?

Findings:

• They speak more than 100 languages and dialects with 40% speaking a language other than English as their primary language. The five largest language groups are Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese-Cantonese, Tagalog, and Khmer (Cambodian).
• There is much variability when it comes to income, family education, English proficiency, etc across the groups (ie: While 36.8% of Asian Americans hold a bachelor's degree or higher, only 6.6% of Cambodians do so, compared to 67% and 58% of Taiwanese and Asian Indians, respectively.)
• More than 30% of Asian Americans receive Free/Reduced Price Lunch and 14% are enrolled in Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program (TBIP).
• Asian American ELL students are underserved, undersupported, and experience academic difficulties. Only one third of Asian Non–Native English speakers are in ELL programs and few receive language assistance services in their native language.
• Asian American students experience alienation and marginalization in schools to varying degrees, but WASL data reveal that Filipino American and Southeast Asian American students are most at risk.

Policy Recommendations:

• Adopt a data collection, research, and evaluation plan.
• Create a seamless pipeline pre–k through 16, incorporating co-curricular activities and community involvement.
• Use a broader range of measurements to evaluate student performance.
• Foster culturally responsive approaches and practices.
• Adopt effective ell programs, including highly–trained and quality teachers.
• Engage Asian American families in schools with informational meetings and translated print materials.
• Strengthen school–community partnerships.

• Read the Full Report

Hune, S. and D. Takeuchi. (2008). Asian Americans in Washington State: Closing Their Hidden Achievement Gaps. A report submitted to The Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs. Seattle, WA: University of Washington.

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Books and Other Reading Materials; Curriculum; Differentiated Instruction; Instructional Programs; Language of Instruction; Latino ELL Students; Motivation; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: Middle and high school students, parents, teachers, administrators, and guidance counselors.

Research Questions the Report Poses: This article questions how important it is for higher education institutions, schools, states, and the federal government to help students prepare for post-secondary education and graduate successfully.

Findings:

• For many students, the decision not to apply for college does not reflect a lack of higher education aspirations; instead, many students are discouraged by the application process and tuition rates.
• There is a growing consensus that high schools should be accountable for what their students' outcomes are after high graduation and that high schools and governments at all levels to increase the academic readiness.
• Proper guidance and easy access to available programs of financial aid and college admission application need to be highly promoted in all states, especially for low-income students.

Policy Recommendations:

The report authors identify three strategies that the federal government and states can potentially pursue in order to help all students enter and suceed in higher education:

• Create data systems that track college readiness and attainment and build accountability.
• Support and build the capacity of high school and college educators.
• Develop strong signals and clear incentives to students about the path to college.

The federal government is encouraged to take note of the recommendations made in this article on the economic, social, and academic factors that can prevent students from attending college. In addition, policymakers at the state and federal level are encouraged to create programs that facilitate the transition from high school to college by promoting students current and future college aspirations.

• Read the Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Center for American Progress 1333 H Street, NW, 10th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005

Nagaoka, Jenny; Roderick, Melissa; Coca, Vanessa. (2009). Barriers to College Attainment: Lessons from Chicago. Washington, D.C. Center for American Progress.

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: Preschool

Research Questions the Report Poses: None; instead makes the case that newcomer families and the children within them are, and will continue to be, a significant demographic in American education.

Findings:

• 25 percent of children from newcomer families have a parent who was born in the United States.
• Two-thirds of children from newcomer families have parents who have lived in the United States for ten or more years.
• 80% of children from newcomer families are US citizens
• Almost 60% of children have at least one parent who speaks English exclusively or very well
• Three-quarters of children from newcomer families speak English exclusively or very well
• Almost half of newcomer children speak both English and another language fluently or close to fluently
• Approximately a quarter of newcomer children are from linguistically isolated households
• Children from newcomer families going to pre-school with lower prevalence than children from native born families

Policy Recommendations:

• More resources need to be devoted to getting good early education to children from newcomer families
• A re-examination must take place of education policy toward language instruction, especially views of bi-literacy and bilingualism
• Education programs can and should improve outreach to newcomer parents

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Child Trends
Bonnie Wahiba
4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 350
Washington, DC 20008
E-Mail: bwahiba@childtrends.org
Phone: (202) 572-6136
Fax: (202) 362-8420 (third floor, Suite 350)

Hernandez, D., Denton, N., and Macartney, S. (2007, April). Child Trends and Children in Immigrant Families - The U.S. and 50 States: National Origins, Language, and Early Education. Albany, NY: Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at SUNY-Albany

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School, Post-Secondary

Research Questions the Report Poses: What difficulties face Asian American students and how might these difficulties perpetuate myths about Asian students?

Findings:
The sheer diversity in ethnicities, languages, cultures, and experiences represented among Asian Americans leads to the creation many myths and misunderstandings. The stereotype of the model Asian minority denies the reality that there are struggling and undeserved students and as a result, the emotional and academic needs of Asian American students are easily overlooked.

Policy Recommendations:

The authors offer a number of recommendations that include improved:

• Cultural competency on the part of school staff
• Data collection and disaggregation
• Communication with families, including in home languages
• Family engagement initiatives
• Prevention of harassment and involvement
• Community partnerships

• Link to Resource Page (Registration Required)

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The Coalition of Asian American Children & Families 50 Broad St. Suite 1701 New York, NY 10004 *Note: To download report, enter your name and email in the log-in screen. Email addresses will not be shared or added to any email lists.

The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (2004, May). Coalition for Asian Hidden in plain view: An overview of the needs of Asian American students in the public school system. New York, NY.

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Curriculum; Instructional Programs; Latino ELL Students; Motivation; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: This article targets the general population, especially those Latino and minority groups in high school or first year in college.

Research Questions the Report Poses: This article raises the question of students' academic preparation to transition from high school to postsecondary education.

Findings:

• Poor academic performance during high school due to poor academic preparation for college can predetermine the failure of students during college.
• Current research shows that to make a different in academic preparation, school administrations and teachers have to create a rigorous academic program that needs to be continuous and based on rich coursework.
• Organizations like Achieve, ACT, and the Education Policy Improvement Center are providing feedbacks for students to better their transition from high school to college.

Policy Recommendations:

• Policymakers should begin to address the importance of academic preparation for students, especially in high school, entering college.
• The federal government should be responsible of distributing and communicating the general public the steps to take to gain greater academic preparation and skills in schools.
• Policymakers should propose and manage the strategies implemented to guarantee the success of the programs.

• Read the report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Center for American Progress 1333 H Street, NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20005

Chait, Robin and Andrea Venezia. (2009). Improving Academic Preparation for College: What We Know and How State and Federal Policy Can Help. Washington, D.C.: Center for American Progress.

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Bilingual Instruction; Language Proficiency;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• What are the statistics regarding Asian American students/ELLs?
• How do schools neglect Asian American students?
• What can be changed to close the achievement gap of Asian American students and provide them sufficient resources for success?

Findings:

• 24% of Asian American students are ELLs.
• Asian Americans comprise 12% of all ELLs, though they are only 5% of the total population.
• The four largest Asian ethnic ELL populations nationwide are: Chinese (115,000), Vietnamese (95,000), Korean (51,000), and Asian Indian (47,000).
• Improved and increased ELL services are clearly a dire need for Asian American students and must not be overlooked due to the "model minority myth" which postures Asian Americans as automatically higher-achieving.

Policy Recommendations:

• Devalue high-stakes testing: Resources should be devoted to language acquisition and learning experience rather than testing. Furthermore standardized testing should not be used to penalize schools by denying them funding or to penalize students by denying grade promotion or graduation.
• Create more native-language assessments based on demographics of cities or districts, not whole states, or using a statewide absolute numerical threshold (as opposed to the current 10% rule.)
• Create more bilingual education programs (as opposed to English-only instruction).
• Address high pushout/dropout rates: Schools should provide truancy intervention, ELL programs, high quality ELL teachers, and native language materials.
• Use multiple forms of assessment: ELLs should be assessed according to individual growth, using classroom-based results, and with appropriate accommodations. Assessments should be aligned to the instruction they receive (ie language acquisition, not traditional literacy development.)
• Increase professional development, providing ELL-teaching-specific training, and increase hiring of ELL teachers.
• Enable parental involvement: Provide native-language materials about the public education system and specific schools, translators for parent-teacher communication, community outreach, and Adult Literacy/ESL classes for parents.
• Disaggregate data to get a clearer picture of Asian American students' demographics and performance.

• Read the Full Report

Redondo, B., Aung, K.M., Fung, M., & Yu, N.W. Left in the Margins: Asian American Students & the No Child Left Behind Act. (2008). New York: Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Intervention; Latino ELL Students; Motivation; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: How do female high school Latina students overcome obstacles in order to graduate from high school?

Findings:

Latinas have high aspirations and goals but often are unable to reach them because of academic and social barriers such as:

• Poverty
• Immigration status
• Language barriers
• Lack of parental involvement
• Teenage pregnancy

Policy Recommendations:

• Invest in the future of Latinas. Congress should put more money into providing child care, early childhood education, health care, nutrition assistance, and tax benefits.
• Provide Latina girls with role models and set up programs that help them reach their goals. More money should be put into mentoring programs, school counseling, and college access programs.
• Make sure that all Latina girls are prepared for any post-secondary education opportunity.
• Ensure that schools are free of racial and gender discrimination. Schools should also make sure that they enforce and promote dual language programs for ELLs.
• Aid in gaining more Latino parental involvement. The government and schools should fund more programs to help parents become more active in schools.
• Fund more efforts to prevent teenage pregnancy, including implementing sex education programs.
• Support students who are pregnant or who are currently parenting.
• Schools should require better data collection and promote school accountability.

• Read the Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
MALDEF: http://maldef.org/contact/

National Women’'s Law Center & Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Listening to Latinas: barriers to high school graduation. (2009, August). Retrieved from: http://maldef.org/assets/pdf/ListeningtoLatinas.pdf

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Comprehension; Content Areas: Math; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Phonics; Phonological Awareness; Reading; Struggling Readers; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Elementary School, Middle School, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What students are classified as being English Language Learners? How are they best identified, and what recommendations should be made to more adequately instruct possible ELL students to prevent further learning difficulties?

Findings:

• Statistics for ELLs may be hard to obtain or may be inaccurate since many ELL students go without being properly identified
• ELL students can better from more individualized instruction
• Mastery of academic language is necessary for academic success, which can prove to be difficult even for English speaking proficient ELLs
• In order to provide effective support of reading comprehension to ELLs educators must have an understanding of the child's individual needs
• In addition to reading comprehension it is crucial for students to become proficient in mathematics

Policy Recommendations:
While the article did not have any specific policy recommendations the recommendations listed in the article could be taken as such and thus included in this section.

Recommendations for Reading Instruction and interventions:

• ELLs need early, explicit, and intensive instruction in phonological awareness and phonics in order to build decoding skills.
• K-12 classrooms across the nation must increase opportunities for ELLs to develop sophisticated vocabulary knowledge.
• Reading instruction in K-12 classrooms must equip ELLs with strategies and knowledge to comprehend and analyze challenging narrative and expository texts.
• Instruction and intervention to promote ELLs' reading fluency must focus on vocabulary and increased exposure to print.
• In all K-12 classrooms across the U.S., ELLs need significant opportunities to engage in structured, academic talk.
• Independent reading is only beneficial when it is structured and purposeful, and there is a good reader-text match.

• ELLs need early explicit and intensive instruction and intervention in basic mathematics concepts and skill.
• Academic language is as central to mathematics as it is to other academic areas. It is a significant source of difficulty for many ELLs who struggle with mathematics.
• ELLs need academic language support to understand and solve the word problems that are often used for mathematics assessment and instruction.

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
N/A

Francis, David J., Mabel Rivera, Nonie Lesaux, and Hector Rivera. (2006). Research-Based Recommendations for Instruction and Academic Interventions. Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners, Retrieved April 11,2008, from http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/ELL1-Interventions.pdf

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Curriculum; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Placement; Rights, Parents; Rights, Students;

Target Population:

• All students in preschool, elementary, middle or high school in the Latino community.
• Parents of students attending preschool, elementary, middle or high school in the Latino community.

Research Questions the Report Poses: This article raises the question of the importance of the No Child Left Behind Act to improve the education for limited English proficient students in the Latino community.

Findings:

• Limited English Proficiency students are the fastest growing population in elementary schools in the US.
• Limited English proficient students are concentrated in a few states but are spreading rapidly throughout the nation.
• While five states—California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois—are home to almost 70 percent of all LEP students in elementary school, growth in this student population has been more rapid in other destinations.
• The majority of LEP elementary school students are concentrated in a small number of schools: nearly 70 percent of the nation’s LEP students enroll in only 10 percent of elementary schools.
• The incidence of poverty and health problems is significantly higher in high-LEP than in other schools.
• Instructional contexts vary significantly across schools: high-LEP schools are more likely to offer support and remedial programs (pre-K, enrichment, after-school, summer school).
• Native language instruction is more prevalent in high- than low-LEP schools. The difference in use of other LEP-targeted instructional techniques, though significant, is less marked.
• High-LEP schools face more difficulties filling teaching vacancies and are more likely to rely on unqualified and substitute teachers than schools with few or no LEP children.
• High-LEP schools are more likely to be involved in parental outreach and support activities than schools with lower concentrations of LEP students.
• Teachers in high-LEP schools are more likely to hold ESL/bilingual certification in addition to their main certification.
• Teachers in high-LEP schools are more likely to have provisional, emergency, or temporary certification than are those in other schools.
• High-LEP schools have more new teachers than schools with fewer or no LEP students, and these teachers are substantially more likely to be uncertified than those at other schools.
• Teachers in high-LEP schools tend to report receiving more professional development than do teachers in other types of schools.
• There was a great deal of variation in the way districts with high-LEP schools implemented NCLB testing requirements in both subject areas and ELP (English Language Proficiency).
• Parents of ELL students in high-LEP enrollment schools professed to have very little knowledge of the requirements of NCLB.

Policy Recommendations:

• The U.S. Department of Education should make the development of an appropriate English language proficiency test a national priority and require its use by all states and districts.
• States should ensure that (a) policies are in place to conduct subject matter testing of ELL students using appropriate tests and accommodations and (b) reasonable exemptions are granted.
• The inclusion of pre-K education should be considered in the reauthorization of NCLB. While it is evident from our study that NCLB is changing pre-K education in high-LEP schools, including this component of the educational system in the law would enforce and standardize these changes across all districts and states.
• The NCLB provisions for school choice and Supplemental Educational Services (SES) should be reexamined. These provisions do not seem to be having the intended effect and their feasibility and effectiveness should be studied.
• Teacher Quality
• Districts should assume responsibility for the training and professional development of teachers—including bilingual/ESL teachers—to assist them in meeting the NCLB requirements for high-quality teachers. This assistance might include working with local colleges to increase the production of high-quality bilingual/ESL teachers and to offer courses in areas where current teachers need to acquire credits for certification. Local colleges and alternative certification programs should be encouraged to incorporate courses on ELL instruction as part of the required general teacher education curriculum. These courses should be required for certification or employment of all teachers, at least in high-ELL-enrollment districts but preferably in all districts.
• More effective strategies are needed for conducting parental outreach and information efforts with parents of ELL students. Districts and schools must acquire a greater understanding of effective strategies to reach this group of parents, who face many barriers to understanding the requirements of NCLB and their role in supporting its goals.

• Read the Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The Urban Institute 2100 M Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037

Consentino de Cohen, Clemencia and Beatriz Chu Clewell. (2007). Putting English Language Learners on the Education Map: The No Child Left Behind Act Implemented. Washington, D.C. The Urban Institute.

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: General, especially U.S. minority groups

Research Questions the Report Poses: This report analyzes the demographic trends as more minority students attend suburban school districts in the United States. In addition, the researchers examined a number of individual school districts with high rates of change.

Findings:

• Suburban schools have become increasingly important educators of the nation's minority student populations.
• Every individual suburban school district experienced minority student growth slightly differently.
• As a result of the rapid growth in minority students and flat growth among white students, 287 of the nation's 2,808 suburban school districts have become majority-minority school districts since 1993-94.
• The vast majority (18) of the fastest-growing suburban districts in terms of black enrollment are in the Midwest.
• Several school districts in suburban Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville experienced hyper-growth in their Hispanic student populations since 1993-94. Among Asian suburban students, numerous school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta metro areas are among the 25 fastest-growing suburban school districts.
• Though there has been a marked diversification of many of the nation’s suburban school districts, this does not necessarily mean that suburban students are experiencing greater racial/ethnic interaction at the level of the individual school.
• If suburban schools are highly segregated, with whites attending one set of schools and minority students a different set of schools, then minority student growth will not result in suburban white students attending schools with greater proportions of minority students and will not increase the exposure of white students to non-white students.
• When students of different racial/ethnic background do not attend the same schools, the potential exists that they also may not attend the same type of schools, i.e., schools of similar quality and level of resources.
• Some evidence suggests that racial imbalances in peers have significant effects on minority student achievement (Hanushek and Rivkin, 2006; Harris, 2006).
• Public opinion surveys reveal that adults by large margins support having America's racial/ethnic mix represented in the student bodies of public schools (Elam, Rose and Gallup, 1996).

• Read the Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Pew Research Center 1615 L Street, NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036-5610

Fry, Richard. (2009). Sharp Growth in Suburban Minority Enrollment Yields Modest Gains in School Diversity. Washington, D.C. Pew Hispanic Center.

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Intervention; Rights, Students;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses: What general circumstances do Southeastern Asian Americans tend to experience?

Findings:

• Limited English skills
• Systematic communication between students, parents, and teachers
• Discrimination
• Widespread feelings of alienation from mainstream schools

Policy Recommendations:

• Disaggregate and disseminate more data.
• Promote Southeast Asian studies, courses, and personnel.
• Support community organizations.
• Create new systems for financial and technical support.

• Read the Full Report

Yang, K.Y. (2004) “Southeast Asian American Children: Not the ‘Model Minority.’” Children of Immigrant Families 14 (2). The Future of Children. Retrieved from http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=39&articleid=129&sectionid=850.

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Differentiated Instruction; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Rights, Parents; Rights, Students; Struggling Readers;

Target Population: Parents, teachers, and advocates of elementary and middle schools' education.

Research Questions the Report Poses: This article raises the question of the impact of school mobility and its negative effects on student's educational outcomes.

Findings:

• Hispanic immigrants show the highest mobility rates in states like North Carolina and California.
• Current data shows that a student and its family move from state to state more than three times a year during the first grades of elementary school.
• The negative effect of constant moving is the disruption it causes in the new classroom and in the children involved in this moving process.

Policy Recommendations:

• School districts should monitor students' mobility, especially those students who are moving constantly causing academic disruption in any new classroom.
• School districts should also provide counseling to families who are flagged by mobility rates to ameliorate this situation and prevent constant moving.

• Read the Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Hard copies can be ordered from CALDER and the Urban Institute.

Xu, Z., Hannaway, J., and D'Souza, S. (2009). Student Transience in North Carolina: The Effect of School Mobility on Student Outcomes Using Longitudinal Data. North Carolina: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Intervention; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Rights, Parents; Rights, Students;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• What challenges and risk factors do immigrant children face?
• What are the implications of the living arrangements of immigrant children, especially of the three most vulnerable groups (Mexican, Southeast Asian, and Black-Caribbean)?
• What unique qualities of immigrant families work to children's advantages?
• How do U.S. immigrant and integration policies shape immigrant families' circumstances?

Findings:

• Recent immigrants are more likely than more settled immigrants to live in extended families, and these are more often of lateral extension (ie co–residence with a relative in a similar stage of life) than vertical extension adults with their parents). While this offers support in the short–term, it does not have long–term benefits.
• Single–parent families have markedly higher child poverty rates than married–parent families; Cohabiting–couple families generally have child poverty rates between the two.
• Children of immigrants are considerably more likely to live with married parents than are children of natives.
• Compared to native children of their same race, immigrant children are more likely to live with extended family, but less likely to live with grandparents.
• The major challenge facing Mexican immigrants and their children is their limited opportunity for economic integration, owing in large part to their low education, skills, and financial resources, coupled with limited English proficiency and, frequently, unauthorized legal status.
• Recent Mexican immigrants are far more likely to have two–parent families, and this tendency decreases with each generation.
• Living arrangements and challenges especially vary among Southeast Asian immigrants, based on origin, refugee/nonrefugee status, and generation of arrival.
• Black Caribbean immigrant children are far more likely than other ethnicities to live in single–parent homes, specifically female–headed families due to demographics and norms in their home countries.

Policy Recommendations:

• The office of Citizenship and Immigration should work to reduce backlogs of immigrants awaiting citizenship so as to reduce time of separation within families and improve children's lives.
• To reduce immigration backlogs: adequate staffing; affording some citizens' privileges to Legal Permanent Residents, specifically reduced waiting time to bring over children and spouses, even if not parents.
• Current admission criteria need to be reevaluated and updated to account for more recent trends.
• Decrease workforce raids, and deportation in general, when children are involved.
• Though complicated and difficult, it would be very advantageous to develop policies to reduce marital dissolution and nonmarital childbearing.
• More attention and resources should be directed toward immigrant settlement. Legal immigrants and their children should be granted greater access to the social safety net regardless of citizenship status. At the very least, immigrant parents need accurate information about social welfare benefits for which they and their children are eligible.

• Read the Full Report

Landale, N., Thomas, K., Van Hook, J. (2011). "Demography of Immigrant Youth: Past, Present, and Future." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=540.

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Fluency; Motivation;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• What are some nonnative English speakers' experiences regarding the way native speakers treat them?
• How have nonnative English speakers' experiences of ethnic acceptance or ethnic prejudice affected their learning of English?
• What do nonnative English speakers think they need in order to lower their anxiety as they learn a new language?
• What can native English speakers do to lower nonnative speakers' anxiety?
• What can nonnative English speakers do to lower their anxiety with native English speakers?

Findings:

• All of the participants experienced both ethnic acceptance and ethnic prejudice, though they tended to be positive and accepting.
• Successful immigrants overcome their fear and anxiety by making friends with native and nonnative speakers alike.
• To achieve greater communicative competence English learners must take the initiative to speak English, while native English speakers must learn strategies for listening and understanding, accepting and reinforcing the nonnative speakers.
• The two ethnic groups of participants viewed prejudice and learning English differently: the Vietnamese believed they could move past prejudice and learn English as a means to belong in American culture, while the Mexican participants fostered a nostalgia for and stronger desire to return to their homeland.
• The six participants in this study all recognized the importance of encouragement and motivation in learning English, whether by needing English to communicate in ethnically mixed neighborhoods, or community ESL classes showing them they were not alone in learning English.
• The participants all expressed the opinion that individual effort and perseverance are keys to progress in acquiring English: one needs to take action, reach out, and not give up regardless of the experiences of prejudice.

Policy Recommendations:

The authors recommend:

• Mixed ESL groupings in class — combining immigrants from different countries so they cannot resort to home language.
• Closed-caption reading methodology
• Encouraging immigrants to make friends who are native speakers
• Improved workplace ESL programs
• Cultural survival techniques — acquiring goods and services in home language to buffer transition, while still venturing out into English–speaking places.

• Read the Full Report

LaBelle, J. (2007.) Vietnamese American Experiences of English Language Learning. Journal of Southeast Asian American Education & Advancement. Retrieved from: http://jsaaea.coehd.utsa.edu/index.php/JSAAEA/article/view/4