EA 3.3

DIFFICULTY SPEAKING ENGLISH

Children who have difficulty speaking English may find that this difficulty limits their educational progress and their future employment prospects. They may also need special instruction in school to improve their English. Difficulty speaking English is most common among immigrant children and the U.S.–born children of immigrants. In the last three decades, the great majority of immigrants to the U.S. have come from Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

In 1995, of the 6.7 million children ages 5–17 in the U.S. who lived in homes in which a language other than English was spoken, 2.4 million (37 percent) had difficulty speaking English. This represents a slight increase from the 33 percent who had difficulty speaking English in 1979 (see Table EA 3.3).

Differences by Race and Hispanic Origin.³⁷ Thirty-three percent of non-Hispanic black children from homes where a language other than English was spoken had difficulty speaking English in 1995, an increase from 26 percent in 1979 (see Figure EA 3.3). Among Hispanic children from such homes, 42 percent had difficulty speaking English, up slightly from 38 percent in 1979. Nineteen percent of non-Hispanic white children from homes where a language other than English was spoken had difficulty speaking English in 1995. The proportion was similarly low in 1992 and in 1979, but was substantially higher (33 percent) in 1989.
 
 

Figure EA 3.3   Percentage Who Are Reported to Speak English Less Than “Very Well,” Among Children Ages 5-17 Who Speak a Language Other Than English at Home, by Race/Ethnicity: 1995

Source: Unpublished tables based on analyses of the November Current Population Survey for selected years. National Center for Education Statistics.
 
 

Table EA 3.3  Percentage Who Are Reported to Speak English Less Than "Very Well," Among Children Ages 5-17 Who Speak a Language Other Than English at Home,  by Race/Ethnicity: 1979-1995
			1979	1989	1992	1995	Number in 1995 (in thousands)
Total			33	38	35	37	2,442
	Race/Ethnicity
		White, non-Hispanic	17	33	20	19	219
		Black, non-Hispanic	26	32	33	33	73
		Hispanic	38	39	39	42	1,934
		Other	45	39	36	32	214
Source: Unpublished tables based on analyses of the November Current Population Survey for selected years. National Center for Education Statistics.