• Language Minorities' Characteristics
• Education Indicators
• Economic Indicators
• Conclusions

This report documents the growth between 1979 and 1999 in the number and percentage of youth and young adults in the United States who speak languages other than English at home. The report describes these individuals in terms of the languages they speak and their English-speaking ability. This information is based on household responses to regular and supplemental questions included in the Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey of 1979, 1989, 1992, 1995, and 1999. The language data used in this report are based on individuals' responses to a series of questions on language ability included in the monthly survey. Household respondents were asked whether each qualifying household member spoke a language other than English at home. If so, respondents were asked to indicate which language that person spoke at home and how well that person spoke English ("very well," "well," "not well," or "not at all").

The report compares language minority youth and young adults with those who speak only English at home according to several education indicators: elementary/secondary school enrollment, grade retention, high school completion, postsecondary enrollment, and highest educational level attained. In addition to these education indicators, language minority youth and young adults also are compared with youth and young adults who speak only English at home in terms of three economic indicators: family income, employment status, and type of occupation. Finally, because language minorities' English-speaking ability (speaking English "very well" as opposed to speaking with difficulty, i.e., less than "very well") and the languages spoken at home may be associated with education and economic indicators, this report makes comparisons both within individual language minority groups and between these groups and those who spoke only English at home.

The results of the study offer mixed findings for language minorities. In general, language minority youth and young adults lagged behind their counterparts who spoke only English at home on most education and economic indicators. However, among those who finished high school, no differences were found by English-speaking ability in the percentage that enrolled in postsecondary education. Among language minority groups, those speaking Spanish fared less well than those speaking other languages.

No significant changes in English language ability among language minorities were detected between 1979 and 1999. Overall in 1999, 33 percent of language minorities spoke English with difficulty, compared with 34 percent in 1979. However, over this time, English-speaking ability did change among speakers of some language groups. Between 1979 and 1999, no significant differences in the proportion reporting being able to speak English "very well" were detected for Spanish-speaking language minorities, but this proportion changed for all other language minority groups.^* In particular, for those who spoke Asian languages at home, there was a decrease in persons who reported speaking English "very well." Among speakers of European languages other than Spanish, the proportion who reported speaking English "very well" increased.

Additional differences in English-speaking ability were found by nativity. Fifty-one percent of foreign-born language minorities spoke English with difficulty, whereas 22 percent of their native-born counterparts did so. Among foreign-born language minorities, those who had lived in the United States longer were less likely to experience difficulty with English. Similarly, among native-born language minorities, those whose parents had entered the United States before 1970 or whose parents were born in the United States were less likely than those whose parents had entered the United States after 1970 to speak English with difficulty (15 percent vs. 34 percent).

Figure A. Percentage of 5- to 24-year-olds who spoke a language other than English at home: Selected years: 1979–99

Language minorities enroll and are retained in elementary/secondary school at rates that are not measurably different from those of their counterparts who speak only English at home. However, there were differences among language minority groups. Youth who spoke Spanish at home were more likely than youth who spoke Asian or other languages to have repeated a grade (figure B). Among language minority youth who spoke English very well, Spanish speakers were more likely to have repeated a grade than other language minorities.

Among language minority groups, Spanish-speaking young adults were less likely than members of any other group to have completed high school. Among language minorities who spoke English very well, Spanish speakers graduated at lower rates than did speakers of other languages (figure C).

Overall, language minority 18- to 24-year-olds were less likely than their peers who spoke only English at home to be enrolled in a postsecondary institution in 1999 (28 percent vs. 37 percent). However, there were no detectable differences in enrollment between language minority young adults who spoke English very well and those who spoke only English at home (38 percent and 37 percent, respectively).

Among language minority groups, Spanish-speaking young adults were less likely than all other groups to be enrolled in a postsecondary institution. However, enrollment rates for Spanish speakers were associated with their English-speaking ability. For example, 31 percent of Spanish-speaking young adults who spoke English very well were enrolled in a postsecondary institution, compared with 6 percent of their counterparts who spoke English with difficulty.

Among high school completers, disparities in postsecondary enrollment between language minority young adults and persons who spoke only English at home diminish. Approximately 43 percent of language minority young adults and 44 percent of persons who spoke only English at home reported being enrolled in a postsecondary institution. Furthermore, among language minorities, those who spoke English very well were substantially more likely than those who spoke English with difficulty to be enrolled (49 percent vs. 29 percent).

Among those 18- to 24-year-olds who completed high school and enrolled in postsecondary education, there were no detectable differences in educational attainment by whether a person spoke a language other than English at home. For example, 11 percent of those who spoke only English and 10 percent of language minorities received a bachelor's degree or higher.

However, differences in educational attainment persisted among language minority groups. Young adults who spoke Spanish were less likely than those from all other language minority groups to have attained either some college or a bachelor's degree or more (figure D).

Of 18- to 24-year-olds who lived with family members, language minorities were more likely than those who spoke only English at home to be in a low-income family. For example, 32 percent of language minority young adults resided in low-income homes in 1999, compared with 18 percent of those who spoke only English at home. In addition, among language minorities, speaking English very well was associated with a greater likelihood of living in a high-income family. For instance, 14 percent of language minority young adults who spoke English very well lived in a high-income family, compared with 5 percent of their counterparts who spoke English with difficulty.

Spanish-speaking language minorities were generally less likely than all other language minority groups to live in a high-income family. This difference between Spanish speakers and other language minorities was observed among those who spoke English very well as well as among the other English language ability groups.

Although there were no detectable differences between 1979 and 1999 in the percentage of employed 18- to 24-year-olds (61 percent in 1979 and 60 percent in 1999), the number who were employed doubled (1.4 million and 2.9 million, respectively). Nevertheless, language minority 18- to 24-year-olds were less likely than their peers who spoke only English at home to be employed (60 percent vs. 67 percent). In addition, language minority young adults were more likely than other young adults to find work in such traditionally low-wage occupations as operator/fabricator occupations. These findings were especially true for those who spoke English with difficulty and for those who spoke Spanish at home.

This analysis indicates that language minorities trail behind their English-speaking counterparts in high school completion, enrollment in postsecondary institutions, and educational attainment. However, there were no detectable differences in postsecondary enrollment rates and in educational attainment between language minorities who completed high school and reported speaking English very well and persons who spoke only English.

The data also indicate that language minority young adults are more likely than other young people to live in low-income families and work in traditionally lower paying occupations. Employment rates and income were higher among language minority persons who spoke English very well.

Figure B. Percentage of 5- to 17-year-olds enrolled in school who had ever repeated a grade, by language characteristics: 1999

Figure C. Percentage distribution of 18- to 24-year-olds who were not enrolled in school according to their high school completion status, by language characteristics: 1999

Figure D. Percentage distribution of 18- to 24-year-olds who completed high school, by highest educational attainment and by language characteristics: 1999

^*For purposes of this report, other than Spanish, languages are grouped into three geographically based groupings: Asian languages (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese), other European languages (e.g., French, German, Polish), and all other languages (e.g. , Arabic and American Indian languages).