In 2003, 51 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native public school 8th-graders reported living in homes where no other language besides English was spoken. Twenty-seven percent of American Indian/Alaska Native public school 8th-graders reported a language other than English was spoken once in a while, and 22 percent reported a language other than English was spoken at least half the time at home. The percentage of American Indians/Alaska Natives who reported that people in their homes never speak a language other than English was 51 percent, compared to 9 percent for Hispanics and 11 percent for Asian/Pacific Islanders. American Indians/Alaska Natives were less likely than Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders (11 percent vs. 47 and 49 percent, respectively), but more likely than Blacks (7 percent) and Whites (3 percent) to report that people in their homes speak a language other than English all or most of the time.
In 2000, the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native students who qualified for limited English proficient (LEP) services (11 percent) was smaller than the percentage for Hispanics (36 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (23 percent), but higher than the percentage for White and Black students (both 1 percent). American Indian/Alaska Native students who speak a language other than English may speak a tribal language (Krauss 1996). Currently, there are about 175 American Indian/Alaska Native tribal languages, many of which are disappearing as their speakers become assimilated into English-speaking communities.
 View Table 5.2a |
View Table 5.2b |
