Migration Pattern and English Language Proficiency among First Generation Migrants to the U.S.

• In Event: 469 - Section on International Migration Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on International Migration Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. Immigrant Integration in the United States

Abstract

English language acquisition research has previously focused on psycholinguistic constraints, economic incentives to learn English, acculturation, and assimilation. This paper introduces migration pattern as a new variable to consider in first generation migrant outcomes of acquiring English. Migrants may follow several paths to reach their destination country. Some migrate directly and stay (direct migrants), others migrate through intermediary countries (step migrants), and others cycle between their home and destination countries (return migrants). We investigate the relationship between migration pattern and language acquisition and posit that step migrants have an advantage in reaching the highest levels language proficiency. The New Immigrant Survey (NIS) provides us with a nationally representative sample of first generation migrants to the US. We categorize 6613 respondents as direct, step, or return migrants. We then use ordered logistic regression to predict English language proficiency among these groups. Results indicate that step migrants who migrate through an English speaking country first are 2.6 times more likely (p<.001) than direct migrants to reach the highest levels of English language proficiency, whereas step migrants who move to a non-English speaking country first are 1.5 times more likely (p<.001). We approach this topic from a new socio-demographic perspective by understanding how migration patterns interact with language acquisition, and put forth a new conceptual framework to study first generation immigrant outcomes.

Authors

• Eric Ketcham, City University of New York-Graduate Center

• Jeremy Reed Porter, City University of New York-Brooklyn College