English Language and Quality of Life

Immigration, Language Skills, and Quality of Life: A Look at the Necessity of Teaching Immigrants the English Language

Introduction

The United States currently has over one million incoming immigrants per year (Kisselev, Brown & Brown, 2010 p. 767). In total, as of the 2000 census, 10.4% of people living in the United States were born elsewhere (Bleakley & Chin, 2004 para. 2; Kisselev, et al., 2010 p. 767), and of those who are over five years old, 21 million speak English less than “very well” (Bleakley & Chin, 2004 para. 2). These numbers are causing many in the United States to consider designating English as its official language. Quality of life has been proven to be significantly better for those immigrants who speak English, making it a necessity to mandate a working knowledge of English for all United States citizens.

Previous studies have typically focused on individual aspects of Quality of Life, such as health, stress, or earnings, but this paper attempts to combine these factors into a comprehensive look at Quality of Life. There are those who claim that the tensions and instability of increased immigration threaten to balkanize America (Johnson, Farrell & Guinn, 1997, p. 1085). However, the point this paper wants to emphasize is that the U.S. must mandate the English language to raise first-generation immigrants’ Quality of Life, rather than allowing them to live in poverty and poor health.

Methods

This paper was compiled using secondary sources, mostly retrieved from the Ashford University Online Library using databases such as JSTOR, EBSCOhost, Project Muse, and ProQuest. The Pew Research Center (pewresearch.org) and allacademic.com also provided some interesting material. Specifically, the paper uses data from any immigrant group where the mother tongue and host country tongue differ. Much of this data comes from the large Hispanic population in the U.S., but to show that this is not an isolated occurrence, studies of Chinese immigration into Canada and non-Hebrew speaking immigrants to Israel, among others, were also used. Searches generally started with “’quality of life’ AND ‘immigra*’” and proceeded from the results depending on the particular database. Of particular use was “Ecological context and immigrants' earnings: English ability as a mediator,” (Xi, Hwang, & Cao, 2009) which looked at the role of ethnic enclaves in terms of both benefits and drawbacks.

Results

Quality of life is generally accepted to include factors like income, employment, physical and mental health, education, social belonging, and environment. Some have been studied more thoroughly than others, but in each case, the English-speaking immigrant has better results.

In countries with large immigrant populations, such as the U.S., a better handle on the host language is associated with better income levels and employment opportunities in higher paying fields (Xi, et al., 2009 p. 3; Bleakley & Chin, 2004, para. 1), whereas difficulty in attaining host language skills leads to difficulty finding any employment at all (Kisselev, et al., 2010, p.768). Poor English skills can become a barrier between workers and others, including supervisors, which reduces productivity and increases the earnings gap between English-speakers and non-speakers (Bleakley & Chin, 2004, para. 1). Not limited to the U.S., immigrants to Israel find more economic success when they learn Hebrew as well (Kisselev, et al., 2010, p.768).

Immigrants who do not speak English may find work in an ethnic enclave, typically a segregated neighborhood of people with the same ethnic background (Chinatown, Little Italy, etc.), much easier than they could in a mainstream job (Xi, et al., 2009, p. 9). While these jobs may make it possible for the new immigrant to feed his family, ethnic jobs are generally lower paying than the jobs outside an enclave, as well as having worse work conditions, longer hours, and a lack of opportunity for promotion (Xi, et al., 2009, p.6).

The benefits of speaking the host language are not limited to income; language and cultural barriers can cause immigrants to be less likely to receive quality healthcare (Mui, Kang, Kang, & Domanski, 2007, discussion para. 3). Ethnic minority elderly are the most underserved by health-care providers (Mui, et al., 2007, Intro. para. 2). Mui continues on to say that this may also be due to lower income, minimal education, substandard housing, or lack of opportunity (2007, Intro. para. 2), but the studies referenced here explain how English, or the host language, can mitigate these factors as well. It is almost obvious to say that if there are language barriers between a health-care provider and the patient, then there will likely be complications with every step of the process, from diagnosis to treatment, that can lead to serious consequences (Mui, et al., 2007, Intro. Para 1). Due to the culture differences and language barriers, Asian immigrant elders, in particular, may be too embarrassed to seek treatment if they are not fluent English speakers (Mui, et al., 2007, Intro para. 1), and both contribute to the fact that Asian immigrants suffer from disease disproportionately (Mui, et al., 2007, Intro para. 3).

Not constrained to physical health, mental health suffers as well. The difficulty in finding employment, among other concerns stemming from language difficulty, often leads to psychological distress (Kisselev, et al., 2010, p.768). In contrast, Kisselev says those who do learn the host language have less perceived stress and higher self-esteem (2010, p.768). The second generation, or children of immigrants have higher self-esteem, pride, academic success, and even upward mobility in the economic arena when they maintain the mother tongue (Cervantes-Rodriguez & Lutz, 2003, p. 550), but this generation is typically bilingual. Eighty-eight percent of the second generation speaks English “very well” (Hakimzadeh & Cohn, 2007).

Next in the list of Quality of Life factors is social integration. Some immigrants willfully segregate themselves with groups of other ethnic minorities into enclaves, or neighborhoods that are self-segregated by ethnicity. While an immigrant will be integrated into that neighborhood, the neighborhood itself is not likely to be integrated into the rest of the city, county, or country (Xi, et al., 2009, p.9).

Partly due to these enclaves, and partly due to the current context of cultural pride and ethnic identity, immigrants from our southern border, post-1965, are less likely to assimilate than those from before 1965 (Cervantes-Rodriguez & Lutz, 2003, p. 551), who better resembled Anglo-Americans physically and culturally (Johnson, et al., 1997, p.1059). For example, of Mexican immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years, 1 in 4 still cannot speak English fluently (Xi, et al., 2009, p. 8), even though it has been shown that the most important part of successful immigration is learning the host language (Kisselev, et al., 2010, p.768). Immigrants are less likely to assimilate or learn the language if they live in an enclave with a higher population or a higher degree of segregation (Xi, et al., 2009, p. 8). In these large, segregated enclaves, immigrants can meet all their needs in their mother tongue, including employment (Xi, et al., 2009, p. 9). Xi explains that because the residents of these enclaves do not need English in their day-to-day lives, the language is devalued and suppressed, and interaction is limited to others in the same group. Essentially, the enclave prevents immigrants from learning English, thus reducing their ability to find work in the more lucrative mainstream economy, stifling the immigrant’s opportunities (Xi, et al., 2009, p. 9).

Another example of a lack of social integration can be seen through discrimination. Language skills, or the lack thereof, are cited as the most common form of discrimination for Latinos- more than immigration status, skin color, income, or education (Hakimzadeh & Cohn, 2007, p. iii). In a diverse society, language is the glue that holds different people together, and poor English skills make a person more obviously foreign which leads to discrimination and social isolation (Bleakley & Chin, 2004, Intro para. 1). Unintentional discrimination may take place when immigrants cannot use transportation, police services, or other public benefits to their advantage (Kisselev, et al., 2010, p.767).

The last factor of Quality of Life is environment. The most telling piece of evidence for environmental Quality of Life is housing. One in every three elderly Hispanics live in crowded housing, compared to one in ten elderly whites (Burr & Gerst, 2010). Burr then states that as length of residence and quality of English goes up for those Hispanics, the likelihood of living in over-crowded housing goes down (2010).

The biggest voice of dissent in establishing a national language comes from the determination that by the third generation of any immigrant, the mother language is virtually non-existent (Cervantes-Rodriguez & Lutz, 2003 p. 549; Xi, et al., 2009, p. 3). Only 23% of first generation Hispanic immigrants speak English very well (Hakimzadeh & Cohn, 2007), but the children of those immigrants learn English quickly and prefer to use it (Cervantes-Rodriguez & Lutz, 2003, p. 549). Eighty-eight percent of the second generation speaks English very well, and that number rises to 94% by the third generation (Hakimzadeh & Cohn, 2007). Not only English ability increases through the generations, but usage as well. More than half of first generation Hispanics use Spanish primarily in the home (52%), while that number drops to 11% and 6% for second and third generations respectively, and by the third generation, only 1 in 4 speaks any Spanish at home at all (Hakimzadeh & Cohn, 2007).

Continuing with dissent, the only other major idea presented is the beneficial side of ethnic enclaves. There are four parts to a “linguistic environment”: how large is the group, how severely does the group segregate itself, how different are the languages surrounding the group from the enclave’s language, and how wide is the earnings gap between those who speak the host language well and those who do not (Xi, et al., 2009). A large, segregated community would be able to accommodate all needs in the mother tongue, negating the need for English (Xi, et al., 2009, p. 9). New immigrants would be able to find a place where they belong and can earn money to feed their families in these enclaves without the burden of learning the host language (Xi, et al., 2009, p.9). As explained before, however, these large, segregated enclaves are trapping the new immigrants in low paying jobs, and limiting their potential (Xi, et al., 2009, p. 9).

On the other hand, if other groups with different language bases surround the enclave, English becomes the mediator (Xi, et al., 2009). Since there is no common ground linguistically, all groups will use the host tongue to communicate with each other for business negotiations and inter-group daily interactions (Xi, et al., 2009, p. 6). This provides not only exposure to the language, but also increases motivation to learn (Xi, et al., 2009). Another benefit of this type of enclave is that if the mother language is supported in the neighborhood, host language development is enhanced (Xi, et al., 2009, p. 7). For example, when a child is attending school in the host language, the ability of the parent to speak to the school faculty in the mother language helps the parent a great deal (Riches & Curdt-Christiansen, 2010 p. 527).

The last part of the linguistic environment is the difference in earnings between those who speak the host language, and those that do not. In enclave situations, if a non-speaker sees that a host language speaker makes a great deal more money, the non-speaker is more motivated to learn the language, resulting in an eventual increase of everybody’s income (Xi, et al., 2009, p. 7).

Conclusions

Quality of life, determined with factors like income, employment, physical and mental health, education, social belonging, and environment, has been shown through individual studies to be higher for immigrants who speak the host language than for those that do not. English-speaking immigrants in the United States generally make more money, have more opportunities in higher paying fields, have better access to healthcare, feel less stress, have better opportunities for education, are better acculturated into society, are less discriminated against, and live in better housing conditions.

Depending on size, segregation level, languages spoken nearby, and earnings disparity, enclaves have some benefits, but most are good for neither the country nor the immigrant. An enclave must meet comparatively rigid structures to provide the maximum benefit and minimum hindrance for their population. Those “negative” enclaves do nothing to help the host society, and what little benefit they provide for brand new immigrants is smothered beneath the poor working conditions and pay they provide. Immigrants are stuck in dead-end, low-paying jobs with no ability to learn the host language and escape to the mainstream economy without significant personal sacrifice. These enclaves would no longer be necessary if English is mandated for residents, because immigrants would not need to band together like refugees. They would better assimilate into the host society and be free to live their own lives.

In addition, although the second and third generations tend to learn English quickly, first-generation Americans are living in poverty, poor health, and poor housing. It is time that the government ensures all Americans know the English language, raising their quality of life, to help them live the American Dream themselves, rather than only wishing it for their children and grandchildren.

References

Bleakley, H. and Chin, A. (2004). Language Skills and Earnings: Evidence from Childhood Immigrants. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 86 (2), 481-496. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/

Burr, J., Mutchler, J., & Gerst, K. (2010). Patterns of Residential Crowding among Hispanics in Later Life: Immigration, Assimilation, and Housing. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B Psychological sciences and social sciences, 65B(6), 772. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/

Cervantes-Rodriguez, A. M. and Lutz, A. (2003). Coloniality of Power, Immigration, and the English-Spanish Asymmetry in the United States. Nepantla: Views from South, 4 (3), 523-560. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/

Hakimzadeh, S. & Cohn, D. (2007). English usage among Hispanics in the US. Pew Hispanic Center. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/644/english-language-usage-hispanics/

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Mui, A. C., Kang, S., Kang, D., & Domanski, M. (2007). English Language Proficiency and Health-Related Quality of Life among Chinese and Korean Immigrant Elders. Health & Social Work, 32(2), 119-127. Retrieved from http://web.EBSCOhost.com/

Riches, C. and Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2010). A Tale of Two Montreal Communities: Parents’ Perspectives on Their Children’s Language and Literacy Development in a Multilingual Context. The Canadian Modern Language Review/ La revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 66(4), 525-555. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/

Xi, J., Hwang, S., & Cao, Y. (2009). Ecological context and immigrants' earnings: English ability as a mediator. Paper presented at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Hilton San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Retrieved from http://www.allacademic.com/