View Content #24749

From https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/growing-superdiversity-among-young-us-dual-language-learners-and-its-implications

Growing Superdiversity among Young U.S. Dual Language Learners and Its Implications
By Maki Park, Jie Zong, and Jeanne Batalova
February 2018

Young children growing up in households where at least one parent speaks a language other than English now make up nearly one-third of all young children ages 8 and under in the United States. The families of these Dual Language Learners (DLLs) speak many languages and have varied countries of origin, races and ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses. For early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs, schools, and other systems, this superdiversity has important implications. But while considerable evidence points to the effectiveness of bilingual education models in classrooms where a single non-English language is dominant, much less is known about what works well for DLLs in superdiverse settings.

This report explores the diversity within the DLL population at the national, state, and local level. Although a clear majority of parents of DLLs speak Spanish nationwide (59 percent), this average belies considerable state-to-state variation; in Texas, 78 percent of parents of DLLs speak Spanish, compared to 16 percent in Vermont and Maine. Other languages including Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, and a range of less commonly spoken languages are also represented to varying degrees. And even within states that appear relatively homogenous overall, certain counties may still have DLL populations that exhibit superdiversity.

Access the report at https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/growing-superdiversity-among-young-us-dual-language-learners-and-its-implications
Read an article inspired by this report at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2018/02/schools_unprepared_to_handle_diverse_english_learners.html