Living and working in ethnic enclaves: English Language proficiency of immigrants in US metropolitan areas

Abstract

We use data on Mexican and Chinese immigrants in the US to calculate the average marginal effects of residential and occupational segregation on immigrants' ability to speak English, and similarly the effects of English fluency of family members. Our results confirm that residential segregation is generally inversely related to English language proficiency of immigrants, except for skilled Chinese immigrants. Allowing for occupational fixed effects, the minority population share at the place of work is relevant for proficiency in English among skilled Chinese, but not for Mexicans and unskilled Chinese. We also find that the presence of English‐speaking adults in the household increases the probability of immigrants' proficiency in English.

Language Learning and Integration of Adult Bhutanese Refugees: An Ethnographic Study

“…The presence of tight-knit family and ethnic networks reduced the incentives of many This finding is consistent with the findings of previous studies (Beckhusen, Florax, Graaff, Poot, & Waldorf, 2013;Chiswick & Miller, 1995), reinforcing that the migrants who live in ethnic enclave have less incentives to invest in and are less likely to be proficient in the destination language of the receiving country.…”

Cultural Integration and Occupational Achievement among Mexican Immigrants along the US-Mexico Border

“…Secondly, the government should take steps to lessen the effects of geographical segregation. Beckhusen et al (2013) found that residential segregation is generally inversely related to English language proficiency of immigrants. Mexican immigrants, in MPI survey, feel that it is important to learn English but they feel less urgency.…”

Studying Neighborhoods Using Uncertain Data from the American Community Survey: A Contextual Approach

“…Language can be a key indicator of these differences (Beckhusen et al 2013), and we include the ability to speak any language other than English and the percentage of the population who speak Spanish and have low English proficiency as variables within the classification. In addition to spatial variation by race, there are important regional differences in the age structure of populations.…”