Language and Acculturation: Bilingualism Among Youth of Immigrant Backgrounds

Background and Purpose.  More than ever before in human history, people from diverse cultural backgrounds are moving across the globe and settling in culturally diverse contexts. The process of cultural change that takes place upon cultural contact is often referred to as acculturation. Acculturation researchers often consider English acquisition as a key dimension to understand acculturation processes in the U.S., and bilingualism as a marker of successful acculturation in America.  Successful acculturation is-in turn-linked a number of positive outcomes among youth of immigrant backgrounds. To better understand the process of acculturation among youth of immigrant backgrounds, and the role played by language in it, this study asks: (1) What are the linguistic characteristics of immigrant youth? (2) How do youth of immigrant backgrounds develop skills in their background language and in English? Methods.  In this mixed-method cross-sectional research project we interviewed 160 youth of immigrant backgrounds (mean age = 21, 59.9% females). Participants had immigrated to the U.S. themselves (n = 64) or were born in the U.S. to immigrant parents (n = 96).  Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire and a focus group. The questionnaire asked about demographics and linguistic skills. Focus group asked about their experiences maintaining their background language and learning English.  Results.  The vast majority of participants had maintained some degree of fluency in their languages of origin while learning English, and only 5.6% of the participants were monolingual in English. Over three quarter of the participants (76.3%) spoke a family language well or very well, and 144 understood their family language well or very well (90%). Participants spoke 33 different languages in addition to writing and reading fluently in English.  Languages of origin and English were learned and maintained through a number of processes and strategies. Many participants lived in homes where their parents had rules about only speaking the family language. Living in multigenerational families, especially with grandparents, supported participants’ use of family languages. Participants also attended programs at ethnic schools, churches and mosques that supported learning languages of origin. Sesame Street in particular, and television in general, were identified as the main methods to learn English prior to entering school. In general, participants described ESL programs negatively, saying that attendance made them targets for discrimination at school.  Conclusions and Implications. This study complements the literature on the acculturation of youth of immigrant backgrounds in the U.S. Findings from this study show the simultaneous and distinct involvement in the culture of origin and the host culture through the process of language of origin maintenance and of English acquisition. Bilingual participants reported that their parents had committed to raising multilingual children through varied strategies. Bilingualism fostered family communication and positive ethnic identity. Our project helps identify points of interventions to support the acculturation of youth of immigrant backgrounds. Policies should support parental efforts to instill bilingualism in their children, and schools should embrace immigrants’ languages of origin while assisting them in learning English.