Diversity of Language Skills Among Children From Language-Minority Homes

Approximately 11.2 million school-age children in the United States are growing up in language-minority (LM) homes in the United States, that is, homes in which a language other than English is used regularly. Although this entry focuses on the U.S. case, it is worth noting that a very high percentage of children in the world grow up in circumstances where their home language is not used for societal functions such as schooling, government, marketplace encounters, or religion. Thus, the case of LM children in the United States is neither unique nor specific to North America.

In the current U.S. context, the category of children growing up in LM homes has no official educational or policy consequences. The category of children identified as limited in English proficiency ...