in the United States or have resided here for more than 5 years. It looks at their ability as well as their desire to speak English and their retention of their parent’s language. The significance of this study is

Preference for English ranked very highly. Almost 80 per cent claimed to prefer speaking English rather than a foreign language. Length of U.S residence and national origin are strongly linked with English preference. Regardless of knowledge of a second language, the preference for using English was very widespread.

In relation to the retention of the parental language, place of origin and place of residence seemed to be key elements. Latin American students had a greater tendency to use Spanish at home and thus were bilingual. Furthermore, those living in Miami where there are tightly nit immigrant communities were the ones that maintained the use of their parent’s language. Once again, the parents’ education and class distinction were not contributing factors in foreign language fluency. Ironically, it seems that the families with greater economic means exposed the children to more “mainstream culture” thus resulting in loss of the foreign language.

The authors were able to conclude that the English language was not being threatened by the influx of immigrants in this country. It showed that second generation Americans prefer to use English for everyday communication and possess a strong command of the English language.

notable since it shows to what degree these second generation Americans have integrated into mainstream American culture, as language is one of the most important cultural elements uniting an individual society, and how they maintain their own cultural identity throug

Some topics in this essay:
Preference English, Hopkins University, Broward County, Endangered Language, Nicaraguan Caribbean, Latin American, United Finally, United Furthermore, Dade County, length residence, parent’s language, command english, english language, national origin, foreign language, english proficiency, generation americans, length residence united, latin american, language preference,