Immigrants and language acquisition

Successful acculturation of Hispanic-Americans to America involves much more than the move to a new country. It augurs an independent existence in the United States that is facilitated by language acquisition and development of trust in the American government, as well as by high or, at least, sufficient, levels of immigrant's mental well being when transitioning to his or her dramatically new environment. Previous studies have discussed all these components, but previous studies have omitted variables that are necessary for a fuller comprehension of the subject.

It is in this manner that the aim of this paper is to examine the acculturation process of Hispanic-Americans as segmented in three parts: language acquisition, the potential for the development of depression, and the factors contributing to the development of political trust, and to do so in as thoroughgoing and complete a manner as possible.

The sample used for all three components constituted a randomized sample of Hispanic immigrants that was obtained from the New Immigrant Survey data (2003). Immigrants originated from Central and South American countries and the survey provided data on family ties, self-reported level of language ability, and other variables related to immigration and personal characteristics such as education level, visa status at time of immigration, and country of origin. An OLS regression model was used in each component variously employing self-reported language variable, self-reported civic ties or relationship factors, and self-reported connections with relations in immediate or distant countries as independent factors, and the dependent variable sensitivity testing was done using an ordinal logistics model as base.

Language Acquisition

The term 'acculturation' refers to the process of adopting a new coda of cultural attitudes, behavioral norms, and values and beliefs (Gordon, 1964). Previous research shows that ennablement and acquisition of this acculturation process, acquired by language skills, enables immigrants to acquire higher paying jobs in better work environments, as well as to perform better in education settings and to have increased access to social aide services such as financial assistance, housing and healthcare services, whilst proficiency in English equips them with their rights thus providing them with a safer and fuller life as citizens in manifold facets.

Studies also find that Hispanics, more than any other immigrant groups are resistant to learning English, particularly in enclaves where English is not spoken by family and friends. Research suggests that the resistance to language acquisition is three-fold: Derivative to the immigrant's country of origin, lack of social economic opportunities, and influence of family ties.

It seems to me, however, that this argument is too simplistic and fails since language acquisition is a choice rather than an inevitable passive outcome of exposure. Countless studies show that Hispanic immigrants with insignificant or utterly nonexistent evidence of the language when arriving in America gradually pick up sufficient - if not commendable -- English skills in order to obtain financial security, and that it is the older immigrants of retirement age who, lacking the incentive to acquire the language, remain deficient in the English language. Summarily, whilst older immigrants might resist new language acquisition as a means of preserving their native language and corresponding heritage, the younger generation who stands to benefit in educational, professional, and social settings by learning English, often encourage their parents and grandparents to learn English in order to facilitate communication with them. For this reason, it seems to me that the two reasons prominently given for Hispanic resistance to acquiring English, namely socioeconomic conditions and attachment to home country are unsatisfactory in providing a solution. Rather, it seems to me that the family ties arguments comes closest to explaining the acquisition of language skills: It is in the push/pull relationship between children and adults where the younger generation encourages the adults to acquire the language, that older immigrants, subsequently acquire some form of English learning acquisition, and it is in the absence of such a factor, that immigrants are more marked by deficiency of language skills. A more comprehensive treatment of this subject, however must investigate the influence of other relationships, such as spousal connections (i.e. whether the spouse is or is not a native English speaker), and the potential differences in how these relationships affect the different genders since women's dual expectation of family caretaker as well as financial contributor results in a different push / pull situation where, whilst obliged to preserve cultural traditions, she is also compelled to learn English in order to support her family.

The push / pull theory, in short, predicts that whilst immigrant parents tend to insulate themselves and their family from perceived detrimental acculturating influences, the 'pull' factor of the younger generation compels them to acquire some level of English language. Using the push/pull theory as my base, therefore, the objective of this segment was to investigate three hypotheses: 1. That the location of family ties impacts their effect on language acquisition; 2. That ties external to parents and children matter and, 3. That men and women differ in how family ties effect language acquisition.

The results of the statistical data supported the push / pull theory by demonstrating that ties to children are, generally, negative in terms of language acquisition whilst ties to parents (particularly mothers) are positive. There was no significant finding for fathers, which may indicate that mothers, given their dual role responsibilities, are more vulnerable to the push/pull factors and, therefore, more vulnerable to acculturation via younger generation influences.

Testing for the impact of location in family ties revealed only that immigrants with kin in the United States indicated significantly weaker English language skills than those who reported absence of kin in America. Apparently, absence of kin in the country indicated greater necessity to acquisition of English. The effect of location on ties to children, however, provided no clear data, as all ties were significant and obvious. The study also included analysis of ties to spouses and indicated that immigrants married to native English speakers facilitated acquisition of English language skills. The reverse effect was true too: marrying a non-American significantly hindered the immigrant in acquiring English.

Potential for Development of Depression

Women are often the 'social glue' that holds the family together across great distances, and this, in turn, can exert a tremendous amount of pressure on the immigrant woman (Mahler, 199, 2001; Parrenas, 2005; Sarkisian, Gerena, & Gestal, 2007) since their responsibilities extend to maintaining communication with, and, oftentimes, caring for distant kin as well as with providing financial support for children in their immediate household. It is in this manner, therefore, that female immigrant Hispanics are often prone to depression that deepens, particularly when left untreated, into a heightened perception of helplessness that impedes her role of caretaker and financial provider and aggravates the cycle.

Although much research has been conducted on immigrant family ties, little has been conducted on the role that distance plays in those ties and this study aimed to fill in that gap.

The hypotheses in this sector was dual: firstly that distant kin ties maintained with family in other countries are less beneficial and costly than are proximate kin ties, and secondly that men and women would likely be enabled or constrained by their family ties in different ways with women showing greater constraint towards kindred ties than men. The regression analysis conducted found support for both hypotheses indicating that distance played an enormous role in mitigating the effect of ties particularly on immediate family (i.e. parents, spouses, and children). Gender differences were also observed in the influence of the impact of these ties on the various sexes, with impact of distance of kin more strongly affecting the female immigrant than it did the male.

Both men and women benefited from having their spouse live in the United States. It was found that when the reverse was true, particularly in the case of women with husbands living outside the U.S., the woman was more likely to suffer form depression. Similarly women whose children lived outside the U.S. were more vulnerable to depression than those whose children lived with them in the country. Interestingly enough it appears that women are more enabled by father living in the U.S. with them, whilst men are enabled by their mothers who live in the same country. This fact is shown by the existence of lower depression rates among men with mothers nearby and by lower depression rates among women who have fathers nearby.

Development of political trust

Abundant research exists on possible factors related to increasing level of distrust evidenced on the part of immigrants towards the U.S. government the state of the current literature is, however, very fragmented with studies focusing on only one explanatory variable at a time (e.g. The acculturation or instutional context). Studies also lack clear measures of the sources of influences that underlie political trust formation and acculturation, such as kin and civic ties. In other words, whilst acculturation theorists insist that it is second-hand information (e.g. media or cultural transmission) that may inform the immigrant's distrust towards the American government, institutional context theorists point to first-hand experience with alien and rejecting factors (such as public outreach programs and state and community legislation) as responsible for impelling distrust. In both cases, contributing variables such as country of origin, the existence or non-existence of family ties, gender and an immigrant's experience of the immigration process are omitted from the equation. This sector aimed to satisfy this gap by testing the combined effects of acculturation, kin, civic ties, and institutional context on immigrant's distrust of U.S. government, by testing for both acculturation factors (i.e. second-hand experience) and institutional factors (i.e. immediate experience of immigrant).

Three hypothesize were stated. Firstly, that the quantity of kin ties in the USD will influence trust towards the government; the greater the quantity of relations living in the U.S., the more trust experienced. Secondly, that high numbers of civic ties will increase trust in the government, and that the reverse will be true if the majority of one's civic ties reside in Mexico. Thirdly, that negative immediate experience (i.e. institution context) will impel low levels of trust whilst positive institutional contexts impel high levels of trust towards the U.S. government. Support was indicated for the first and third hypotheses, whilst only partial support was discovered for the second hypotheses. Whilst results showed that high levels of civic ties do increase trust, results were not contingent on civic ties in Mexico. English language use may be a proxy for civic ties and naturalization status may serve as proxy for institutional contexts in the United States.

Contributions of Study

Contributions of this study consist of various factors. In terms of the language acquisition factor, whilst original studies and the push/pull theory itself only considered the impact of children on parents in general, this study differentiated between fathers and mothers and showed that children's acculturation impact on mothers had a more significant effect than it had on fathers. Women were also more positively affected by having an American spouse. The fact that families play a powerful role in women's lives has been supported by other aspects of sociological research, and suggests, in this manner, a possible strategy in encouraging and facilitating language acquisition.

Similarly, the contribution to existent social research of distance of family ties and their impact on depression lies in this study's discovery that family ties are not always net-neutral in their effect on a person's mental health. In other words, the level of the relationship may have a differential impact on state of immigrant's well being as well as the factor of the relation's physical closeness to the immigrant. Earlier studies on the subject -- although acknowledging the importance of family ties on the immigrant's mental welfare -- overlooked these variables. In some contexts, as this study demonstrates, distance and gender of the relations involved may actually determine the existence of and intensity of depression. This is, particularly, so in the case of the female immigrant who may carry a dual role burden of caring and feel this imposition more acutely than her spouse (or than a male) may.

Finally, contributions of this study's experiment on variables of civic and kindred connection and their association to levels of government trust included practical benefits to social scientists interested in augmenting the trust of immigrants towards their new country. These include indications of the importance of studying immigrants as individuals who possess a spectrum of connections and are on a transition with relationship spanning Mexico and the U.S. It is these relationships and connections -- both in their former and present country - that contribute to changing levels of political trust on the part of the immigrant. In a practical manner, creating more opportunities for Mexican immigrants to become more civically involved in American affairs whilst retaining their connections with Mexican organizations and projects will enhance their political trust.

Limitations of Study

Limitations of all three studies include the fact the studied sample represents legal immigrants only and, therefore, omit the larger number of undocumented Hispanic immigrants to the U.S. that may have skewed the data in an alternate direction due to confounding factors such as their ignoring some questions, answering some inquiries in an alternate manner; different comprehensions of questions; and, simply, a different pattern of family network and responsibility in their lives.