In 2007, some 20 percent of children ages 5-17 (or 10.8 million) spoke a language other than English at home, and 5 percent (or 2.7 million) spoke English with difficulty. Seventy-five percent of those who spoke English with difficulty spoke Spanish.

Between 1979 and 2007, the number of school-age children (children ages 5-17) who spoke a language other than English at home increased from 3.8 to 10.8 million, or from 9 to 20 percent of the population in this age range (see table A-8-1). An increase was also evident during the more recent period of 2000 through 2007 (from 18 to 20 percent). The percentage of school-age children who spoke a language other than English at home and spoke English with difficulty increased from 3 to 6 percent between 1979 and 2000, but did not change measurably between 2000 and 2007, remaining between 5 and 6 percent.

Among school-age children who spoke a non-English language at home, the percentage who spoke English with difficulty has decreased over time. For example, of the school-age children who spoke a language other than English at home, 34 percent spoke English with difficulty in 1979, compared with 31 percent in 2000, and 25 percent in 2007.

The percentage of school-age children who spoke a language other than English at home and who spoke English with difficulty varied by demographic characteristics in 2007, including race/ethnicity, poverty status, and age (see table A-8-2). Among school-age children, 18 percent of Hispanics and 16 percent of Asians spoke a non-English language at home and spoke English with difficulty, compared with 7 percent of Pacific Islanders, 3 percent of American Indians/Alaska Natives, and 1 percent each of Whites, Blacks, and children of more than one race. Differences were also seen among racial/ethnic subgroups of Hispanic and Asian school-age children. For example, 21 percent of Mexican school-age children spoke a non-English language at home and spoke English with difficulty versus 8 percent each of Puerto Rican and Other Hispanic school-age children. For Asians, 24 percent of Vietnamese 5- to 17-year-olds spoke a non-English language at home and spoke English with difficulty, compared with 8 percent of their Filipino peers. In terms of poverty status, higher percentages of poor (10 percent) and near-poor (8 percent) 5- to 17-year-olds spoke a non-English language at home and spoke English with difficulty than did nonpoor 5- to 17-year-olds (3 percent). Concerning differences by age, a greater percentage of 5- to 9-year-olds spoke a language other than English at home and spoke English with difficulty than did 10- to 17-year-olds (7 vs. 4 percent). This pattern by age held across most demographic characteristics.

In terms of language spoken, in 2007, of the school-age children who spoke a language other than English at home and who spoke English with difficulty, about 2.1 million (or 75 percent) spoke Spanish; 320,000 (or 12 percent) of these children spoke Asian/Pacific Islander languages; 287,000 (or 10 percent) spoke other Indo-European languages; and 72,000 (or 3 percent) spoke another language (see table A-8-3).

English-speaking ability also varied by state and region of the country in 2007. The percentage of 5- to 17-year-olds who spoke a non-English language and who spoke English with difficulty was about 1 percent in several states, including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, South Dakota, Mississippi, West Virginia, Montana, and Wyoming, but was higher in the southern state of Texas (10 percent) and in certain western states, including Arizona (9 percent) and California (11 percent).

Technical Notes

Respondents were asked whether each child in the household spoke a language other than English at home. If they answered "yes," they were asked how well each child could speak English using the following categories: "very well," "well," "not well," and "not at all." All those who reported speaking English less than "very well" were considered to have difficulty speaking English. Spanish-language versions of both the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the American Community Survey (ACS) were available to respondents. Due to differences between the CPS and the ACS, use caution when comparing data before 2000 (CPS) with data from 2000 onward (ACS). For more information on the CPS and the ACS, see supplemental notes 2 and 3, respectively. Asian/Pacific Islander languages include any native languages spoken by Asians or Pacific Islanders, which linguists classify variously as Sino-Tibetan, Austroasiatic, or Austronesian languages. Other Indo-European includes Indo-European languages other than Spanish (e.g., French, German, Portguese, etc.). Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. For more information on race/ethnicity, poverty status, and geographic region, see supplemental note 1.