Immigrant children in America Integration by Language Assimilation and Education

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject Sociology - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,7 (A-), Humboldt-University of Berlin (Institute for Sociology), course: PS Einwanderungsland USA: Historische Entwicklung und aktuelle Integrationsfragen, language: English, abstract: During the work on my seminar paper in this seminar 'Immigration Country: USA' - that introduced modern conceptions of citizenship in the United States - I questioned the process of naturalization as an instrument to integrate immigrants as well as the including language test where immigrants must prove their ability to write, speak and read English. This theme led me to the question if language works as an instrument for integration or exclusion in contemporary multiethnic America - language and education, both very important for ones forthcoming in a society. In this homework I can only work on a small aspect on immigrant's integration, so I intend to follow the questions how well immigrant children adapt to their American host society through schooling and the educational system and what role language assimilation plays in the American society that undergoes a continuing flow of immigrants of diverse ethnicities. Does the assimilation of the English language help for better integration, what does integration mean in this special context and what impacts does it have on immigrant children? What are their future prospects and is the common assumption true 'no English language proficiency - no integration - no success'? How does the nation, state or schools react on the growing numbers of LEP students? I followed the pros and cons for bilingual classes and regarding this context the English-only Movement and its demands of American schools and its students. Immigration is once again transforming the racial as well as ethnic contours of American Society. Current estimates place annual immigration to the United States (legal and undocumented) at about 1 million persons per year (National Research Council 1997) and it won't take long until the European Americans will no longer be a majority but African Americans, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans. This shift might be a beginning of a revolutionary change in the relationship between the majority and minority Americans. Maybe that will be an end to a social and cultural dominance of European-Americans and a flowering of multiculturalism. [...]