title: Beyond English proficiency: rethinking immigrant integration.
abstract: We develop and test a conceptual model of English language acquisition and the strength of the latter in predicting social and cultural assimilation. We present evidence that the path to English proficiency begins with exposure to English in the home country and on prior U.S. trips. English proficiency, then, has direct links to the intermediate migration outcomes of occupational status in the U.S., the amount of time in the U.S. since the most recent trip, and the co-ethnic residential context in the U.S. In turn, pre-migration characteristics and the intermediate characteristics work in tandem with English proficiency to determine social assimilation in the U.S., while cultural assimilation is primarily determined by pre-migration habits. A shift in focus to English use is desirable in studies of immigrant integration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 605 East Springfield, 57 CAB, Champaign, IL 61820, United States.
authors.forename: Ilana Redstone
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Akresh
authors.affiliation: Office of Population Research, Princeton University, 239 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States. Electronic address: dmassey@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Douglas S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Massey
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, 238 Townshend Hall 1885 Neil Ave. Mall, Columbus, OH 43210, United States.
authors.forename: Reanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Frank
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D014481:United States
keywords: Assimilation; Culture; English; Immigration; Integration; Language