Growing Language Skills with Immigrant and Refugee Families: Spreading and Adapting 2Gen Working Practices
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Highlights
A 2021 survey of 125 U.S. organizations found wide gaps between family languages spoken and services offered; flexible, culturally responsive two-generation (2Gen) programs can help.
- A 2021 survey of 125 immigrant-serving organizations found that while 93 percent served Spanish-speaking families, far fewer offered services in Arabic (23 percent), French (20 percent), Chinese (16 percent), or Vietnamese (14 percent).
- Limited English proficiency blocks access to jobs, health care, and education; 2Gen organizations address this by hiring bilingual staff and designing English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs around family-identified needs.
- Effective dual language programs—such as Charlotte Bilingual Preschool's model—can close achievement gaps while preserving home languages.
- Recommendations include translating written resources, using qualified interpreters, accounting for regional dialects, gathering family feedback, and advocating for federal program reauthorization to better serve Dual Language Learners.
What steps can organizations take to provide accessible and inclusive services to families who speak a language other than English, and how can they support these families in developing their English and home language skills? This brief explores two-generation (2Gen) practices—interventions that work with both parents and children—that aim to overcome language barriers and support language acquisition. Based on survey results, interviews, webinars, and peer advising and learning convenings, this brief highlights two broad strategies: providing culturally responsive and linguistically accessible services, and offering language-learning programs that meet the needs of children and their parents.
This brief is part of a set of four by the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group, Migration Policy Institute, and Higher Heights Consulting that explore 2Gen working practices that serve immigrant and refugee families. The others look at approaches to building trust between service providers and families, serving families with different immigration statuses, and developing cultural competencies.
Table of Contents
Commonly Spoken Languages
Why 2Gen and Immigrant Families?
The Growing Language Skills with Immigrant Families Webinar
Working Practice 1: Provide Linguistically Accessible and Responsive Services
Working Practice 2: Offer English Language-Learning Programs for Parents that Meet Family Needs
Policy Implications
Conclusion
About the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy
The Center is a national hub connecting policymakers, educators, community leaders, and service providers with evidence-informed policy research, technical assistance, and data to advance effective immigrant integration at U.S., state, and local levels.
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