Pew Report: Asian American immigrants tell their stories of overcoming language barriers

Imagine being in a classroom, a hospital ER or a government office. People are talking and you can't understand a word. You feel frustrated, confused and ashamed That's the way life is for many new immigrants.

“There are a lot of obstacles … we can’t communicate … it is difficult … particularly [when] going to see a doctor. Sometimes we want to talk about our conditions or our health conditions, but we don’t know the words in English, especially my parents … sometimes, I have to go with them and don’t know how to explain things to the doctor.”

–Immigrant woman of Cambodian origin in mid-20s

A new study by the Pew Research Center emphasied the language and cultural obstacles that impact Asian immigrants to the US who arrive with little to no proficiency in English. But navigating life in America also impacts English-speaking immigrants as they adjust to life in a new country with its own unique linguistic and cultural quirks. Monday, (Dec. 19), the PRC released a new analysis highlighting Asian immigrants’ experiences navigating language barriers in the U.S., based on focus group interviews conducted in 2021.

The study found a little over half of Asian Americans (54%) were born outside the United States, including about seven-in-ten Asian American adults (68%). While many arrived in the U.S. within the last five years, a majority (71%) arrived in the U.S. over 10 years ago. Overall, 53% of Asian immigrants ages 5 and older who have been in the U.S. for five years or less say they speak English proficiently, a share that rises to 60% among those who have been in the country more than a decade.

    FYI: Read the entire Pew Research Center report

New immigrant arrivals to the United States face many challenges and obstacles when navigating their daily lives. For Asian immigrants, these include language and cultural obstacles that impact those who arrive with little to no proficiency in English. But navigating life in America also impacts English-speaking immigrants as they adjust to life in a new country with its own unique linguistic and cultural quirks.

A majority of Asian Americans (54%) were born outside the United States, including about seven-in-ten Asian American adults (68%). While many Asian immigrants arrived in the United States in recent years, a majority arrived in the U.S. over 10 years ago. 

The story of Asian immigration to the US. is over a century old, and today’s Asian immigrants arrived in the country at different times and through different pathways. They also trace their roots, culture and language to more than 20 countries in Asia, including the Indian subcontinent.

Focus group participants talked about daily challenges communicating in English while getting medical care, accessing government services, learning in school and finding employment. They also mentioned the obstacles they faced understanding US culture in daily life situations, sharing their frustration, stress and at times sadness because of the barriers they encountered. 

Some participants talked about their challenges while learning English, as well as the times they received words of support and encouragement from others to overcome these language barriers.

“When I just came here and had to go to government offices for various procedures, it was easier to understand if there was a Japanese person who could explain in Japanese, but if they explained in English, I didn’t understand English and had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do.”

–Immigrant woman of Japanese origin in mid-40s

There were participants who recalled feelings of fear at school, not only because they did not know the language but because they did not understand how American society and schools functioned. One immigrant woman of Vietnamese origin recalled not knowing whom to ask for help because no one in her family understood American culture.

“When I came to the U.S. … I went to high school immediately … my parents went to work to earn money, so I had to go to school. … But at that time, I felt very scared. I didn’t understand what people talked [about] in school at all. It was not only English, but also culture and other things, everything was different in school. Coming home, I didn’t know who to ask; no one in my family knew. Because my family came here under the sponsorship. … There were many things I didn’t understand about the culture here. I didn’t know; I didn’t dare to ask.”

–Immigrant woman of Vietnamese origin in early 40

A portion of focus groups participants came to the United States in their teenage years. These participants recalled challenging situations at school regarding their English skills. Some participants knew no English and reported having to take hours of English as a second language (ESL) classes, which left them behind in other classes in high school.

“I was already old when I first came because I was 14. I attended ninth grade but failed. I moved down to seventh grade because I could not do it. In seventh and eighth grade, it was challenging because I could not keep up with others in any of the classes in high school. I moved to ESL to learn the English language. I attended two, three hours and then I joined others again. It was a waste.”

–Immigrant woman of Laotian origin in early 50s

Among Asian Americans ages 5 and older, 58% of immigrants speak English proficiently, compared with nearly all of the U.S. born who say the same (94%).

There is language diversity among Asian immigrants living in the US. The vast majority (86%) of Asian immigrants 5 and older say they speak a language other than English at home, while 14% say they speak only English in their homes. 

The most spoken non-English language among Asian immigrants is Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese (20%). Hindi (18%) is the second most commonly spoken non-English language among Asian immigrants (this figure includes Urdu, Bengali and other Indo-Iranian and Indo-European languages), followed by Tagalog and other Filipino languages (13%) and Vietnamese (9%). 

This reflects the languages of the four largest Asian origin groups (Chinese, Indian, Filipino and Vietnamese) living in the US But overall, many other languages are spoken at home by Asian immigrants. (See above chart.)

The Pew study was conducted in 2021 with 49 focus groups with Asian immigrants to understand the challenges they faced, if any, after arriving in the country. The focus groups consisted of 18 distinct Asian origins and were conducted in 17 Asian languages.

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