History

The United States of America was created by 17th- and 18th-century settlers who were overwhelmingly white, British, and Protestant. (Huntington, 2004) The influx of Hispanic families coming to America over the past years has increased the language barriers throughout the United States as a whole. “Mexican immigration increased steadily after 1965. About 640,000 Mexicans legally migrated to the United States in the 1970s; 1,656,000 in the 1980s; and 2,249,000 in the 1990s. In those three decades, Mexicans accounted for 14 percent, 23 percent, and 25 percent of total legal immigration.” (Huntington, 2004)

The table below displays the change from 1960 to 2000 of the foreign-born population in the United States. “In 1960, the foreign-born population in the United States was relatively diverse.” (Huntington, 2004) This diagram displays a relatively even background of foreign-born population consisted of Poland, U.K., Canada, Germany, and Italy. “In 2000, the foreign-born population from the top five countries was distributed very differently.” (Huntington, 2004) This diagram displays a relatively even background of foreign-born population consisting of Cuba, India, Philippines, and China. This leaves Mexico as the highest foreign-born population in the United States by leaps and bounds.

With this influx of diversity flooding into the United States of America, also comes a diversity of languages. Breaking down these language barriers is essential to communicate effectively to others. These influxes are still affecting us today. Over half of the students in my elementary school are from a Spanish speaking home. This gravely effects the parent-teacher communication on a daily basis.