Immigrants Language Skills and Visa Category

• Barry R. Chiswick ^[1] ; Yew Liang Lee ^[2] ; Paul W. Miller ^[2]
  1. [1] University of Illinois at Chicago

     University of Illinois at Chicago

     City of Chicago, Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] University of Western Australia

     University of Western Australia

     Australia

     
• Localización: International migration review, ISSN 0197-9183, Vol. 40, Nº. 2, 2006, págs. 419-450
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This article is concerned with the determinants of English language proficiency among immigrants in a longitudinal survey for Australia. It focuses on both visa category and variables derived from an economic model of the determinants of destination-language proficiency among immigrants. Skills-tested and economic immigrants have the greatest proficiency shortly after immigration, followed by family-based visa recipients, with refugees having the lowest proficiency. Other variables the same, these differences disappear by 3.5 years after immigration for speaking skills; and although they diminish, they persist longer for reading and writing skills. The variables generated from the model of destination-language proficiency (such as schooling and age at migration) are, in part, predictions of visa category, but they are more important statistically for explaining proficiency.