ABSTRACT
Immigration is a continuing reality for the United States, impacting the profile of the nation's workforce and increasing the number of candidates for employment in the foodservice sector for whom English is a second language. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that approximately 4 7 million people over the age of five ( 18 percent of all U.S. residents) speak a language other than English at home. These data represent an increase from 14 percent (31.8 million) in 1990 and 11 percent (23.1 million) in 1980. A total of 21 ,320,407 residents indicate that they speak English less than "Very well" (Shin & Bruno, 2003). The Census Bureau estimated the undocumented population at 8 million in 2000. Because it also estimated a net annual increase of 450,000, an updated Census estimate would be closer to II million in 2005 (Stem, 2005).
