ABSTRACT
Although no one knows exact numbers, several lines of evidence indicate a dramatic increase in undergraduates of limited English proficiency. This population includes international students (“foreign” students attending college in the United States on temporary student visas) as well as first and second generation immigrants and refugees (permanent residents and U.S. citizens). This growing population of students of limited English proficiency is the result of:
• increasing ethnic and linguistic diversity in the K-12 school population (McDonnell & Hill, 1993; Stewart, 1993; The Challenge of Change, 1992; Vernez & Abrahamse, 1996);
• a million or so immigrants and refugees entering the United States each year from countries where a language other than English is spoken (Fix & Passel, 1994);
• growth in the percentage (from 1.52% in 1976 to 2.19% in 1995) of the total undergraduate population represented by international students (The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac, Aug. 29, 1997, p.18);
• increased enrollment in English as a Second Language (ESL) on college campuses (Bers, 1994; Cochran, 1992; Cohen & Ignash, 1992; Gray, Rolph, & Melamid, 1996; Ignash, 1992; Ignash, 1992, 1993);
• results of surveys carried out at various colleges and universities showing that relatively large percentages of students are born outside the United
States and speak a language other than English at home (Cochran, 1992; Rosenthal, 1996, pp. 35-37; Russikoff, 1994).
