Linguistic Minority Students Go to College

Currently, linguistic minority students – students who speak a language other than English at home – represent 21% of the entire K-12 student population and 11% of the college student population. Bringing together emerging scholarship on the growing number of college-bound linguistic minority students in the K-12 pipeline, this ground-breaking volume showcases new research on these students’ preparation for, access to, and persistence in college. Other than studies of their linguistic challenges and writing and academic literacy skills in college, little is known about the broader issues of linguistic minority students’ access to and success in college. Examining a variety of factors and circumstances that influence the process and outcome, the scope of this book goes beyond students’ language proficiency and its impact on college education, to look at issues such as student race/ethnicity, gender, SES, and parental education and expectations. It also addresses structural factors in schooling including tracking, segregation of English learners from English-fluent peers, availability and support of institutional personnel, and collegiate student identity and campus climate. Presenting state-of-the-art knowledge and mapping out a future research agenda in an extremely important and yet understudied area of inquiry, this book advances knowledge in ways that will have a real impact on policy regarding linguistic minority immigrant students’ higher education opportunities.

"As the US population becomes more diverse, professors at all types of postsecondary institutions can expect to see more LM students in their classes. Reading books like Kanno and Harklau’s collection is an important way to learn more about the new student population. Faculty members need to learn about and develop teaching practices that support students who come to college with limited high school preparation, who may have to work part or full time to support their studies, who may struggle with aspects of academic English, and who may have to care for a dependent or two. These practices will ultimately benefit students and families as well as our country as a whole." - Todd Ruecker, Academe Publication of the American Association of University Professors "Kanno and Harklau’s cutting-edge book is,undoubtedly, a very timely and important contribution to the field of higher education. Most importantly, this volume moves away from a deficit perspective on LM students—one that focuses exclusively on the development of their English language proficiency—to a broader examination of the factors that affect LM students’ transition to college, including an analysis of structural factors that can deter or support their academic success." ― Cecilia Rios-Aguilar, The Review of Higher Education"The contributors to this volume bring a broad range of experience and set of knowledge, developed working directly with the LMstudent population, across all levels of the educational pipeline and within different capacities. Their collective experiences and knowledge lends credibility to each contributor’s findings and suggestions. Their work has made a significant contribution to the field of education, and in particular to understanding LM students in higher education." ―Journal of Latinos and Education"A significant contribution to the conversation about immigrant and linguistic minority students and their real chances to access and succeed in higher education. ... This volume is highly recommended not only for researchers and graduate students interested in developing and furthering an agenda in the field of LM students’ college experiences but also for teachers working with LM students at the secondary and tertiary level." ―International Multilingual Research Journal

Yasuko Kanno is Associate Professor of TESOL in the College of Education, Temple University. Linda Harklau is Professor of the Teaching Additional Languages program and the Linguistics program at the University of Georgia.