Breaking Down the Language Barrier
9.9% of Michigan’s population reports speaking another language at home, with 33% of that population, a total of 330,000 people, reporting a low level of proficiency with speaking English. These numbers are actually fairly good for the United States, with the national population of LEI’s equaling around 8% of the total population. However, that still means that 25 million people in the United States have difficulty communicating in English, and this barrier continues to create novel and unexpected challenges for many when dealing with institutions like healthcare or education.
Healthcare
Navigating insurance and healthcare as an American LEI is a particularly difficult road. Of the 25 million LEI’s in the country, a third of them, numbering 8.3 million, lack health insurance. This number is astonishing, especially when compared to the general population, where only 7% is uninsured, meaning you are five times as likely to go without health insurance as an LEI.
Whether or not you are insured, LEI’s continue to experience barriers to entry when seeking medical care. LEI’s are half as likely to have a primary care physician, with only 27% percent claiming to have a preferred doctor they visit. Those who do manage to seek medical help consistently report negative experiences, with half of all lei’s reporting that they felt uncomfortable during a medical examination sometime in the last three years due to their inability to communicate with staff, properly fill out forms, or fill a prescription at a pharmacy. This discomfort continues to alienate the LEI population and drives them away from seeking medical help in the future.
Education
Another field with large disparities in services provided between English and Non-English speakers is Education. LEI Students are more at risk of being deemed “less intelligent” when compared to their peers. This perception not only influences the behaviors of the teachers, but of the students as well, dragging down grades and weakening their chances at academic success. Because of this, LEI’s are also much more likely to attend college or another form of post-secondary education. Accordingly, only 15%, or 3.75 million, of the United States’ LEI population holds any college degree. When compared to how nearly 40% of the general population of the United States hold a bachelor’s degree at the very least, these numbers indicate a lack of access to higher education and a lack of upward mobility for the LEI population.
Poverty
When discussing the causes of poverty in the United States, medical debt and low education access rank as some of the main contributing factors, so it comes at no surprise that limited English individuals in this country are more likely to live below the poverty line. How much lower? Studies on the subject point to LEI’s, on average, earning anywhere between 25% to 40% less than their English speaking counterparts, and that LEI’s are more at risk for facing unemployment. Employment rates for immigrants on the whole, luckily, have been on the rise since hitting an all-time low during COVID, with only 4.2% of immigrants reporting unemployment. However, it is important to note that immigrants with limited English-speaking skills make up a disproportionate amount of that population.
The Road to Change
The issues that plague those lacking in English proficiency will not change overnight, but there are steps that many organizations can take to expand their services to the LEI population and close the gaps these people experience on a daily basis. Educating your staff on cultural differences by organizing a cultural intelligence workshop using outlined programs such as the CQ method will prepare your employees on some of the challenges they may face when trying to engage with a limited English population. However, the best way to ease the burden for these people is to partner with a language service agency and plan out services for them based on what your company provides, whether that be through translation, interpretation, or a mix of both.
