Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/20951 
Year of Publication: 
2000
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 110
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
The preponderance of minimal second language acquisition by immigrants worldwide is striking. This paper proposes a theoretical model, which analyzes the underlying forces that contribute to this outcome of minimal secondary language acquisition by immigrants in such diverse immigrant-receiving countries as Canada, Germany, Israel and the United States. It is argued that the weak incentive structures for second language acquisition for an immigrant appear in four analytically separate spheres including the labour market, political, social, and education spheres. Furthermore, two integration regimes are imposed in these spheres – no government interference, or government-mandated minimum language acquisition after arrival. In all cases and in all spheres, it is argued that, for the majority of immigrants, the weakest level of second language acquisition – minimum oral and minimum written – is the optimal outcome given their incentive structure. In addition, the labour market is the primary determinant of this outcome. Finally, several policy measures to increase the incentives for further second language acquisition are explored.
Subjects: 
Immigration
ethnic Germans
Canada
language acquisition
labour market
integration
assimilation
JEL: 
J61
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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