Crosslinguistic Analysis of an English Proficiency Question

Questions about English proficiency are common in surveys, and data from these questions are used for a variety of purposes. We analyze how a survey question about English proficiency is interpreted by speakers/users of different non-English languages. We conducted a study that involved two rounds of cognitive testing, in which we interviewed monolingual speakers of English and Spanish, and users of American Sign Language (ASL). There is an absence of research on how ASL users respond to such questions. Participants were shown an English proficiency question modelled after a current U.S. Census Bureau sponsored survey. Participants were later probed on their understanding and interpretation of the question. This research investigates whether users of different languages interpret questions about English proficiency in the same way. Particularly, we investigate how “speak English” is interpreted by users of ASL, what factors ASL users consider when deciding how to answer, and how the responses of ASL users differs from responses of other non-English speakers. The findings from this research will provide valuable insight into how English proficiency questions are interpreted by speakers of different non-English languages and what effect that has on survey data collection.