Barriers to English Learning for Adult Immigrants in Urban America

The primary aim of this study was to investigate barriers to English learning for adult immigrants residing in urban America.A secondary aim was to study the effect of baseline reading levels on immigrants' participation in English class.The study design was a survey study of a convenience sample of 1,254 immigrants living in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 2018 to 2019.Among immigrants surveyed, 31% were emergent readers of English and 23% had 5 years or less of formal education.Both interrupted education and limited literacy are factors for classroom enrollment.Common barriers of work, family, health, transportation, and weather were mentioned; emergent English readers mentioned "can't learn" and "too hard" at higher rates than all participants as reasons to never enroll or disenroll.