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English Learner (EL) Students Who Are Black

This fact sheet uses data from the 2013 American Community Survey (ACS) and applies the following definitions:

• An “English learner” student

o is ages 5 to 18,

o attends school,

o lives in a home where English is not the primary language spoken, and

o reports speaking English “well,” “not very well,” or “not at all.”

• An “English proficient” student

o is ages 5 to 18,

o attends school,

o lives in a home where English is spoken, or

o reports speaking English “very well.”

• The 2013 ACS defines individuals who are Black as those whose racial self-identification included “black, African-American, negro, or mulatto,

regardless of what additional race(s) the person reported, if any.” These individuals can be “Black alone or in combination” with other races,

regardless of Hispanic origin.

These definitions represent the respondent’s perceptions of his or her own English-speaking ability (Gambino, et al., 2014). The definitions may not 

correspond with those used by state education agencies and local education agencies for reporting purposes. 

Fact 

Eleven to 20 

percent of the EL 

student 

population in 

New York and 

Florida are Black. 

Percentage of EL Students Who Are Black, by State, Including DC: 2013

Note: Data are for both ELs born in the US and born in another country. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2013. Estimates generated by NCELA using Census DataFerrett.

Percentage of EL Students Who Are Black, by Birthplace: 2013

18%

82%

Percentage of Foreign-Born Black 

Students Who Are EL

1%

99%

Percentage of US-Born Black Students 

Who Are EL

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2013. Estimates generated by NCELA using Census DataFerrett.

Fact 

Eighteen percent of 

foreign-born Black 

students are ELs, 

compared with nearly 1 

percent of those who 

were born in the U.S.

OCTOBER 2015
Top 15 Languages Spoken At Home by EL Students Who Are Black: 2013 

Language Number of Speakers Percentage 

Spanish 53,924 40.0% 

French Creole 24,445 18.1% 

French 10,175 7.5% 

Cushite 9,591 7.1% 

Kru, Ibo, Yoruba 8,332 6.2% 

Bantu 3,995 3.0% 

Amharic 3,756 2.8% 

Swahili 3,221 2.4% 

German 2,990 2.2% 

Portuguese 2,087 1.5% 

Fulani 2,070 1.5% 

Vietnamese 1,860 1.4% 

Arabic 1,467 1.1% 

Other specified African languages 1,180 0.9% 

Japanese 931 0.7% 

Note: Data are for both ELs born in the US and those born in another country. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2013. Estimates generated by NCELA using Census DataFerrett.

Fact 

Forty percent of EL 

students who are 

Black speak Spanish at 

home. Approximately 

18 percent of EL 

students who are 

Black speak French 

Creole at home. 

Fact 

Over a quarter 

(26 percent) of 

foreign-born EL 

students who are 

Black were born in 

Haiti.

Top 15 Birthplaces of Foreign-Born EL Students Who Are Black: 2013 

Country Number of ELs Percentage 

Haiti 13,241 26.0% 

Dominican Republic 4,815 9.5% 

Kenya 3,489 6.9% 

Ethiopia 2,671 5.3% 

Africa, not specified 2,459 4.8% 

Somalia 2,074 4.1% 

Mexico 2,032 4.0% 

Congo 1,712 3.4% 

Tanzania 1,505 3.0% 

Western Africa, not specified 1,312 2.6% 

Togo 1,169 2.3% 

Ghana 1,133 2.2% 

El Salvador 1,057 2.1% 

Nigeria 1,019 2.0% 

Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) 973 1.9% 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2013. Estimates generated by NCELA using Census 

DataFerrett.

References cited: Gambino, Christine P., Yesenia D. Acosta, and Elizabeth M. Grieco. English-Speaking Ability of the Foreign-Born Population in the 

United States: 2012. American Community Survey Reports, ACS-26. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. 2014.

OCTOBER 2015