Alabama schools are increasingly serving English learners, who typically speak another language at home and need additional support to become fluent in English.

In 1998, only 1.2 percent of students in the state were learning English. In the 2022-2023 school year, about 41,000 of the state’s 750,000 students, or 5.5 percent, were English learners.

Many of these students speak at least one of dozens of different languages, AL.com found. Scroll down to see languages ​​spoken by school district.

In 2021-22, about 20% of students learning English in Alabama were either foreign-born or children of migrant workers, according to federal data. Their parents may be U.S. citizens or foreign nationals, and may be doctors, engineers, service employees, or factory workers.

About half of Alabama’s foreign-born population comes from Latin America, with the majority of immigrants coming from Mexico or Guatemala. About 30% were born in Asian countries, mainly India, China and Korea. German immigrants make up about 5% of immigrants in Alabama.

The top languages ​​spoken by Alabama immigrants are Spanish, followed by German, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), and Korean, according to census data.

In Alabama schools, about two-thirds of immigrant students spoke Spanish in 2021-22. Next come the Korean and Mayan languages.

About the data: The Alabama Education Lab examined data on citizenship and migration, as well as school English learner enrollment, to understand the magnitude of immigration trends in the state . Data on EL students was compiled from federal and state education statistics from the 1998-99 school year through 2022-23. We used the American Community Survey’s five-year estimates from 2009 to 2022 to analyze county-level immigration patterns and included new one-year estimates for 2023 to examine broader trends at the state and national level. national level.