New immigrant arrivals to the United States face many challenges and obstacles when navigating their daily lives. For Asian immigrants, these include language and cultural obstacles that impact those who arrive with little to no proficiency in English. But navigating life in America also impacts English-speaking immigrants as they adjust to life in a new country with its own unique linguistic and cultural quirks.

A little over half of Asian Americans (54%) were born outside the United States, including about seven-in-ten Asian American adults (68%). While many Asian immigrants arrived in the United States in recent years, a majority arrived in the U.S. over 10 years ago. The story of Asian immigration to the U.S. is over a century old, and today’s Asian immigrants arrived in the country at different times and through different pathways. They also trace their roots, culture and language to more than 20 countries in Asia, including the Indian subcontinent.  

In 2021, Pew Research Center conducted 49 focus groups with Asian immigrants to understand the challenges they faced, if any, after arriving in the country. The focus groups consisted of 18 distinct Asian origins and were conducted in 17 Asian languages. (For more, see the methodology.)

Across the focus groups, daily challenges related to speaking English emerged as a common theme. These include experiences getting medical care, accessing government services, learning in school and finding employment along with speaking English and understanding U.S. culture. Participants also shared frustration, stress and at times sadness because of the cultural and language barriers they encountered. Some participants also told us about their challenges learning English, as well as the times they received support from others to deal with or overcome these language barriers.

Among Asian immigrants, recent arrivals report lower English proficiency levels than long-term residents

Focus group findings about learning English and challenges navigating life in the U.S. are reflected in government data about English proficiency among Asian immigrants. For example, about half (53%) of Asian immigrants ages 5 and older who have been in the U.S. for five years or less say they speak English proficiently, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data. By contrast, 60% of Asian immigrants who have been in the U.S. for more than a decade say they speak English proficiently, a higher share than recent arrivals.  

Among Asian Americans ages 5 and older, 58% of immigrants speak English proficiently, compared with nearly all of the U.S. born who say the same (94%).

There is language diversity among Asian immigrants living in the U.S. The vast majority (86%) of Asian immigrants 5 and older say they speak a language other than English at home, while 14% say they speak only English in their homes. The most spoken non-English language among Asian immigrants is Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese (20%). Hindi (18%) is the second most commonly spoken non-English language among Asian immigrants (this figure includes Urdu, Bengali and other Indo-Iranian and Indo-European languages), followed by Tagalog and other Filipino languages (13%) and Vietnamese (9%). This reflects the languages of the four largest Asian origin groups (Chinese, Indian, Filipino and Vietnamese) living in the U.S. But overall, many other languages are spoken at home by Asian immigrants.

The following chapters explore three broad themes from the focus group discussions: the challenges Asian immigrants have faced in navigating daily life and communicating in English; tools and strategies they used to learn the language; and types of help they received from others in adapting to English-speaking settings. The experiences discussed may not resonate with all Asian U.S. immigrants, but the study sought to capture a wide range of views by including participants of different languages, immigration or refugee experiences, educational backgrounds and income levels.

Many focus group participants described how difficulties speaking English impacted their ability to carry out daily tasks like shopping, going to the doctor or visiting a government office, highlighting the many ways in which not being able to communicate can make daily life challenging. For example, simple activities such as visiting stores or purchasing food were difficult to complete.

Some participants mentioned that when they struggled to speak in English, they noticed frustration from people they were interacting with. A Taiwanese woman described her experience at stores:

Using public transportation also presents barriers. A Burmese woman recalled her initial challenges with a local bus system due to not being able to ask for help in English:

Visiting medical offices was highlighted as another place where newly arrived immigrants faced challenges, including not being able to accurately describe ailments.

MORE SHORT VIDEOS OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE >

Another Cambodian woman shared her language challenges while visiting the doctors during her pregnancy:

Meanwhile, some participants had difficulties with English during their visits to government offices, including while filling out paperwork. 

English proficiency challenges at school and college

Many participants mentioned their educational experiences in the U.S. and the communication obstacles they faced. For some, this happened when they were school-age children or teenagers, newly arrived in the U.S. For others it happened when they arrived in the country to begin their university studies. 

Other participants shared that they had learned English in their places of origin prior to arriving in the U.S. Yet, they found themselves facing challenges as they transitioned into predominantly English-speaking environments. Some attribute these challenges to their lack of fluency and comfort in English despite understanding what others were saying to them. Some participants also indicated that their accents led to confusion when communicating with English speakers.

There were participants who recalled feelings of fear at school, not only because they did not know the language but because they did not understand how American society and schools functioned. One immigrant woman of Vietnamese origin recalled not knowing whom to ask for help because no one in her family understood American culture.  

A portion of focus groups participants came to the United States in their teenage years. These participants recalled challenging situations at school regarding their English skills. Some participants knew no English and reported having to take hours of English as a second language (ESL) classes, which left them behind in other classes in high school.

Several participants immigrated to the United States to study at a college or university and reported challenges speaking English and navigating U.S. culture. This included feeling insecure in their language abilities as well as other students not being able to understand them. 

Several top schools in the United States require the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL, to determine the language abilities of non-native English-speaking applicants. Some participants reported that despite passing this test and obtaining a top score, they experienced challenges keeping up in college-level courses in the U.S. Even in non-academic social settings, some recalled not fully understanding what native English speakers were saying due to their use of slang and frequent pop culture references.

English proficiency and the workplace

Many participants pointed to their difficulties speaking in English as a major reason they struggled to find employment. One Taiwanese man mentioned: 

A Taiwanese women described the challenges of finding a job:

Some participants shared that once employed, language barriers slowed their professional success and advancement. A Chinese woman described how language challenges emerged when she changed industries. 

A Japanese woman shared her belief that her lack of proficiency speaking English negatively affected her ability to get customers as a hairdresser.

Some participants noted their accents affected how they were treated at work.      

Focus group moderators asked participants if they were in the process of learning English, and what challenges they faced trying to learn the language. Participants shared various ways they learned or improved their English skills.

Taking English classes

Many participants shared that during their childhood they were enrolled in English as a second language (ESL) courses as part of their school program. Others who arrived in the country as adults mentioned that they were able to join English courses offered by organizations in their communities or cities.

Meanwhile, other participants shared their experiences of learning English prior to coming to the U.S. yet still facing language barriers related to their accents because they learned English from British teachers.

Connecting with English speakers

Many participants shared how they learned English simply by trying to talk to native speakers as much as possible, from new friends to co-workers to other people in everyday life. While many made this a casual everyday practice, some mentioned attending meet-ups and language exchanges in their new home cities.

Some participants recalled their decision to purposely live in a place without other immigrants from their own ethnic group. This allowed them to immerse themselves in American culture, including English language, and offered an opportunity to practice speaking with native speakers.

Consuming more English-language media

American pop culture and media served as an important tool in many immigrants’ English-learning journey. Focus group participants shared how watching American television, listening to radio and podcasts, and reading publications in English helped them improve their comprehension, speaking and writing skills.

Watching, hearing and reading media in English was a particularly useful strategy for those who said they were busy with school, work or taking care of kids. One Korean male in his early 40s said, “I’m busy and I don’t have time as I have to take care of my kids, so my only English study is to listen to American broadcasts in my car for an hour of commuting. That was the only time I had to study English.” Absorbing American media was important in different ways to others as well.

Across the focus groups, participants also shared personal stories of help they received from others while navigating different situations and settings in which they faced language barriers.

Other participants described the support they received while learning or improving their English after arriving in the country.

When asked how he improved his English fluency and accent, an Indian man mentioned how he leaned to practice on other international students in his college:

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This study was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Henry Luce Foundation; The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation; The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation; The Long Family Foundation; Lu-Hebert Fund; Gee Family Foundation; Joseph Cotchett; the Julian Abdey and Sabrina Moyle Charitable Fund; and Nanci Nishimura.

The accompanying video clip was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from The Sobrato Family Foundation and The Long Family Foundation.

We would also like to thank the Leaders Forum for its thought leadership and valuable assistance in helping make this study possible.

This report was written by Luis Noe-Bustamante, Research Associate, Lauren Mora, Research Assistant, and Neil G. Ruiz, Associate Director of Race and Ethnicity Research.

Many individuals contributed to this study’s data collection and methodology. The authors are grateful to Sono Shah, Computational Social Scientist of the Center’s Data Labs; Laura Silver, Senior Researcher; Mohamad Moslimani, Research Assistant; Carolyne Im, Research Assistant; and Sunny Shao, former Research Associate, for tirelessly observing focus groups, coding the transcripts and helping in analyzing the results. Pew Research Center is also grateful to Andre Sanabia, Collen McCauley, Shawnna Mullenax and Valerie Ojeda-Avitia from PSB Insights and to Grace Chiu and Patrick Cahill from GC Global for their many contributions to this project.

The report and the accompanying video clip were produced by Shannon Greenwood, Digital Producer. The communications and outreach strategy for the report, as well as editorial advice on all accompanying research products, was provided by Hannah Klein, Communications Manager, and Gar Meng Leong, Communications Associate.

Editorial guidance was provided by Mark Hugo Lopez, Director, Race and Ethnicity Research. The report was number checked by Mohamad Moslimani, Research Assistant. David Kent, Senior Copy Editor, copy edited the report.

Pew Research Center is grateful to a panel of expert advisers who provided guidance at all stages of this report: Yến Lê Espiritu, Distinguished Professor of Ethnic Studies at University of California, San Diego; Devesh Kapur, Starr Foundation Professor of South Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Anthony Christian Ocampo, Professor of Sociology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Karthick Ramakrishnan, Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside; Janelle Wong, Professor of American Studies and Asian American Studies at the University of Maryland; and Yang Sao Xiong, Assistant Professor of Social Work and Asian American Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Find related reports online at https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/topic/race-ethnicity/racial-ethnic-groups/asian-americans/