The Premium for Learning English in the USA

Bruce P. Corrie, PhD corrie@csp.edu Here is a number to help policy makers understand why people all over the world want to study English. All over the world, including the USA, there is a strong economic reason to become fluent in English. The difference in earnings between people who speak English very well versus those who do not speak English at all is an estimated $24,000. English language learners get it – why don’t our policy makers? (Data estimated from a recent study by Sum et. al. (2004) of the ETS on the human capital of immigrants in the USA)