Furthermore they note that bilingualism will be determined by the demographic concentration and economic diversification of the immigrant community and inversely with length of residence in the United States. Finally they deduce that parental status will lead toward greater English proficiency, but not toward greater bilingualism due to its contradictory effects on children's cultural adaptation (645). .
The subjects surveyed were 2,843 students, average age was 14.8, in Dade County and Broward County, Florida. Dade County, which includes Miami, is an area with a very high concentration of immigrants who have created tightly clustered communities. On the other hand, the immigrants in Broward County are more dispersed and are mixed in with the native population. The students had to be either born in the United States with at least one foreign parent or foreign born but having resided in the United States for at least five years. The questionnaire included an extensive array of items on family and individual characteristics such as the child's age, sex, national origin, place of birth, length of residence in the United States, education of the father and mother, occupation of the father and mother, home ownership, and class identification (646). The surveys were meant to demonstrate how these elements affect the children's command of English and of their immigrant language.!.
Although many countries were represented the majority of the students were either Latin American (mainly Cuban and Nicaraguan) and of Caribbean descent. .
As far as English proficiency, the surveys showed that only about 1 per cent of the students did not speak English at all. The surveys also supported that age, national origin and length of U.S. residence have a strong correlation with English proficiency. Certain groups showed to have a better command of English, but one also has to note that many of the Caribbean immigrants use English in their home country.