An Assessment of Hispanic Recruits Who Speak English as a Second Language

This study was conducted to determine the extent of the Navy's problem with recruits who speak English as a Second Language (ESL). One hundred and two Hispanic recruits were tested and interviewed at RTC Orlando to assess their proficiency in English and problems that low proficiency might be c...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Salas, Eduardo, Kincaid, J Peter, Ashcroft, Nancy
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ATTRITION
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
HISPANIC RECRUITS
Humanities and History
NAVAL TRAINING
PROFICIENCY
QUESTIONNAIRES
READING
RECRUITS
SPEECH
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Summary:This study was conducted to determine the extent of the Navy's problem with recruits who speak English as a Second Language (ESL). One hundred and two Hispanic recruits were tested and interviewed at RTC Orlando to assess their proficiency in English and problems that low proficiency might be causing in recruit training. Two groups who work with Spanish-speaking recruits responded to a questionnaire. Results indicated (1) the Navy needs an ESL training program, (2) the Defense Language Institute's English Comprehension Level test should be used to screen recruits for ESL training, and (3) all recruits who speak English as a second language and who have had no prior U.S. education should be referred automatically to the ESL program. An economic analysis was also conducted. The analysis indicated that the costs which would be saved by lowered attrition would pay for the ESL program.