Language matters: language disadvantage and the outcomes of foreign-born adults in PIAAC

Chapter 3 illustrates that foreign-born individuals whose mother tongue is different from the language of the test tend to have lower literacy and numeracy proficiency (when these are assessed in the language of their country of residence) and poorer labour market outcomes than individuals whose mother tongue matches the language spoken in the country. However, language penalties in information processing skills and labour market outcomes vary considerably, both across countries and within countries across different migrant groups. This chapter illustrates that the depth of the language penalty in skills and labour market outcomes is related to the degree of proximity between the mother tongue spoken by migrants and the language spoken in the country of destination. Individuals whose mother tongue is very different from the language spoken in their country of residence have very low proficiency relative to the native born if they arrived in the host country after the age of 12, and the negative impact persists irrespective of length of stay. Furthermore, these individuals are less likely to have access to gainful employment, irrespective of their age, gender or educational level.