Alabama schools are enrolling more and more English learners, who typically speak another language at home and need additional support to become fluent in English.

In 1998, just 1.2% of the state’s students were English learners. In the 2022-23 school year, about 41,000 of the state’s 750,000 students, or 5.5%, were English learners.

Many of these students speak at least one of dozens of different languages, AL.com found. Scroll down to see languages spoken by school district.

In 2021-22, about 20% of English learner students in Alabama were either foreign-born or children of migrant workers, federal data shows. Their parents may be US citizens or foreign nationals, and may be doctors, engineers, service workers or factory workers.

About half of Alabama’s foreign-born population is from Latin America, with the majority of immigrants coming from Mexico or Guatemala. About 30% were born in Asian countries, primarily India, China and Korea. German immigrants make up about 5% of immigrants in Alabama.

The top languages spoken by Alabama immigrants is Spanish, followed by German, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and Korean languages, according to census data.

In Alabama schools, about two thirds of immigrant students spoke Spanish in 2021-22. They were followed by Korean and Mayan languages.

About the data: The Alabama Education Lab took a look at citizenship and migration data, as well as English learner enrollment in schools to understand the scope of immigration trends in the state. Data for EL students was compiled from federal and state education statistics from the 1998-99 school year to 2022-23. We used 2009 to 2022 five-year estimates from the American Community Survey to analyze county-level immigration patterns and included new 2023 one-year estimates to look at broader state and national trends.