The elderly, the urban poor and, especially, non-English-speaking immigrants are the standard targets.

English-language educational programme You Say the Word began in 1971, catering to non-English-speaking immigrants.

The flat trends in reading - Mr. Loveless called it "treading water" - do not take into account the influx of non-English-speaking immigrants into the nation's schools.

"We're concerned about them," he said, attributing the decline in part to a rise in non-English-speaking immigrants and to more readers going online.

They are overwhelmingly the children of non-English-speaking immigrants.

Deliverymen, usually non-English-speaking illegal immigrants, pedal as fast as they can, knowing that their livelihoods are at the mercy of customers' good will and tips.

The high number of non-English-speaking immigrants has been still another impediment.

About a quarter of those 40 million people are non-English-speaking immigrants.

Academic results have been plummeting over the past decade, thanks largely to the expansion of the underclass and the influx of non-English-speaking immigrants.

The officials say the number of children translating is expected to increase with the number of non-English-speaking immigrants from Southeast Asia and Latin America.