Estimate of the Number of Months Students in Dual-Language Immersion Classes are Ahead of their Peers in Monolingual Classrooms in English Reading Skills, 2012–2015

A recent study of students in dual-language immersion courses, which controlled for factors such as socioeconomic disparities, found that students who speak both English and non-English languages at home achieved higher English language arts performance in dual-immersion classes than students in non-dual immersion programs. By the time dual-immersion students reached the 5th grade, they were an average of seven months ahead in English reading skills compared with their peers in non-immersion classrooms. By the 8th grade, students were a full academic year ahead. These findings support claims that learning a second language helps students tackle the nuances and complexities of their first language.