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Third-grade students from were randomly assigned to receive 30-minute Spanish lessons three times a week for one semester. These lessons focused on oral-aural skills and were conducted entirely in Spanish. Students in the Spanish classes scored significantly higher than the group that did not receive Spanish instruction in math and language on the Metropolitan Achievement Test. There was no significant difference in reading scores.
Cade, J. M. (1997). The foreign language immersion program in the Kansas City Missouri Public Schools, 1986-1996 [Abstract]. Dissertation Abstracts International -A 58(10), 3838.
This study describes the planning, development, implementation, and assessment of the foreign language magnet plan in schools in the Kansas CityMissouri Public School District. The program outcomes appeared to support the contentions found in research that, over time, second language learners (1) have improved test scores; (2) are able to think divergently; (3) achieve in their first language; and (4) attract and maintain parent involvement.Carr, C.G. (1994). The effect of middle school foreign language study on verbal achievement as measured by three subtests of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills [Abstract]. Dissertation Abstracts International -A 55(07), 1856.
This study looked at the effects of foreign language study on the verbal achievement of middle school students as measured by three subtests of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills. The students were compared with students who did not have language study but were enrolled in the Challenge Reading program. The study concluded that performance in reading comprehension, language mechanics, and language expression was significantly higher in favor of the experimental group (foreign language study) when such variables as academic aptitude and level of performance in the treatment were statistically controlled.Johnson, C. E., Flores, J. S., & Eillson, F. P. (1963). The effect of foreign language instruction on basic learning in elementary schools: A second report. The Modern Language Journal, 47(1), 8-11.
This study looked at the effects of 20 minutes of daily Spanish instruction on academic achievement. Students were given the Iowa Every-Pupil Test of Basic Skills in September of students’ fourth and fifth grade years. Students receiving Spanish instruction scored higher than the control group in language skills, work study skills, and arithmetic, but the difference was not statistically significant. Likewise, the control group scored higher than the experimental group in reading vocabulary and reading comprehension, but differences were not significant. The author concludes that foreign language instruction does not hinder academic achievement.Johnson, C. E., Ellison, F. P., & Flores, J. S. (1961). The effect of foreign language instruction on basic learning in elementary schools. The Modern Language Journal, 45(5), 200-202.
In this pilot study, two third-grade classrooms were used to compare the effects of foreign language instruction on basic skills. One classroom received Spanish instruction for 25 minutes per day for the spring semester, while the other class followed the regular curriculum with no foreign language instruction. Analysis of the results showed the groups receiving language instruction had higher mean scores than the control group in arithmetic and English grammar, although their scores were slightly lower than the control group in English punctuation, comprehension, and vocabulary.Haak, L. A., & Leino, W. B. (1963). The teaching of Spanish in the elementary schools and the effects on achievement in other selected subject areas., 100. from ERIC database.
<Classes from six schools were used with the experimental groups devoting 15 minutes per day to Spanish instruction over a three-year period. The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Stanford Social Studies test served as measurements. The conclusions drawn were (1) deletion of time from arithmetic, language and social studies had no detrimental effect upon measured achievement in subject areas from which the time was taken; (2) measured intelligence is positively correlated with measured achievement in the learning of Spanish.Lopato, E. W. (1963). FLES and academic achievement. The French Review, 36(5), 499-507.
114 third-grade students from four classrooms participated in this study. Students were “equated” for grade placement, age, intelligence, and socio-economic status, and teachers were “equated” for fluency in French. These experimental groups received daily 15-minute French lessons from their classroom teachers, who were both described as “fluent” in French. The French instruction was aural-oral and did not include reading or writing in the target language. The Stanford Achievement Test was given as a pre-test at the beginning of the school year, and an alternate form of the test was given at the end of the school year. At one of the school sites, the experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group on the average arithmetic scores, but not on average reading, spelling, or language. At the other school site, students receiving foreign language instruction scored significantly higher on the average arithmetic and spelling sections, but not the average reading or language sections of the test.Rafferty, E. A. (1986). Second language study and basic skills in Louisiana. U.S.; Louisiana, from ERIC database.
A statewide study in Louisiana revealed that third, fourth, and fifth graders who participated in 30-minute elementary school foreign language programs in the public schools showed significantly higher scores on the 1985 Basic Skills Language Arts Test than did a similar group that did not study a foreign language. Further, by fifth grade, the math scores of language students were also higher than those of students not studying a foreign language. Both groups were matched for race, sex, and grade level, and the academic levels of students in both groups were estimated by their previous Basic Skills Test results and statistically equated. The results of the analysis suggest that foreign language study in the lower grades helps students acquire English language arts skills and, by extension, math skills.
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