1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910563097503321

Autore

Duarte Joana

Titolo

Bilingual Language Proficiency : A Comparative Study / / Joana Duarte . Volume 17

Pubbl/distr/stampa

2011

[s.l.] : , : Waxmann Verlag GmbH, , 2011

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (320 p.)

Collana

Interkulturelle Bildungsforschung

Soggetti

Education / Bilingual Education

Education

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Sommario/riassunto

This book investigates the role native language plays in the process of acquiring a second language within a bilingual educational model. The research presented is based on a 2 year longitudinal study of students in a bilingual school. Particular attention is paid to the development of academic language proficiency. Performance in both languages was compared between two groups of peers learning in submersion classes in Germany and in Portugal. This comparison allows the assessment of effects of a given bilingual education programme. <br/><br/>There is a considerable advantage found for the students who learned in the bilingual environment, both in written and in oral samples. These students developed a more proficient bilingual academic discourse ability; socioeconomic status and cognitive abilities were controlled for. When comparing the results with an external measure for school achievement, the advantage was confirmed. The results also hint at didactic factors which seem to contribute to this performance.