Student-Level Variables and Academic Achievement in a Mandarin Dual Language Immersion Program

Abstract

Inspired by the pioneering work of Dr. G. R. Tucker and colleagues on French Immersion in Canada, later known as the St. Lambert experiment (Lambert & Tucker, Journal of Educational Psychology, 65(2), 141–159, 1972), language immersion education also proliferated in the United States in the last decades. Research in the U.S. setting has consistently reported the linguistic and academic benefits of language immersion programs, and found that dual language immersion programs produced better educational outcomes for linguistically and racially diverse groups of students compared to other forms of educational programs for language minority students. However, most of the current data come from immersion programs involving linguistically-similar languages such as English and Spanish. Drawing on three consecutive years of student achievement data from a public school providing whole-school Mandarin immersion, the current study found that while, as a group, the students made significant progresses in their scores on mathematics and English Language Arts, their academic growth trajectories did not vary based on their home language backgrounds or race. These findings suggest that Mandarin immersion, despite teaching school contents through two highly contrasting languages, is capable of providing equal access to high quality education to all children. Implications for Mandarin immersion, as well as for the field of dual language immersion education, is discussed.