Age Related Differences in Language Usage and Reading between English Monolinguals and Bilinguals

Age Related Differences in Language Usage and Reading between English Monolinguals andBilinguals Dylan Marshall Hamid Gomari De La Salle University De La Salle University Manila, Philippines Manila, Philippines marshalld@ismanila.org h.gomari@yahoo.com Abstract This study investigates age related differences in standardized tests scores of language usage and reading from elementary to high school for students who are either monolinguals whose L1 is English or bilinguals whose L1 is not English. An interactioneffect between grade level andreading and language usage standardized test scores was hypothesized because as bilinguals become proficient in Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) in English,they are able tonarrow the ‘achievement gap’in comparison to their monolingual classmates and even experience cognitive advantages (Cummins, 1999).Participants were 1081 students from an international school. Language usage and readingwere measured using MAP standardized achievement tests.The2x2 ANOVA showed an interaction between grade level and languages spoken on language usage (p<0.05).There was a main effect for languages spoken and grade level on language usage (p<0.05). No interaction was found forgrade level and languages spoken on reading (p>0.05). A main effect was found for languages spoken andgrade level on reading (p<0.05).Significant differences exist between bilingual and monolingualsand these differences change over time. As bilingual students are immersed in English education, their performance on standardized tests catches up with their monolingual counterparts by grade 5 for language usage but not for reading, but no cognitive advantages are shown. 1Introduction We live in an increasingly globalized world where bilingualism is very common as global societies become more interconnected. In this context, it is of vital importance to understand how bilingualism relatesstudents’ language abilities, cognitive abilities and academic performance.Understanding differences between monolinguals and bilinguals is particularly relevant in the context of reading and language usage in international schools where the medium of instruction is English. These schools are often extremely diverse linguistic communities and many students are known as Third-Culture Kids (TCKs) who have grown up in a different culture to their passport country. Many students come from family backgrounds where there is no spoken English, and their main English input comes from their school life. It is important to find out whether being monolingual or bilingual can account for differences in performance in standardized test scores to understand how the monolingual and bilingual experience in international schools impacts students’ performance in reading and language usage. Early research on bilingualism proposed that bilinguals were at a disadvantage linguistically compared to monolinguals. Peal and Lambert (1962) studied the effect of bilingualism on cognitive functioning which led to a shift in our understanding of the effects of bilingualism. Their study found that the bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on almost all the tests, particularly on the tests involving mental organization; therefore, they concluded that bilinguals profited from mental flexibility and being bilingual was an asset. Since then, a considerable number of studies have been conducted on this topic and they havefound enhanced meta-linguistic awareness in bilingual children (Bialystok, 2009). When considering language development in the school environment, it is important to consider the different levels …

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