Case study reveals expected English language progression in bilingual primary school pupils, indicating immersion does not hinder literacy in the dominant societal language.
Key Points
To determine whether bilingual primary education using a non-home language affects pupils' attainment and academic progression in the dominant societal language.
Evaluated early years primary pupils in an English–French bilingual school in England at the beginning and end of an academic year.
Administered standardized UK-normed English language assessments alongside government-set national reading and writing benchmarks.
Analyzed achievement and longitudinal progress across monolingual and multilingual student subgroups using linear mixed effects models.
Students' performance and progress in foundational English language skills remained within the expected standardized UK-normed range.
Pupils met government-set progress standards for reading and writing, showing positive trajectories across both monolingual learners and those with an additional home language.