The Impact of Bilingual Scaffolding on the Acquisition and Retention of Specialized Medical Terminology

Introduction: This study investigates the impact of bilingual instruction compared to L2-only instruction on the acquisition and retention of specialized medical vocabulary. Methods: 50 medical and health science students were divided into two groups: A control group receiving English-only instruction and an intervention group receiving bilingual instruction. Using a longitudinal quasi-experimental design, both groups were assessed on vocabulary breadth and depth at three intervals: immediately, one week, and one month following instruction. Results: The findings revealed that while initial gains at T1 were similar between groups, the intervention group receiving bilingual instruction consistently achieved significantly higher scores and superior retention rates at the one-week and one-month follow-ups. The advantage of bilingual instruction was most salient in long-term depth of knowledge, where learners maintained more durable mental representations of complex terms. Discussion: These findings suggest that first language scaffolding reduces cognitive load, which may make abstract medical terminology more accessible. Ultimately, the study advocates for translanguaging as a beneficial pedagogical strategy to enhance academic success in English-medium instruction medical contexts.