What Really Matters in Second Language Learning for Academic Achievement?

This retrospective analysis seeks to explain why a group of children who had been matched for English proficiency and socioeconomic status (SES) when they started a school year, and who were subsequently taught and tested through the medium of English, differed in their school achievement at the end of that year. Factors considered include relative productive competence in English morphology, syntax, and vocabulary; verbosity; patterns of social interaction; first language performance; and personality factors. Extensive intra-group variability is reported, but several generalizations are drawn which have relevance for ESL curriculum organization and instructional practice: vocabulary knowledge is the single most important area of second language (L2) competence when learning content through that language is the dependent variable; grammatical accuracy is of little importance to students' immediate academic needs; communicative competence in social interaction does not guarantee communicative competence in academic situations; and the use of the first language (L1) enhances conceptual development, even when it is tested through the medium of the L2.