Why are they so similar?

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between (extra)linguistic variables and proficiency in a foreign language. Based on 1,403 secondary school students in Germany (age 12/13 and 14/15), we assess whether proficiency in German, if applicable also Russian or Turkish, cognitive ability, school type, gender, socio-economic status, self-concept, motivation, and self-assessment function differently in predicting English language proficiency when monolingual German learners of English (n = 849) are compared to their bilingual peers (Russian-German: n = 236; Turkish-German: n = 318). Two comprehensive structural equation models capture the multitude of factors influencing foreign language acquisition and contribute to the discussion on multilingual advantages or effects. The results reveal that most variables are statistically significant, but the models function comparably across the three language groups with only minor contrasts regarding effect sizes. We submit that the three language groups are more similar than different and that the heritage languages Russian and Turkish add comparatively little to predicting English language proficiency.

Associations of students’ linguistic distance to the language of instruction and classroom composition with English reading and listening skills

“…Edele et al (2018) divided MLs into ability groups demonstrating that students' L1 proficiency predicted better English scores. In contrast, Lorenz et al (2022) showed only a weak effect of students' heritage language skills on L3 skills. In contrast, our study operationalized LD via self-reported proxy scores without measuring heritage language proficiency, but we were able to show fairly strong and stable associations with English listening and reading, confirming previous evidence (Muñoz et al, 2018;Schepens et al, 2013).…”

“…Studies on L3 learning have consistently demonstrated that extralinguistic individual-difference variables, particularly student biological sex, SES, and cognitive skills, have a substantial influence on foreign language outcomes (Edele et al, 2018;Jaekel et al, 2017;Lorenz et al, 2022). In Hopp et al (2019), ML students even outperformed NS students on some skills once analyses were controlled for background variables.…”