Achievement on Arithmetic in bilingual primary schools: Do the language and context matter?

Abstract

Previous research argued for cognitive and linguistic advantages in bilinguals, but arithmetic performances remained unclear. In less linguistic arithmetic, raw sums, bilinguals’ performances should be similar or worse to monolinguals’, while bilinguals may perform better on math problems. Furthermore, the task language could also impact performance. The question is: How does language affect student’s performance on arithmetic operations in bilingual education? Quasi-Experimental research was conducted involving four auditory verification tasks conditions with two manipulated factors: raw sums versus math problems and Dutch (L1) versus English (L2). Task measured both accuracy and reaction times. A bilingual experimental group (n=37) and monolingual control group (n=39) of children in grade 2 of primary school were tested. Results suggested that bilinguals performed better on Dutch, on raw sums and without differences in reaction times. Furthermore, bilinguals tended to perform less well but faster on math problems. Finally, bilinguals tended to perform better in Dutch than monolinguals, but with a non-significant (p=.069) tendency for Dutch problems. These results are in line with previous research confirming that arithmetic performances in the dominant language are better and do not support the idea of a bilingual advantage for solving problems. Results are discussed in light of future research suggestions.