Bilingualism or Immersion: A Comparative Study of Language of Instruction Teaching Approachesand Student Achievement in Germany and the United States

When children move to a new country, they often need to learn a new language to understand grade-level content. This study examines the relationship between language of instruction teaching approaches and student achievement of language learners in Germany and the United
States. It uses multiple regression analysis and data from the 2018 Programme for Student Assessment (PISA). The results of the study suggest that students who were exposed to maintenance bilingual approaches are estimated to achieve higher reading scores on average in
Germany, which is consistent with the previous literature (Baker, 2011; Collier & Thomas, 2004; Francis et al., 2006). However, students who were exposed to full immersion approaches were estimated to achieve higher reading scores on average in the United States. Language spoken with parents did not moderate the relationship between language of instruction teaching approaches and student reading scores. As more students move to new countries, these findings contribute to the literature about the relationship between how students learn languages of instruction and their success as students.