An examination of the relationship between language-based instructional strategies and academic achievement

Programs representing various instructional strategies have been designed and implemented in public schools to teach non-English speaking students. This study addressed the relative effectiveness of two strategies designed to enhance non-English speaking students' chances of academic success. The research problem was: Do language-based instructional programs for English language learners yield different levels of student achievement? The theoretical framework predicted that students in the English as a second language (ESL) program would be expected to learn language related skills better than content related skills since instruction is delivered only in the English language. Further, the theory predicted that students in the bilingual self-contained program would be expected to learn non-verbal academic content better than language related skills since most of the language in which the instruction is being delivered is in the native language. In grades one through four, students in an ESL instructional program were taught with an English language dominated strategy whereas students in a bilingual self-contained were taught primarily in their native Spanish language. Results of the study partially confirmed the theoretical predictions in that students taught with bilingual self-contained instructional strategies outperformed the ESL students in verbal (reading) and non-verbal (mathematics) domains. The study confirms the effectiveness of instruction in the native language of English language learners in core academic domains.