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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 16, 2025

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

How first-language instruction transfers to majority-language skills.

Simon Calmar Andersen^1,2, Thorbjørn Sejr Guul^3,4, Maria Knoth Humlum^4,5

¹Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. sca@ps.au.dk.

Nature Human Behaviour

|October 19, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

First-language instruction for immigrant children improved school behavior and satisfaction. This approach later boosted majority-language reading skills, demonstrating the value of asset-based educational strategies.

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Last Updated: Oct 16, 2025

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Published on: June 30, 2020

Area of Science:

Education
Developmental Psychology
Sociolinguistics

Background:

Increasing immigrant populations necessitate effective educational strategies for children.
Limited research exists on first-language instruction's impact on academic and majority-language outcomes.
Understanding the transferability of first-language skills to majority-language proficiency is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effect of first-language instruction on immigrant children's school engagement.
To examine the transfer of first-language instruction benefits to majority-language skills.
To assess the role of an asset-based approach in educational interventions.

Main Methods:

A randomized controlled trial involving 230 children (average age 7.1 years) in Denmark.
Implementation of an asset-based approach valuing students' linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
Assessment of behavioral problems, school satisfaction, parental engagement, and language skills.

Main Results:

First-language instruction reduced behavioral problems and increased school satisfaction and parental engagement.
No immediate improvement in spoken first-language skills was observed.
Significant improvement in majority-language reading skills one year post-intervention, with reduced behavioral issues explaining half the gains.

Conclusions:

An asset-based approach to first-language instruction can positively impact immigrant children's school experience.
First-language instruction can indirectly lead to enhanced majority-language skills.
Valuing students' linguistic backgrounds is key to successful educational integration and academic achievement.