The Effects of the Extended Foreign Language Programs on Spanish-Language Proficiency and Academic Achievement in English [Findings for Model B: Extended Foreign Language with Spanish language and Spanish content area instruction]
Shneyderman, Aleksandr; Abella, Rodolfo (2009). Bilingual Research Journal, v32 n3 p241-259. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ870332
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examining284Students, grades3-5
Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: April 2022
- Single Study Review (findings for Extended Foreign Language program with Spanish language instruction and Spanish-language content area instruction)
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a cluster quasi-experimental design that provides evidence of effects on individuals by satisfying the baseline equivalence requirement for the individuals in the analytic intervention and comparison groups.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) - Reading |
Extended Foreign Language program with Spanish language instruction and Spanish-language content area instruction vs. Business as usual |
0 Years |
Grade 5;
|
690.70 |
685.70 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) - Reading |
Extended Foreign Language program with Spanish language instruction and Spanish-language content area instruction vs. Business as usual |
-2 Years |
Grade 3;
|
640.30 |
638.10 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT): Mathematics |
Extended Foreign Language program with Spanish language instruction and Spanish-language content area instruction vs. Business as usual |
0 Years |
Grade 5;
|
680.80 |
673.90 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT): Mathematics |
Extended Foreign Language program with Spanish language instruction and Spanish-language content area instruction vs. Business as usual |
-2 Years |
Grade 3;
|
645.40 |
641.40 |
No |
-- | ||
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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1% English language learners -
Female: 62%
Male: 38% -
Urban
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Florida
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Race Other or unknown 100% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 93% Not Hispanic or Latino 7% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) 64% No FRPL 36%
Study Details
Setting
The study was conducted in an urban school district in Florida. Twenty schools participated in the study, of which 10 offered bilingual instruction through a program called Extended Foreign Language (EFL) with Spanish language instruction and Spanish content instruction. The other 10 schools did not offer bilingual instruction.
Study sample
A total of 284 students in grade 5 were included in the study. The 284 students attended 20 elementary schools. Approximately 62 percent were female, 64 percent were eligible for free or reduced price lunch, and 1 percent were English language learners. Ninety-three percent were Hispanic or Latino and 7 percent were non-Hispanic or Latino.
Intervention Group
The Extended Foreign Language program (EFL) with Spanish instruction and content Spanish instruction is a bilingual program implemented at the school level in which all students in the school receive 1 hour of daily Language Arts instruction in Spanish, the target language of the schools in this study, and an average of 30 minutes of daily science or social students content instruction in Spanish. On average, students receive about 20 percent of their daily instruction in Spanish and all other instruction in English. Students in the intervention group received the EFL program starting in Kindergarten through grade 5.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group received business-as-usual instruction in all content areas for all grades in elementary school. These students attended schools with regular instruction and without bilingual programs.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
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A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
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The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
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A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
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Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).