The Relation between Heritage Language Use and Academic Performance: PISA 2018

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Sunday 9:45 am
  In Poster Session: Social, Cultural, and Emotional Foundations of Student Learning and Motivation

Abstract

Grounded in ecological systems theory, this study examines the relationships between students’ heritage language use with different audiences (e.g., parents, schoolmates, best friends) and academic achievement using PISA 2018 dataset. We examined the extent to which language minority (LMI) status and heritage language use predict reading and math achievement after accounting for parental and teacher support, intrinsic motivation, and demographics. After correlation and stepwise regression analyses on 4,838 middle school students from the United States, the findings suggested LMI was not a deficit status that disadvantaged their academic performance. Moreover, our findings revealed a mixed effect of heritage language use on predicting academic achievement, depending on the audience. Our study advocates educational equity by reconceptualizing LMI status as linguistic assets.

Authors

• Yan Wu, Johns Hopkins University

• Marcia H. Davis, Johns Hopkins University