ERIC Number: EJ1085227
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1479-0718
EISSN: N/A
Metalinguistic Awareness and Academic Achievement in a Linguistically Diverse School Setting: A Study of Lower Secondary Pupils in Denmark
Spellerberg, Stine Marie
International Journal of Multilingualism, v13 n1 p19-39 2016
This study focuses on metalinguistic awareness (MLA) and its relation to academic achievement for mono-, bi- and multilingual adolescents in Denmark. While MLA is one of several cognitive measures positively related to bilingualism and bilingualism is associated with academic advantages, Danish bi-/multilingual pupils appear not to benefit from their knowledge of more languages as they lag behind their monolingual school peers. Therefore, this study aims to depict the distribution of MLA between different linguistic groups in a Danish school context and to determine whether there is a correlation between MLA and academic achievement. Additionally, the relationship between socioeconomic status and test results is investigated. Participants are categorised according to the languages they report using actively. 219 pupils aged 14-16, 106 monolingual and 113 bi-/multilingual, completed a questionnaire and a test of MLA, both in Danish. School leaving exam results and a measure of socioeconomic status were also obtained. While results show no distinct bi-/multilingual advantage on the test of MLA, a strong correlation between school leaving exam results and MLA is found. Furthermore, Danish proficiency and socioeconomic status accounts for some of the variation in test results, thus moderating test performance differences found between groups.
Descriptors: Metalinguistics, Academic Achievement, Foreign Countries, Monolingualism, Bilingualism, Multilingualism, Indo European Languages, Correlation, Socioeconomic Status, Test Results, Classification, Language Usage, Questionnaires, Language Proficiency, Exit Examinations, Language Tests, Secondary School Students, Statistical Analysis, Regression (Statistics)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Denmark
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A