Bilingual students have a lower level than those studying in Spanish, according to Carlos III University

According to a study by the Carlos III University of Madrid, Students who study in English have a lower level than those who study in Spanish, in terms of content taught in the different subjects they study.

The Carlos III University of Madrid, together with the Autonomous University also of Madrid and the University College of London, have conducted this study on the first two promotions of students who left the bilingual program of the public school.

The conclusions are clear: Students who have studied in the bilingual program have a lower level than those who have completed their studies in Spanish, both in understanding and in the global notes of some subjects.

Mastering a second language is very important for the future of our children but spending more time explaining the contents in English has meant for students a lower knowledge and understanding of those subjects taught in English such as social sciences and natural sciences fundamentally , according to the results of the study published by this Madrid university.

The understanding and grades in these subjects are higher and higher in students who receive these same classes, social sciences and natural sciences, only in Spanish.

It also coincides that the profile of the students who were part of the bilingual program and whose parents had a lower educational level, showed an even clearer negative result.

The hypothesis that can explain it leads researchers to think about the lack of help that students could receive at home when doing homework in these subjects taught in English. Like the possibility that at that lower educational level of the parents there is also a lower level of family resources.

Discordant Voices

The study has been openly criticized by the Bilingual Teaching Association because it considers that it is old since it refers to the first two promotions (the one of 2004 and the one of 2005) that attended bilingualism.

They believe that it is not a sufficiently representative study because in those early years, teacher preparation was scarce and that is what they blame for the difference in knowledge between some students and others. Not the bilingualism itself but the lack of preparation of the teachers who began teaching this program, according to the Bilingual Teaching Association, is the reason why students show lower knowledge in these subjects.

The conclusions of the study published by the Carlos III University are only based on the bilingual programs developed in public centers, so far, there are no studies on the possible bilingual programs that may be being developed in private and / or concerted centers.

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