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Research from Professor Roberto Filippi (IOE) shows that early multilingual exposure creates long-term academic benefits for multilingual students compared to their monolingual peers, and its cultural factors offset the negative effects of low socioeconomic status.

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The study, published in the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, explores the impact of multilingualism and socioeconomic status on academic performance in the UK. Its findings challenge prevailing misconceptions about the academic disadvantages of multilingualism in early education. 

The study, led by IOE with Birkbeck, University of London, analysed data from over 3000 students in the National Pupil Database who took part in the Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP). 

The researchers looked at students’ performance in English, Mathematics and Science in Key Stage 2 (KS2-11 years) and Key Stage 4 (KS4-16 years). 

The researchers found that although multilingual learners initially face challenges in Key Stage 2, particularly in English and Science, they achieve comparable results with their monolingual peers by Key Stage 4. 

The evidence shows that multilingual students not only catch up, but excel over their monolingual counterparts in Key Stage 4, suggesting the benefits of early multilingualism and its associated cultural factors. 

The advantages are particularly significant for Simultaneous Multilinguals, children who are exposed to more than one language before the age of three. This group outperforms monolinguals through to GCSE level. 

Cultural factors, such as being part of a multilingual group, offset the detrimental effects of low socioeconomic status. Students from these backgrounds make substantial academic progress compared to monolinguals. 

The researchers underscore the need for strategies that recognise the cognitive benefits of multilingualism and integrate it into the curriculum – for example, through dual-language immersion programmes. 

The study highlights the importance of linguistic diversity and multilingual experiences to shape educational outcomes and contribute to a more inclusive and equitable education framework.

Links

• Read the paper: The impact of multilingualism and socio-economic status on academic performance: evidence from the SCAMP and the national pupil databases
• Professor Roberto Filippi’s UCL profile
• Multilanguage and Cognition Lab
• Department of Psychology and Human Development