Center for Applied Second Language Studies - The Northwest National Foreign Language Resource Center
Language learning may defy the achievement gap.
Language learning may defy the achievement gap.
Elements of Successful Language Programs

As educators, we see the impact successful language programs have on students every day. We see timid students break out of their shells and connect with their peers through a new language. We see the spark of inspiration when students learn a new cultural perspective. Not everyone is fortunate enough to see these tangible results of effective programs.

CASLS partnered with the New Jersey Department of Education to document how to most efficiently achieve such results. CASLS' research explored how program model and student factors such as socioeconomic status and race impact language learning. With this data, New Jersey policymakers formulated concrete plans for improving foreign language education across the state.

CASLS' research shows

  • Language learning defies the achievement gap. Given equal amounts of instruction, students in lower socioeconomic areas score similarly to students in higher socioeconomic areas.
  • Consistent, yearlong programs are more effective. Students perform better when instruction time is evenly distributed across the school year.
  • Students gain speaking proficiency more quickly than reading proficiency. They consistently score higher in speaking sections than reading sections.
  • Learning a new language takes time. Most non-heritage students require approximately 540 hours to reach Novice-High by eighth grade.
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Download the full report to learn more.

A Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) Grant through the New Jersey State Board of Education sponsors this infulential research on student proficiency.