Abstract
Summary
A is for apple, B is for Bushra: The influence of language distance and colonial experience on
reading
This study examines the effect of the distance between origin language and destination language on
the reading skills of immigrant students, by building upon insights on the development of world languages,
obtained from human population genetics. Lower-level research units are 1759 first-generation
immigrants from PISA 2003, all aged fifteen or sixteen, and living in a country which has a
Germanic national language. Higher-level research units are 13 destination countries and 46 origin
countries. Cross-classified multilevel models test for effects of language distance, and those of the
modernization of origin countries and their colonial past, as well as for influences of individual characteristics.
Results show that the more an origin language differs from a Germanic destination language,
the lower a student’s reading score. Migrants from countries colonized by a country with a
Germanic language have higher reading scores.
Original language | Dutch |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 258 |
Number of pages | 1 |
Journal | Mens & Maatschappij |
Volume | 83 |
Issue number | 3 |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |