Editing Language immersion (section)

== Outcomes ==
Studies have shown that students who study a foreign language in school, especially those who start in elementary school, tend to receive higher standardized test scores than students who have not studied a foreign language in school.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Armstrong |first1=Penelope W. |last2=Rogers |first2=Jerry D. |title=Basic skills revisited: The effects of foreign language instruction on reading, math, and language arts |journal=Learning Languages |date=1997 |volume=2 |pages=20–23}}</ref>  According to additional research, learning another language can also help students do better in math, focusing, and remembering.<ref>{{cite web |title=Benefits of a Bilingual Brain |url=Benefits of a Bilingual Brain Infographic - e-Learning Infographics. (2014, January 31). Retrieved November 07, 2020, from https://elearninginfographics.com/benefits-of-a-bilingual-brain-infographic/ |website=e-Learning Infographics |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref> Students who study foreign languages also tend to have increased mental capabilities, such as creativity and higher-order thinking skills (see [[cognitive advantages of bilingualism]]) and have advantages in the workplace, such as higher salary and a wider range of opportunities, since employers are increasingly seeking workers with knowledge of different languages and cultures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/759|title=Why Study a Foreign Language?|last=Morris|first=Bernadette}}</ref> Bilingual immersion programs are intended to foster proficiency or fluency in multiple languages and therefore maximize these benefits. Even if fluency in the desired language is not fully attained, bilingual immersion programs provide a strong foundation for fluency later in life and help students gain appreciation of languages and cultures other than their own.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Riestra |first1=Miguel A. |last2=Johnson |first2=Charles E. |title=Changes in Attitudes of Elementary-School Pupils Toward Foreign-Speaking Peoples Resulting From the Study of a Foreign Language |journal=The Journal of Experimental Education |date=1 September 1964 |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=65–72 |doi=10.1080/00220973.1964.11010856 |issn=0022-0973}}</ref>

There are no long-term adverse effects of bilingual education on the learning of the majority language, regardless of whether the students' first language (L1) is a majority or a minority language or of the organization of the educational program. Several observed outcomes of bilingual education are the transfer of academic and conceptual knowledge across both languages, greater success in programs that emphasize biliteracy as well as bilingualism, and better developed second-language (L2) literary skills for minority students than if they received a monolingual education in the majority language.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Linguistic Diversity and Language Rights : Social Justice through Multilingual Education|last1=Skutnabb-Kangas|first1=Tove|last2=Phillipson|first2=Robert|last3=Mohanty|publisher=Ajit|year=2009|isbn=9781847691910|pages=20–21|author-link=Tove Skutnabb-Kangas}}</ref>

Language immersion programs with the goal of fostering bilingualism, Canada's French-English bilingual immersion program being one of the first, initially reported that students receive standardized test scores that are slightly below average. That was true in Canada's program, but by Grade 5, there was no difference between their scores and the scores of students who were instructed only in English. The English spelling abilities soon matched those of the English-only students. Ultimately, students did not lose any proficiency in English and were able to develop native-like proficiency in French reading and comprehension but they did not quite reach native-like proficiency in spoken and written French. However, the immersion program is seen as providing a strong foundation for oral French fluency later in life,<ref name=":02" /> and other similar programs that might not fully reach their projected goals may also be seen in the same light.

Programs with the goal of preserving heritage languages, such as Hawaii's language immersion program, have also reported initial outcomes of below-average test scores on standardized tests. However, the low test scores may not have been caused by purely language-related factors. For example, there was initially a lack of curriculum material written in Hawaiian, and many of the teachers were inexperienced or unaccustomed to teaching in Hawaiian. Despite the initial drawbacks, the Hawaiian program was overall successful in preserving Hawaiian as a heritage language, with students in the program being able to speak Hawaiian fluently while they learned reading, writing, and math, which were taught in Hawaiian.<ref name=":3" />

Partial immersion programs do not have the initial lag in achievement of the programs of Canada and Hawaii but are less effective than full immersion programs, and students generally do not achieve native-like L2 proficiency.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Campbell|first1=Russell N.|last2=Gray|first2=Tracy C.|last3=Rhodes|first3=Nancy C.|last4=Snow|first4=Marguerite Ann|date=1985-03-01|title=Foreign Language Learning in the Elementary Schools: A Comparison of Three Language Programs|journal=The Modern Language Journal|language=en|volume=69|issue=1|pages=44–54|doi=10.1111/j.1540-4781.1985.tb02526.x|issn=1540-4781}}</ref>