Sometimes less is more: educational effectiveness of English as a foreign language instruction in German classrooms

Abstract

This paper evaluates the effect of differing amounts of schooling on outcomes of lower secondary education. Two groups of German academic track students are compared who chose English as either their first (EFFL; n = 2,771) or second (ESFL; n = 345) foreign language throughout secondary school. While EFFL students receive an additional school year of EFL instruction, ESFL students are known to be positively selected in terms of cognitive aptitudes and socioeconomic background. This paper evaluates the impact of varying amounts of schooling on EFL achievement while accounting for student selectivity within a potential outcomes framework. Corresponding results illustrate no such impact. Alternative explanations are discussed and implications regarding the field of educational effectiveness research (EER) are highlighted.

Keywords:

• educational effectiveness research
• English as a foreign language
• differing amounts of schooling
• selection effects of foreign language choice
• propensity score matching

Notes

1. No second foreign language is introduced in German secondary schools that typically prepare students for vocational education in low prestigious jobs.

2. The following regulations, by and large, refer to all of the four German federal states investigated, that is, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Hamburg, and Hesse.

3. Moreover, curriculum studies outlined above were facilitated by focusing on four federal states only.