Is the First Language a Resource, an Obstacle, or Irrelevant for Language Minority Students’ Education?

Abstract

Successful integration into the education system is of major importance for the future prospects of immigrants and their children as well as for the social cohesion and viability of the receiving societies. Language is generally viewed as an important aspect of this integration. Whereas there is widespread agreement that the language of the residence country (L2) is crucial for students’ educational success, the relevance of the language of the country of origin (L1) is disputed. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective and drawing on NEPS data, this contribution focuses on the role of L1 in the educational success of immigrants and their children and examines whether L1 serves as a resource, is an obstacle, or is mostly irrelevant. We describe key arguments and theoretical positions related to this issue and present findings from the project ‘The role of immigrants’ first and second language proficiency for social integration, particularly in education: Analyses of NEPS data’. We conclude by discussing these results and suggesting future avenues for research.