Speaking the same language: The effect of foreign origin teachers on students' language skills

Lisa Sofie Höckel
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Lisa Sofie Hoeckel

No 862, Ruhr Economic Papers from RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen

Abstract: This study investigates whether foreign origin teachers causally affect their students language skills in secondary school. Exploring within-student variation in assignment to teachers, I find that teachers who are immigrants or descendants of immigrants significantly increase the reading comprehension of students. The effect is strongest for foreign origin students and can partly be explained by a role model effect. The positive effect of bilingual foreign origin teachers is particularly large. They significantly increase reading comprehension for native and foreign origin students. Given their own experience in language learning, bilingual teachers seem exceptionally well-equipped in teaching languages to both native and foreign origin students.

Keywords: academic achievement; education economics; language skills; matching; migration; role model effect; teacher bias effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J13 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-mig and nep-ure
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Related works:
Working Paper: Speaking the same language - The effect of foreign origin teachers on students’ language skills (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:rwirep:862

DOI: 10.4419/86788999

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