Obviously we in Australia are doing something right despite our official Multiculturalism policy:
Teenage children of migrants have better language skills than their classmates, while students who have spoken English for less than four years have higher literacy rates than Aboriginal students, according to statewide test results.
The English Language and Literacy Assessment (ELLA) results of year7 and year8 students also suggest that boys are catching up with girls in reading, writing and language skills.
The most notable results are from children of non-English-speaking backgrounds, who performed above the mean in language skills.
Dr Maureen Walsh, a senior lecturer in literacy education at the Australian Catholic University, said children who spoke another language at home had a cognitive advantage with literacy skills.
“Whether it’s Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean or Arabic, they have concept development in their first language and that transfers to the second,” she said
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