The Relationship between Bilingualism, Kindergarten Years and English Literacy of First Graders in Jordan

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the relationship
between bilingualism, and kindergarten enrolment years
before formal schooling on the one hand, and learning
English as a new language among the first graders in Jordan
on the other. The study was conducted over one whole
semester detecting the progress of a sample of 1012 first
graders in public schools in several areas in Jordan where
there are communities who speak more than one language.
The results revealed that students who did not attend KG
seemed to be low achievers, while bilinguals' achievement was
lower than monolinguals' at this level. On the other hand
bilingual students who attended KG for one or two years
achieved a slightly better results but statistically insignificant
in learning English. These results were interpreted in the light
of language distance and the language behaviour of code
shifting from one language to another.