On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of International Mother Language Day, new GEM Report analysis has looked at how the learning gap linked to language has changed over time, defined as the difference in the percentage of 15-year-old students speaking and not speaking the language of instruction at home who achieved minimum proficiency level (or Level 2) in reading and mathematics in the PISA learning assessment between 2012 and 2022.
The first thing to note is that, over the course of this decade, which has been marked by the pervasive influence of technology in young people’s lives but also by the impact of COVID-19, learning levels have dropped sharply in both reading and mathematics. But the next thing to note is that the impact has been disproportionate on learners who are disadvantaged due to linguistic reasons.
Our analysis found that the gap between the two groups increased on average between 2010 and 2022, from 12 to 18 percentage points in reading and from 10 to 15 percentage points in mathematics. This suggests that learners who do not speak the language of instruction at home, whether for historical reasons or due to migration and displacement, are at bigger risk.
Percentage of 15-year-old students who achieved a minimum proficiency level, by subject and language, middle- and high-income countries, 2012 and 2022
Source: GEM Report analysis of PISA data
If you don’t understand, how can you learn?
Analysis by the GEM Report team of the 2021 PIRLS learning assessment data had shown that, in upper-middle- and high-income countries, grade 4 students who spoke the language of instruction at home were 14% more likely to achieve minimum proficiency in reading than those who did not. The gap rose to 28% in France and to over 60% in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Slovakia, South Africa and Türkiye.
According to the 2022 PISA learning assessment, 15-year-olds speaking the language of instruction at home were 41% more likely to be able to achieve minimum proficiency in reading than those who did not. This gap ranged from a 4% gap in Canada, to around 40% in Germany and the Netherlands, and over 60% in Thailand. Putting together the 2021 PIRLS and 2022 PISA data shows that the disadvantage that children and adolescents have in reading with understanding if they do not speak the language of instruction at home increases between the end of primary and the end of secondary school.
Disadvantages related to language often interact with location and wealth. Not speaking the language of instruction at home adds another layer of disadvantage. According to the 2019 PASEC learning assessment, 54% of students reached minimum proficiency in reading at the end of primary education in Cameroon; but so did only 35% of children in rural areas and just 18% of rural children who did not speak the language of instruction. In Togo, 39% of children reached minimum proficiency in reading, but so did only 7% of children who did not speak the language of instruction and belonged to the poorest quintile of household.
Learning gaps due to language also affect performance in mathematics and science, as suggested by the 2023 TIMSS learning assessment, which was administered mostly in upper-middle- and high-income countries. Among grade 4 and grade 8 students, those ‘always’ or ‘almost always’ speaking the language of instruction at home on average achieved the minimum proficiency level in mathematics and science, while those ‘always’ speaking a different language at home did not achieve the minimum proficiency level on average in any country. The largest differences are recorded in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
Addressing these gaps requires context-specific approaches, as our new advocacy brief just released for International Mother Language Day explains. Explore the data on our WIDE database to see where the language-related learning gap is in your country; help us share the message of the importance of a learning environment where every student, regardless of background or ability, can thrive.
