Effects of Early Language Stays Abroad on the Foreign Language Proficiency of German High School Students

Bibliographic Data

ID21358098
AuthorsLars Hoffmann (0000-0002-7816-449X, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, corresponding author), Raphaela Porsch (0000-0002-1548-3776, University of Vechta), Stefan Schipolowski (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Year2026
Publication date2026-01-09
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguage Learning (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0023-8333 • E-ISSN: 1467-9922
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/lang.70023
OpenAlexW7120165337
LanguageEN
References cited32

This study examines the potential effects of language stays abroad, specifically student exchanges and language courses, on the foreign language proficiency of lower secondary students, in particular on their listening and reading comprehension. Using data from a nationwide, large‐scale study on German high school students (academic school track) in Year 9, we focused on students who learned either English ( n = 13,073) or French ( n = 3,261) as their first foreign language. To account for selectivity bias, we estimated the effects of student exchanges and language courses on the receptive language skills by employing propensity score matching, controlling for a comprehensive set of covariates. Our results indicate that student exchanges significantly enhance foreign language proficiency in both languages, especially in listening comprehension. The effects were more pronounced for French learners than for English learners. No significant results were found for language courses

Active listening · AP French Language · English as a foreign language · Foreign language · German · Language assessment · Language proficiency · Reading (process) · Set (abstract data type) · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · International Student and Expatriate Challenges · Multilingual Education and Policy

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