Featured Research

The Economic Benefits of Multilingual Learning

California is home to nearly a quarter of the nation’s foreign-born population, and multilingual children represent 40% of the state’s public-school enrollment, a number that only continues to grow among the state’s youngest children. Unlike programs that have traditionally pushed students to learn English above all else, programs designed to support students’ home languages in addition to English – also know as multilingual programs – are increasingly gaining support. This study finds that supporting multilingual learning among California’s youngest children can improve educational outcomes, boost household incomes, and give California companies the edge needed to compete on the world stage.