Assessing the Effect of Foreign Language Immersion Programs on Intercultural Sensitivity in Elementary Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure whether a group of elementary students enrolled in a school with Foreign Language Immersion Programs scored higher in intercultural sensitivity (ICS) than students in an All-English school. The 82 participants (4th grade) completed the short form of Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity Scale (M-GUDS-S) and demographic information. ANOVA statistics indicated that ICS was significantly higher among students in the language immersion schools (P = .013) with a gender interaction (P = .031). The results confirmed the validity of the M-GUDS-S in measuring ICS and demonstrated the usefulness of Foreign Language Immersion Program in fostering ICS. Therefore, this type of programs has an important role to play in developing multicultural education and should be promoted on a larger scale to help reduce racism and prejudice in the society.