LAUSR

Abstract This paper examines the effects of linguistic diversity on students’ learning with a sample of 1603 5th grade students and 65 classes. Combining the theories of Piaget's concept of disequilibrium, language awareness and cognitive load , we investigated whether a class's linguistic diversity influences students’ reading comprehension and whether effects are different for students with and without migration background.  Analyses were computed with three diversity measures, each calculated twice: based on the language(s) spoken with parents; and based on the language(s) spoken with friends. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that linguistic diversity increases students’ reading comprehension. Students with migration background had lower benefits than those without a migration background . The significance of results was independent of the diversity measure used.