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This study investigates the effect of bilingualism on learning English as a foreign language (L3), examining the impact of manner and sequence of bilingual acquisition and learning as well as language use practices in language minority children. With a sample of 1295 German eighth and ninth graders (bilingual: n = 456, monolingual: n = 839), we examined if certain aspects of bilingualism present an advantageous condition for learning English as a foreign language in bilingual language minority students. Controlling for socio-economic status, indicators of cultural capital, and gender, the regression analyses revealed higher L3 listening and reading outcomes for bilinguals who received formal instruction in their minority language, had acquired both languages in their first three years, and switched more often between their two languages, when compared to their other bilingual and monolingual peers. The discussion focuses on the importance for bilingual children in immigrant communities to have high proficiencies in both majority and minority languages in order to develop advantages in foreign language learning.
