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In studies on reading comprehension and reading fluency skills in the majority language German at the end of grade 4, children in elementary schools in Germany with partial IM programs (one-way and two-way) have been compared to those in mainstream programs. No significant differences between the two groups were reported, and the immersion groups achieved age-appropriate values (e.g., Baumert et al., 2017; Gebauer et al. 2012, 2013; Möller et al., 2018; Steinlen, 2016; Steinlen & Piske, 2013, 2015, 2016a, 2018a; Zaunbauer et al., 2005, 2013, Zaunbauer & Möller, 2006, 2007, 2010, see also Baumert et al., 2012 for sixth grade students).

Similar results regarding majority language children’s literacy skills in their L1 have been reported for the Canadian French IM context. L1 English children in IM programs generally obtained the same results in L1 English reading tests as L1 English children in non-IM programs (e.g., Genesee, 1978, 2004; Genesee & Jared, 2008; Genesee, Holobow, Lambert & Chartrand, 1989; Geva & Clifton, 1994; Lambert & Tucker, 1972; Rubin, Turner & Kantor, 1991; Swain & Lapkin, 1982; Turnbull, Lapkin & Hart, 2001, 2003). And again, similar results regarding the development of children’s respective L1s have also been reported for IM programs in other countries (e.g., Cheng, Kirby, Quiang & Wade-Woolley, 2010 for China; Björklund & Mård-Miettinen, 2011 for Finland; Lasagabaster, 2001 for the Basque Country; Jenniskens, Leest, Wolbers, Krikhaar, Teunissen de Graaff, Unsworth, & Coppens, 2018 for the Netherlands). As students’ reading performance is also affected by their basic cognitive abilities, their social status and the level of their parents’ education (e.g., Baumert et al., 2017), these factors have been controlled for in many studies. The results of the studies generally indicate that attending IM programs does not seem to negatively affect the development of L1 reading skills of majority language children.

In studies on German writing skills (which mainly relate to spelling skills), elementary school students in partial IM programs and in less-intensive bilingual programs have been found to perform equally well as their peers in mainstream schools at the end of grade 4 (e.g., Böttger & Müller, 2020; Gebauer et al., 2012; Möller et al., 2018; Steinlen, 2018b; Steinlen & Piske, 2013, 2018a, 2020; Zaunbauer et al., 2005, 2013, Zaunbauer & Möller, 2006, 2007, 2010; to avoid possible selection effects many of these studies used basic cognitive abilities and socio-economic status as covariates). Similarly, in Canadian French IM programs, L1 English students’ English writing skills did not differ from their peers in regular programs (e.g., Genesee, 1987, 2004; Rubin et al., 1991; Turnbull et al., 2001). However, available evidence indicates that deficits initially appear in early full IM (Barik & Swain, 1976, but see Yadollahi, Steinlen & Piske, 2020) although these seem to balance out in one or two years after writing lessons in the L1 English have been introduced (Genesee, 2007; Rubin et al., 1991). In general, L1 literacy skills (be it reading or writing) of majority language children appear to develop age-appropriately in IM programs as well as in bilingual programs with lesser FL intensity.