Two-Way Immersion Programs in the United States

Abstract

According to the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 29% of fourth grade English Language Learner (ELL) students scored at or above basic proficiency levels for reading (NCES, 2010, 49); a percentage which does not represent any real progress compared with the 2007’ reading score average of 28% (Garcia, 2009, 84). Furthermore, eighth graders’ reading scores fell three points from 2007 with 25% of ELL students at or above basic proficiency. These figures are shocking when compared to the percentage of fourth and eighth grade non-ELL students who perform at or above basic achievement for reading (69% and 76% , respectively) (NCES, 2010, 51). States with considerable ELL populations have been enacting policies that try to limit use of ELL native languages for teaching. This is the case of California in 1998, Arizona in 2000 and Massachusetts in 2002 which enacted policies along that line (Jost, 2009, 1031). For example, the passage of Proposition 227 in California in 1998 aimed at focusing support only to English-only models for ELL. The attitudes against bilingualism and the effect on ELLs became evident in school life, as this student describes: “If they were caught speaking Spanish [in high school], they would get detention, have their mouths washed out with soap, have to run around the track for hours and/or be sent home until they were ready to be a 'true Tiger' - which was the school mascot.” (MacGregor-Mendoza, 2010, 359). Such immense achievement gaps and initiatives against bilingual methodologies make one want to reassess the manner in which ELLs are being taught and reconsider some alternatives to enable more academic success among this population. With that in mind, the research question for this paper is to examine the role of a particular bilingual model in promoting better achievement among ELLs. More specifically, this is an assessment of the role of Two-Way Immersion (TWI) programs in the United States and its impact on ELL education. By assessing such a model from various points of view including historical, political, and with a thorough literature review, results will lead to sound recommendations to better implement TWI programs in the future. This would also serve to highlight the benefits of such programs, to finally have a better sense how bilingual models such TWI can be a positive force for the development and growth of ELLs.