Dual Language Programs Research Articles

Sustainability of a dual language program during and beyond COVID-19 challenges

ABSTRACT This study evaluates the Dual Language Program (DLP) implemented at a Title I public school in Baltimore City during the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 school years. Building on previous research, the DLP's implementation, sustainability, and effects on students’ learning outcomes were examined. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study’s second phase included participants from the school’s mainstream, English-only program (MP), enriching the overall understanding of the school community’s perception of the program. Data were collected through surveys, classroom observations, and standardized assessments—the DIBELS and the iReady Diagnostic assessments. Findings showed challenges with curriculum standardization and prevalent misconceptions about bilingualism. Nevertheless, the program's successes were evident in DLP students’ enhanced engagement, parental involvement, and community support. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DLP demonstrated its capacity for scaleability and sustainability. During the 2020–2021 school year, regardless of virtual learning, DLP students not only maintained but, in the case of Cohort 1, showed greater growth in reading skills compared to MP students, with Cohort 3 DLP students improving to reach statistically similar performance levels to their MP peers. Findings indicate that the DLP has the potential to serve as a sustainable educational program, fostering both dual language proficiency and academic outcomes.

Beyond Lau: Envisioning humanizing and culturally sustaining workspaces for teachers in dual-language bilingual education schools

ABSTRACT Fifty years after the Lau decision, dual-language programs face critical challenges, particularly a national teacher shortage, especially in bilingual programs representing less commonly taught languages like Mandarin Chinese. This study explores the workplace environments of 13 Mandarin Dual Language Bilingual Education (MDLBE) teachers in a diverse urban school district. Drawing on Freire’s concept of humanization, Paris’s cultural sustainment framework, and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, qualitative interviews reveal themes of outsiderness, coupled with a need for humanizing relationships with colleagues and leadership. Findings highlight the importance of culturally sustaining practices and systemic changes to foster inclusive, supportive environments, advocating for a transformation “Beyond Lau” to sustain dual-language programs.

Examining Two-Way Dual Language Program Dispersion in the Context of Neighborhood Change, Charter School Expansion, and Enrollment Decline

Examining Two-Way Dual Language Program Dispersion in the Context of Neighborhood Change, Charter School Expansion, and Enrollment Decline

Lau v. Nichols revisited: unveiling dual language program disparities in California for Asian students and marginalized communities

AbstractCalifornia has witnessed substantial growth in multilingual programs over the past half-century since the foundational Lau v. Nichols decision, with one in seven public schools statewide offering such programs for students. Likewise, the rapid rise in California’s Asian population, as well as the increase in both overall racial diversity and socioeconomic disparities across the state, have influenced dual language bilingual education discussions. Commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Lau decision, this study examines the impact of school and community characteristics on the availability of dual language programs in California public schools, with particular focus on the state’s Asian student population. Employing logistic regression analysis to delve into the American Community Survey and California Department of Education datasets, the study specifically examines how student demographics and school characteristics (e.g., grade level, charter, and magnet status), as well as community features (e.g., the share of foreign-born populations and median household income), are associated with the offering of dual language programs in California schools. Despite the considerable growth of the state’s Asian American population, the study could not find a meaningful connection between Asian representation and the provision of dual language programs. In addition, the results reveal severe equity concerns regarding low-income students’ access to dual language programs. Charter schools also tend to underutilize dual language programs compared to their non-charter counterparts. Based on the study’s findings, we raise concerns regarding why the presence of Asian students cannot be better leveraged as a driving force for implementing dual language programs in California’s public schools and highlight the persistent disparities faced by economically disadvantaged students.

Academic achievement in English: Minority home language students in early French immersion

Aims and Objectives: Increasingly, students who speak a minority language at home (minority-L1) enroll in Early French Immersion in Canada. A frequent question is the extent to which they develop academic abilities in English. Accordingly, this study asks: (a) Do a similar percentage of minority-L1 students meet provincial standards for academic achievement when tested in English when they attend French immersion compared to English language of instruction? (b) What are the outcomes for minority-L1 students with relatively low English proficiency? and (c) What factors contribute to minority L1-students’ academic achievement when evaluated through English? Methods: We compared performance on province-wide assessments of English reading, writing, and mathematics for Grade 3, minority-L1 students enrolled in French immersion ( n = 196) and in English ( n = 169). Data and Analysis: Chi-square analyses compared the percentage of participants meeting the provincial standard in each academic domain in French immersion and English programs. Predictors of performance within two English proficiency groups ( low and not low) were investigated using binary logistic regression analyses. Findings and Conclusions: In each domain, a similar percentage of minority-L1 students in French immersion and in English met the provincial standard, illustrating that immersion programs are suitable for minority-L1 students. Logistic regression revealed some overlap in individual difference factors, but the constellation of significant predictors differed for students with low English proficiency and those with relatively higher levels of proficiency. Individual learner profiles need to be considered when determining how to support these students. Originality: This study specifically considered performance of minority-L1 students across programs and examined if predictors of achievement in English are comparable for students with different levels of English proficiency. Significance: As school boards work to improve inclusivity within their programs, this study offers much needed evidence concerning the performance of minority-L1 students in dual language programs.

Hampering the Dogmatization Within the System by Building an Itinerant Practice in Bilingual Education and Dual-Language Programs

Hampering the Dogmatization Within the System by Building an Itinerant Practice in Bilingual Education and Dual-Language Programs

“I Have Magic in My Mouf!”: Embodied languaging enactments of African American multilingual students in a Spanish-English immersion program

There is limited research that examines African American students’ language learning experiences in Spanish-English dual-language program settings, which exacerbates the narrative that African American students are not the “ideal” demographic for bilingual programs. To address these concerns, we highlight the experiences of two African American multilingual children to examine how they form their translanguaging repertoires. Specifically, we focus on three types of enactments in which they embodied these repertoires, which revealed how they engaged language learning in dynamic and varied ways. These examples further challenge traditional norms engendered in bilingual programming writ large that exhibit narrow viewpoints of language speakers and language speaking.

Indigenous Latinx students and translanguaging: The possibilities and challenges of using K’iche’ in a kindergarten Spanish-English handwriting classroom

ABSTRACT Many Indigenous Latinx students in Spanish/English dual language programs in the US speak languages that are often not valued or taken advantage of in the process of learning Spanish and English. This participatory critical (collective) autoethnography explores the possibilities of handwriting lessons as a vehicle for the incorporation of K’iche’ (a Mayan language spoken in Guatemala) into the classroom. Findings reveal ways in which the activities helped to elevate the status of K’iche’ in the school and make students/families feel more valued, but also ways to improve the activities so that Indigenous Latinx families have a more central role.

The comprehension of clitic gender in child heritage and second language Spanish: evidence from a dual language program

Despite the growth of dual-language programs in the United States, few studies have examined how children acquire Spanish through immersion. This article compares how heritage speakers (HS) and English-fluent Spanish L2 learners (L2L) immersed in Spanish comprehend gender in direct object clitics, an area of Spanish grammar prone to bilingual effects. A total of 78 English-dominant children enrolled in a dual language school participated in the experiment: 24 HS (6 in 2nd grade, 10 in 4th/5th grade, 8 in 7th/8th grade) and 54 L2L (16 in 2nd grade, 20 in 4th/5th grade, 18 in 7th/8th grade). Participants completed a forced-choice task which tested their ability to select target-like clitic gender after hearing sentences such as ‘La niña está tocando la guitarra (feminine). ¿Qué hace?' The girl is playing the guitar (feminine). What does she do? * ‘Lo toca' (masculine singular clitic)/ ‘La toca' (feminine singular clitic) She plays it. Results did not reveal any significant differences at the p < 0.05 level between the HS and L2L groups with accuracy in clitic gender. We found that in receptive knowledge of masculine clitic gender, the HS and L2L children had very similar scores in the 2nd grade and showed a similar improvement in accuracy by the 7th/8th grades. However, we did not find a similar pattern of growth in children's ability to select target-like feminine gender in either group. We discuss our findings and propose possible implications for immersion programs.

Examining One-Way Dual Language Elementary Latinx Bilingual Learners’ Trajectory on a State Standardized Reading Assessment

ABSTRACT The U.S. population has become more racially and ethnically diverse over time. The Latinx population growth makes Spanish the most common language encountered in non-native English-speaking populations such as Texas. The research objective of this study was to examine if implementing a One-Way Dual Language Education (DLE) Program could result in positive outcomes on the reported reading performance of Latinx bilinguals as indicated by the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) standardized assessment. This study aimed to investigate the possible impact the one-way dual language program may have on bilingual learners’ (BLs) reading assessment scores compared to other second language learners in Texas. The study analyzed the standardized state assessment reading scores in both English and Spanish of over 1100 BLs in a one-way DLE program and found that the BLs in the dataset demonstrated a positive trajectory in the mean scale scores as they progressed through elementary grades. The results provide a significant contribution to the research that supports the effectiveness of DLE programs, especially for Latinx BLs.

Measurement Model of Input Constructs for the Implementation of Dual Language Programme (DLP)

Measurement Model of Input Constructs for the Implementation of Dual Language Programme (DLP)

Localising international schools in multilingual Switzerland: from parental strategies to institutional dual-language programmes

ABSTRACT This article aims to complexify the linguistic dimension of international schooling in light of the increasing diversification of the field but also as a result of the ‘banalisation’ of English and the growing ‘added’ value of multilingual competence in the knowledge economy. Drawing on data from focus groups with mobile families and institutional documents from an international school in Switzerland, we claim that the value of English-medium education to facilitate worldwide mobility is simultaneously conceived by parents as an obstacle for their children’s acquisition of certain linguistic capitals in the locality. This engenders constant family (re-)evaluations of school choice and the development of strategies for children to acquire locally-available linguistic competences. The Swiss context activates the multilingual imagination of global middle-class families who demand that the school help their children maximise their chances of local linguistic capitalisation. In our case study, the current educational shift responds to parental desires for elite multilingualism with French and materialises in an optional dual-language programme to attract an increasing number of Swiss and established transnational families in a competitive eduscape.

Writing Matters: Honoring Identities and Inviting Translanguaging in a Dual-Language Elementary Classroom

Teaching within a Vietnamese Two-Way Dual Language Program, the author draws upon her Asian-American background as a reader and writer to inform her pedagogy, emphasizing the promotion of students’ identities as readers, writers, and individuals.

Dual Language Education and Academic Growth

Background or Context: Dual language education aims to foster the development of bilingualism, biliteracy, sociocultural competence, and academic skills in all school subjects. Early correlational research suggests that participation in dual language education is associated with higher achievement. Recent studies leveraged more comprehensive sets of baseline characteristics and found that dual language students improved their achievement status more than other students. A major limitation to these studies is their lack of ability to model within-student growth. Thus, we lack evidence on the relationship between dual language education and growth trajectories within and across grades. Purpose: This paper reports academic achievement and growth in grades 2 through 8 for Hispanic participants and nonparticipants of a Spanish–English dual language program. It extends the literature by providing novel evidence on seasonal patterns of learning for multilingual students across the elementary and middle grades. Research Design: Applying a piecewise multilevel model to rich assessment data on a large sample of Hispanic students in a district in the Midwest, I compare the math and English reading growth rates of participants to nonparticipants of a dual language (DL) program. By separately specifying growth terms for each school year and summer, I test whether any differences in growth rates between DL and non-DL students expand, stay the same, or diminish across grade levels. Conclusion: Dual language participants started second grade with lower achievement than nonparticipants. In math, dual language participants grew more than nonparticipants during each year in grades 2 to 5 but lost more learning during summers. In English reading, dual language participants grew more during some school years. These findings suggest summer learning opportunities are crucial for addressing achievement disparities.

Student Attitude and Behaviour in The Implementation of Dual Language Programme for Science Subjects in Primary Schools

Student Attitude and Behaviour in The Implementation of Dual Language Programme for Science Subjects in Primary Schools

A Heteroglossic Lens on Washington State's Growing Dual Language for Multilingual Learners

This article examines Washington State's growing dual language program through the lens of heteroglossia. A heteroglosic lens is significant to understanding the contemporary linguistic landscape and framing language policies that will equitably serve multilingual learners and communities. With the increasing multilingual complexities of today's classrooms and the history of academic achievement gaps between monolingual and multilingual learners, heteroglossia illuminates the contextual ways in which language practices and policies hegemonize certain groups and create educational and social inequities. The article argues that unless the state's language policy is structurally revised and informed with a heteroglossic ideology and theorization of language education, its aspirational goals of equitable education for its multilingual learners may never be attained. It offers an overview of the theoretical lens of heteroglossia that must guide the planning of an equitable language policy/program that reflects multilingual learners' authentic fluid language practices.

Distributive leadership as predictor of 21st century teaching practices

The concept of distributive leadership is a vital component of 21st century teaching practices. This study aimed to identify the dimensions that influence the development and implementation of science and mathematics teaching in dual language program schools. It was conducted with the help of over 336 teachers from 93 dual language program (DLP) schools in Malaysia. The distributive leadership readiness scale and 21st century skill (4C) questionnaire was used to collect data and analyze the effects of various dimensions on the development and implementation of science and mathematics teaching in dual language program schools. The results of the study revealed that the P3 model was associated with 14.9% (=.149) increase in the variance of 21st century teaching practices. The results of the analysis revealed that the changes in the three leadership style components included in the regenerating model were significant. The shared responsibility, leadership style and the combination of these dimensions contributed to the 12.9% (=.129) increase in variance. The research also found a positive relationship between 21st century teaching practices and the distributive leadership concept. The findings support the notion that distributive leadership can be a weak factor influencing the development and implementation of 21st century teaching practices.

Students’ Algebraic Proficiency and Attitude towards Learning Algebra

Learning algebra is a difficult process that necessitates a positive attitude in order to maintain interest and master key concepts. Previous research found that students' attitudes influenced their algebra learning. As a result, more input is required to observe the current influence of attitudes on algebra learning. This study aims to investigate secondary school students’ levels of proficiency and attitudes towards learning algebra. A case study was employed to collect data using an algebra test, a questionnaire on attitude, and task-based interviews. The subjects of this study were Form Three and Form Four students who were in the Dual Language Programme (DLP) in a school in Malaysia. A total of 93 students volunteered to participate in this study, and three of them were interviewed for insights into solving algebra problems. This study revealed that (1) there was no significant difference in algebra achievement between the Form Three and Form Four students; (2) there was a negative correlation between the achievement and attitudes; and (3) the students displayed rather low proficiency in answering the test questions, which could be attributed to difficulties with comprehension of problems in algebra and inadequate reasoning when applying problem solving strategies. These findings have implications for developing positive attitudes towards the learning of algebra. It is recommended that educators look into these areas to equip students with the right attitudes and knowledge for advanced learning at university.

Developing Wordlist for Primary Science Textbooks in Dual Language Programme

Developing Wordlist for Primary Science Textbooks in Dual Language Programme

Level of Teacher's Readiness towards the Implementation of Dual Language (Dual Language Program) in Mathematics Subjects in Schools - Inland Schools, Sarawak

Level of Teacher's Readiness towards the Implementation of Dual Language (Dual Language Program) in Mathematics Subjects in Schools - Inland Schools, Sarawak