Dual Language Bilingual Education Research Articles

“Eu sei, I know”: Equity and Immigrant Experience in a Portuguese‐English Dual Language Bilingual Education Program

Recent scholarship reveals how English can be disproportionately privileged in dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programming (Cervantes‐Soon et al., 2017; Valdés, 1997). Through a program designed to serve Brazilian (im)migrant populations, this study expands the scope of DLBE research. This study took place in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, which has just emerged from a 15‐year period of English‐only legislation. It explores language status in a context of Portuguese Brazilian (im)migrant experience that has been largely unexplored in the TESOL literature. The researchers argue that there are three main dynamics of equity and language practices that need examination. While dual language teachers highly valued instruction in Portuguese, not all community stakeholders viewed Portuguese as a valuable language, accentuating inequalities in the experiences of children in the classroom. Brazilian immigrant children actively positioned themselves as experts during Portuguese instruction, however, often, they did not enjoy the attention and support that their English‐dominant peers experienced. Finally, Brazilian immigrant students' participation in the Portuguese‐led portions of the day was not conducive to further development of their advanced Portuguese knowledge. Through the combination of these dynamics, Brazilian immigrant children elevated the status of the language in their formal instructional environment, but were not themselves afforded a similarly high status.

Una Búsqueda de la Equidad y la Justicia: District Leaders Attempt to Expand Dual Language Bilingual Education for Equity

This case examines one district’s attempts to enhance and rework its approach to dual language bilingual education (DLBE). Upon her hire at “Triton Public Schools,” the new coordinator for language services noticed that Spanish-speaking students designated as English Learners (ELs) had inequitable access to the district’s only DLBE school, and that other programs designed for them did not result in as high academic achievement as DLBE. Conversations by district leadership to make significant changes in their approach to DLBE resulted in public outcry and confusion from educators, as well as Spanish- and English-speaking parents. Our discussion centers on how to employ courageous and social justice–minded leadership to enhance equity, access, and high academic achievement for marginalized student populations in bilingual education.

Vernacular Spanish as a promoter of critical consciousness in dual language bilingual education classrooms

ABSTRACT Historically, Spanish-speaking students have not been allowed to use their home and community linguistic practices in their schooling in the U.S., even in most Spanish-English dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs, which require standard Spanish with strict language separation policies. These pedagogical practices have led to the reproduction of deficit language ideologies in DLBE classrooms that may harm students. In this essay, we call for programs to adopt vernacular forms of Spanish, including translanguaging practices, in bilingual and biliteracy instruction in order to meet the needs of Spanish-speaking students and combat deficit language ideologies and practices. From a critical pedagogical perspective, deliberate inclusion of vernacular Spanish (and translanguaging) in bilingualism and biliteracy is an ideal means to develop critical consciousness for students in DLBE, which can serve to combat deficit language ideologies, and aligns to the proposal of critical consciousness as the fourth goal of DLBE. We offer recommendations for teacher educators and DLBE practitioners.

Contesting math as the universal language: a longitudinal study of dual language bilingual education language allocation

ABSTRACT In this study, we used a quasi-experimental, longitudinal design to examine the English language arts (ELA) and mathematics test scores of emergent bilinguals (EBs) in DLBE 50:50 models versus English as a second language (ESL) models in Indiana over four academic school years. With a focus on the midwestern U.S., we bring attention to a less-studied area where the EB population is more recent, but quickly growing. Results show that students who attended a DLBE program rather than an ESL program, scored significantly higher on ELA tests, but the association between program type and mathematics outcomes was more complex. The discussion and implications caution the English as a second language, bilingual, and dual language bilingual education fields to conduct a comprehensive analysis of content allocation and content complexity in relationship to language designation, instead of solely focusing on the overall language allocation of the DLBE program model.

The (invisible) work of Dual Language Bilingual Education teachers

ABSTRACTThe shortage of Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) teachers is uncontested. Yet while we have focused on recruiting and preparing DLBE teachers, we have neglected exploring how to retain currently practicing DLBE teachers. This article presents a small-scale study of one aspect of DLBE teachers’ work – the selection and creation of curriculum materials in languages other than English. All six of the teachers interviewed for this study lack sufficient materials in the language in which they teach. To fill the gap, they translate English resources as well as create original material. None are given additional planning time and most state their administrators are unaware of the time they spend developing curriculum materials for their classrooms. Using an “invisible work” framework originally conceptualized by second-wave feminists, this study highlights the manner in which DLBE teachers’ bilingualism is perceived to be their natural way of being and therefore translating becomes an expected part of their job. It also highlights the importance of taking a critical look at the additional burdens DLBE teachers have in their work so that we ensure they do not lead to teacher attrition in a field where the teacher shortage is at crisis levels.

Translanguaging as a pedagogy for equity of language minoritized students

ABSTRACT For years, bilingual programmes have allocated the languages of bilinguals to separate teachers, lessons, or even days or hours of the week to avoid damaging the ‘purity’ of languages, confusing language-minoritized students and hindering their achievement (Creese & Blackledge, 2011. Separate and flexible bilingualism in complementary schools: Multiple language practices in interrelationship. Journal of Pragmatics, 43, 1196–1208. doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2010.10.006; García, 2014. Countering the dual: Transglossia, dynamic bilingualism and translanguaging in education. In R. Rubdy & L. Alsagoff (Eds.), The global-local interface, language choice and hybridity (pp. 100–118). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters). The authenticity and the effectiveness of these practices have recently been questioned, and alternative pedagogical approaches, which view bilingualism as a unitary linguistic system and a resource for content and language learning, have been proposed. Translanguaging is one of these pedagogical approaches that has emerged to counteract the strict separation of language policies in schools and advocates that an effective pedagogy should mirror the fluid languaging practices of bilinguals (Sánchez, García, & Solorza, 2017. Reframing language allocation policy in dual language bilingual education. Bilingual Research Journal, 1–15). This paper aims to explain the development of translanguaging as a teaching method in schools and the intersections between translanguaging as a pedagogical tool and the tenets of critical teaching. First, monoglossic and heteroglossic language ideologies and how they perceive bilingualism are discussed. Next, translanguaging is defined and differentiated from code-switching. Finally, translanguaging is discussed as a transformative pedagogy used to promote equity in the classrooms that include language-minoritized students. Although translanguaging has international relevance, this study draws only from the U.S. context.

Equity perspectives and restrictionist policies: Tensions in dual language bilingual education

ABSTRACT Amidst the current climate surrounding bilingual education in the U.S., this study looked critically at the ways language education policies informed bilingual education as language was constructed and performed in a dual language bilingual, Spanish-English, third-grade classroom. This four-year ethnographic study explored the hegemonic realities of TWDLI classrooms and the role language played in affording and restricting the types of talk that occurred. Two primary findings were: (1) the tensions embedded in contexts of language and power gave way to restrictionist policies that both protected and constrained the types of talk that occurred; and (2) translanguaging manifested during both dominant language instruction as well as unrestricted spontaneous language events as participants exercised agentive power while negotiating both covert and over policies through resistance capitals.

Head Start educators’ beliefs about bilingualism, dual language development, and bilingual education

ABSTRACT This study employed survey methodology to examine the beliefs of Head Start educators about bilingualism, dual language development, and bilingual education and explored relationships between demographic variables and beliefs. Participants came from two large cities in California, a state that until very recently had a restrictive language policy banning bilingual education. Results indicate that while participants exhibited overall favorable views of bilingualism, responses to several questions related to dual language development and bilingual education were more variable and reflect shifting ideologies regarding bilingualism. Participants who spoke more than one language, were born outside of the United States, and reported an ethnicity other than white, demonstrated more favorable views of bilingual education. Education and major, which have been identified as predictors of favorable beliefs about bilingualism in K-12 settings, were not related to the beliefs of Head Start educators in our sample. The exploration of beliefs about bilingualism and bilingual education is particularly timely given recent research and policy recommendations regarding the long term benefits of bilingualism and the Head Start performance standard requirement that teachers support the development of children’s home language and engage in teaching practices that support both bilingualism and biliteracy.

The Expansion of Dual Language Bilingual Education into New Communities and Languages: The Case of Hebrew in a New York City Public Middle School

This article describes a case study of dual language bilingual education (DLBE) that challenges the model’s traditional mold while offering important insights into its utility for communities of less commonly taught languages. We begin with an outline of the expansion of DLBE in New York City, part of a broader national trend. We then explore a new Hebrew-English DLBE program at a traditional New York City public middle school, documenting the program’s establishment and evolution over its first few years. Following this, we examine the school’s replacement of DLBE with a “heritage language program” model and show how both options are mismatched to the community’s actual needs or interests and ultimately restrict the possibilities for Hebrew learning. Specifically, we contribute to growing critiques of rigidity in program models, showing how at times adherence to the model is prioritized over the actual needs of students and their families—even when school leaders maintain they are implementing DLBE for the community. We argue that alternatives to DLBE with greater flexibility can serve crucial goals for local communities.

Bilingualism, Biliteracy, Biculturalism, and Critical Consciousness for All: Proposing a Fourth Fundamental Goal for Two-Way Dual Language Education

Two-way dual language (TWDL) bilingual education programs share three core goals: academic achievement, bilingualism and biliteracy, and sociocultural competence. This article proposes a fourth core goal: critical consciousness. Although TWDL programs are designed to integrate students from diverse language, culture, and race backgrounds, equity is unfortunately still a challenge in TWDL classrooms and schools. We argue that centering critical consciousness—or fostering among teachers, parents, and children an awareness of the structural oppression that surrounds us and a readiness to take action to correct it—can support increased equity and social justice in TWDL education. We elaborate four elements of critical consciousness: interrogating power, critical listening, historicizing schools, and embracing discomfort. We illustrate these elements with examples from TWDL research and practice. In addition, we describe how critical consciousness impacts and radicalizes the other three core goals, in turn supporting the development of more successful, equitable, and socially just TWDL schools.

Scaffolds, signs, and bridges: Language ideologies and translanguaging in student-teaching experiences

ABSTRACTThis study examines preservice teachers’ (PSTs) experiences with language ideologies in clinical placements across an academic year. Using methods derived from phenomenology, it explores how PSTs constructed and contested language ideologies about translanguaging in dual-language and transitional bilingual education elementary classrooms. Findings show that PST discourse evidenced ideologies of translanguaging as a bridge for connecting languages, a scaffold for participation, and a sign of students’ linguistic expertise and understandings of content. Findings also suggest, however, that PST discourse evidenced ideologies of translanguaging as transgressive of language policies and norms. The study concludes with recommendations for supporting PSTs in clinical experiences through attention to curricular and dynamic approaches to translanguaging, as well as specific attention to language ideologies.

“I wonder why they don’t do the two-way”: Disrupting the one-way/two-way dichotomy, re-envisioning the possibilities of dual language bilingual education

ABSTRACTThis article describes the implementation process of a top-down dual-language bilingual education (DLBE) program in a large urban district, specifically examining the development of one-way (OW) and two-way (TW) DLBE programs. We explored how teachers made sense of, interpreted, and executed the educational language policy with these two distinct program tracks. We found educational disparities, inequities, and misconceptions both articulated and enacted by participants regarding the distinctions between OW and TW DLBE. The study contributes to the current conversation in the field that interrogates potential racial and socioeconomic inequity in the implementation of DLBE. We finish with a discussion of how these static language policy program labels could be re-envisioned to center the bilingual language development opportunities of all learners, including emerging bilinguals, multilinguals, English-dominant students, and heritage language learners.

The danger of the dual-language enrichment narrative: Educator discourses constructing exclusionary participation structures in bilingual education

ABSTRACTResearchers have identified inequities in dual-language bilingual education (DLBE) student participation, and with large-scale DLBE expansion, equitable student access is an increasingly important issue. In this study, I used a multimethod, multisite, comparative analysis to critically examine educator discourses addressing student participation in DLBE from two highly distinct bilingual education contexts (one in which the programs are generally designed for initially English-dominant speakers [Utah] and one in which the programs are predominantly designed for initially Spanish-dominant speakers [Texas]). This article explored how educators’ discourses and embedded language ideologies reinforced or reinvented the set of cultural rules and power relations regarding student access to DLBE. Teachers’ inclusionary and exclusionary discourses created distinct DLBE participation structures. Context and ideologies worked in tandem to discursively construct a more open or closed-off program to particular students with different academic, linguistic, and sociocultural backgrounds. Students that were perceived by educators to struggle academically and/or linguistically were discursively discouraged or closed off from program participation. This article demonstrates how the DLBE enrichment narrative and embedded discourses of ability and elitism can be problematic and may ultimately exclude students who have much to gain and lose from program participation.

Reframing language allocation policy in dual language bilingual education

This article addresses language allocation policies in what is increasingly called “Dual Language Education” (DLE) in the U.S., offering a challenge to the strict language separation policies in those programs and a proposal for flexibility that transforms them into “Dual Language Bilingual Education” (DLBE). The article offers a historical review of policies and practices in bilingual education and the ways in which the present language policies for DLE have come about. It then provides a critical assessment of those policies, which focus on teaching two languages, rather than educating students bilingually. We argue that the rigid language allocation policies of DLE ignore the sociolinguistic realities of bilingual learning for all students, especially for language-minoritized bilingual students. The main part of the article sets forth a new alternative policy proposal for language allocation that more coherently reflects the dynamic nature of bilingualism and reclaims the criticality of bilingual education and its social justice purpose. The proposal embodies an understanding of bilingual education through a translanguaging lens to open up spaces where students develop not only their bilingualism and biliteracy, but also a criticality that resists social arrangements of language normativity that differentiate and exclude. The translanguaging allocation policy proposed here works with the existing spaces for English and the Language Other than English, but introduces three components that offer the flexibility and criticality needed to educate bilingual students for the future: (1) translanguaging documentation; (2) translanguaging rings; and (3) translanguaging transformative spaces.

Challenging Linguistic Purism in Dual Language Bilingual Education: A Case Study of Hebrew in a New York City Public Middle School

ABSTRACTDual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs, in which students are taught language and academic content in English and a partner language, have dramatically grown in popularity in U.S. schools. Moving beyond the teaching of Spanish and Chinese, DLBE programs are now being offered in less commonly taught languages and attracting new student populations. Based on qualitative research conducted in a New York City public middle school that recently began a Hebrew DLBE program, we found that this program, in its inception and design, challenges traditional definitions of DLBE and offers new understandings about bilingual education for the 21st century. We argue that the policies and guidelines for the provision of DLBE and the scholarship upon which they are based are rooted in notions of linguistic purism that fail to consider or meet the needs of communities enrolling in bilingual education programs today.

Teacher language ideologies mediating classroom-level language policy in the implementation of dual language bilingual education

Drawing on multiple measures of language ideology, this paper examines the language ideologies of two third grade teachers tasked with implementing a dual language bilingual education (DLBE) program to explore the relationship between teachers’ language ideologies and local language policy. After situating the classrooms within their respective broader language ideological contexts, the language ideologies of each teacher are presented followed by a discussion of its relationship to classroom-level language policy. Each teacher espoused both hegemonic and counterhegemonic language ideologies, which was reflected in classroom language practices. The cases illuminate the ideological struggle of each teacher within their own contexts, including how different levels of language policy (i.e. district, program, school) shaped or constrained teacher agency. While both teachers constructed pluralist classroom spaces for students to draw on their full linguistic repertoires, each classroom was simultaneously embedded within a transitional language ideology and influenced by the monoglossic ideologies of standardized assessments.

Language policy toward equity: how bilingual teachers use policy mandates to their own ends

ABSTRACTThe article explores the intersection of equity goals and language ideologies within a dual language bilingual education (DLBE) language policy context. We present two DLBE teachers, Karina and Marisol, and explore their language ideologies and professional conviction towards equitable learning opportunities for their students. We investigate how each teacher constructed language policy in their classroom as influenced by their personal experiences, articulated language ideologies, and embodied language practices. Based on their beliefs and ideological perspectives, Karina dismantled the DLBE program, while Marisol strove to implement the program with fidelity. We demonstrate how two teachers with similar equity goals engaged in such distinct language policy implementation. Despite different approaches, each teacher ascribed to the idea that this program was not a fit for all students. Implications for bilingual education and teacher development are discussed.

Translanguaging Pedagogies for Positive Identities in Two-Way Dual Language Bilingual Education

ABSTRACTResearch suggests that identity matters for school success and that language and identity are powerfully intertwined. A monolingual solitudes understanding of bilingualism undermines children’s bilingual identities, yet in most bilingual education classrooms, academic instruction is segregated by language and children are encouraged to engage in only one language at a time. Few studies have explored how a translanguaging pedagogy supports the development of positive identities when learning through two languages. This article explores the co-construction of identities of emergent bilingual children whose teacher embraced dynamic bilingualism. We carried out a close discourse analysis, drawing on the sociocultural linguistic framework of Bucholtz and Hall of children’s interactions in a two-way bilingual education classroom. Our data revealed that translanguaging offered equitable, empowering educational and language learning opportunities to minoritized, bilingual students. A translanguaging pedagogy resulted in greater metalinguistic awareness, while developing bilingual identities.

What counts as language education policy? Developing a materialist Anti-racist approach to language activism

Language activism has been at the core of language education policy since its emergence as a scholarly field in the 1960s under the leadership of Joshua Fishman. In this article, we seek to build on this tradition to envision a new approach to language activism for the twenty-first century. In particular, we advocate a materialist anti-racist approach to language activism that broadens what counts as language education policy to include a focus on the broader racial and economic policies that impact the lives of language-minoritized communities. In order to illustrate the need for a materialist anti-racist framing of language education policy we provide portraits of four schools in the School District of Philadelphia that offer dual language bilingual education programs. We demonstrate the ways that larger societal inequities hinder these programs from serving the socially transformative function that advocates for these programs aspire toward. We end by calling for a new paradigm of language education policy that connects language activism with other movements that seek to address societal inequities caused by a myriad of factors including poverty, racism, and xenophobia.

Coordinated Translanguaging Pedagogy as Distributed Cognition: A Case Study of Two Dual Language Bilingual Education Preschool Coteachers’ Languaging Practices During Shared Book Readings

ABSTRACTThis study examined how a pair of Spanish/English dual language bilingual education (DLBE) preschool teachers enacted their bilingualism while working cohesively and simultaneously toward common instructional goals. We drew on classroom video data, field notes, and other relevant artifacts collected weekly during shared readings of English- and Spanish-language storybooks over the course of one academic year to document coteachers’ book-based interactions with each other and their students. Guided by translanguaging (O. García, 2009a, 2009b; O. García & Wei, 2014) and distributive cognition (Brown & Campione, 1996; Hutchins, 1995) frameworks, findings elucidate how teachers drew on their own and each other’s dynamic bilingualism through both monolingual and bilingual performances, supporting the coordination of instructional targets (e.g., vocabulary, narrative genre) and instructional practices (e.g., translation, explanation). Findings have implications for DLBE program language policy and practice as they highlight the utility of a bilingual pedagogy.