Two-way Immersion Research Articles

Nine partner languages, one path: Minority language reading proficiency development among German two-way immersion students

BackgroundAt the State Europe School of Berlin (SESB) students with different language backgrounds learn together in two languages of instruction: German and one of nine partner languages (English, French, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish). AimsThis study investigates the reading proficiency trajectories in the minority or partner language among students in a two-way immersion (TWI) program. SampleParticipants were 977 TWI students. MethodsThe study included longitudinal large-scale assessments in Grades 4 to 6. Latent growth curve models were utilized for analysis. ResultsThe analyses revealed significant progress in partner language reading skills across all language combinations. However, notable differences in initial proficiency levels and developmental trajectories were observed between partner languages, even after controlling for background variables such as socioeconomic status and cognitive abilities. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that students' initial German reading proficiency positively influenced their reading proficiency in the partner language. ConclusionsOverall, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of the TWI program in promoting partner language proficiency development in TWI programs, particularly within the unique context of a diverse linguistic environment. This research provides valuable insights into how students develop reading skills in a multilingual environment.

Using Two-Way Immersion Program in Teaching English in Kazakhstan: Teachers’ View

The Program of Two-way immersion is a form of integration students from two different groups and contemporary studying of two languages and subjects on these languages. The method as a method was appeared in Canada in the early 1960s. The program of TWI adherence to the following criteria: 1. The number of students is the same in two group; 2) groups gathered into one group according to the main subjects; 3) all main subjects are taught in two languages simultaneously. Two types of TWI program: 50\50; 90\10. This qualitative study aims to examine teachers’ views on the implementation the bilingual program into educational process of Kazakhstan. The literature review showed that Two-way immersion program is one of the innovative methods within the trilingual education of Kazakhstan, that not sufficiently studied and approved. It was hypothesized that TWI program makes an effect on trilingualism of Kazakhstan. For checking the awareness of this program, it was conducted an experimental work in Karaganda Buketov University, Kazakhstan. (103 teachers from the faculty of foreign languages, within five departments: Department of foreign philology; Foreign languages department; Department of translation theory and practice; Department of the theory and practice of foreign language training; Department of the practical foreign language course)The results demonstrate that this program is not sufficiently studied, becomes relevant in the educational process and informative, as well as to create the necessary methodological recommendations. The usage of TWI program improves the system of bilingual education in Kazakhstan, expands the level of professional readiness of teachers and students, develops high levels of academic competence and motivation.

Portuguese and German Intonation Contours in a Two-Way Immersion School

This study investigates the intonation contours of neutral yes–no interrogatives produced by simultaneous bilingual children in their two native languages. Previous studies have shown prosodic transfer from one language to another, either from the dominant into the non-dominant language or vice versa, but little is known about what specifically triggers this behaviour. This study explores how bilingual children make use of phonetic–phonological resources while interacting with peers. Three child speakers of German (ambient language) and Portuguese (heritage language) were recorded as they performed a modified version of a map task. Natural and spontaneous data were collected and the speech was analysed. The results indicate that to some degree, bilingual children produce all intonational contours specific to their language variety. When speaking German, they produced the syntax and contour consistent with the structure of yes–no interrogatives in German. When speaking Portuguese, the children displayed variation in their choice of tune, depending on the variety of Portuguese and the language proficiency of their interlocutor. This behaviour is interpreted as prosodic convergence resulting from the high variability of prosodic structures in the different varieties of Portuguese present in the classroom.

Two-way immersion promotes additional language learning: performance of bilingual sixth-grade students in English as a third language

ABSTRACT Multilingualism is often associated with advantages for acquiring additional languages. Theoretical approaches explain these advantages by assuming a Common Underlying Proficiency or a Metalinguistic Awareness. At the State Europe School in Berlin, students from different language backgrounds receive instruction in German and a partner language according to two-way immersion (TWI). It is unclear how this bilingual instruction affects the acquisition of a third language. We examined the English proficiency of N = 656 TWI sixth-grade students and N = 739 mainstream students via a C-test. Multiple regression analyses revealed that TWI students exhibited higher English proficiency than mainstream students despite having received less English instruction. The results showed additional effects of German- and partner-language reading skills. The findings support the assumption of TWI programs that the use of two languages of instruction fosters third language acquisition.

‘You’re the one that needs help’: Examining racialized bias within a Two-Way Immersion Spanish classroom

ABSTRACT This article draws on qualitative data from a Two-Way Immersion Spanish environment classroom to explore how African American students lived experiences, language, and cultural practices are regulated and/or constrained. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Bahktin’s heteroglossia and raciolinguistics, the authors present two distinct qualitative scenarios where African American students negotiate their roles, identities, and linguistic and cultural voices within their classroom. Findings showed that African American students contributed in the Spanish environment in unique ways that went unaffirmed by fellow students and the teacher. These findings suggest a need to examine how Two-Way Immersion programs, despite their goals for linguistic pluralism and integration, can also reinforce racial inequity. The authors include implications for Two-Way Immersion programs to adopt a critical and anti-racist pedagogical framework.

Models of Instruction for Multilingual Learners: Facets of the ESOL Co-Teacher Role

With nearly five million multilingual learners in U.S. schools, research is warranted for effective instruction that permits equal access to content standards through language diversification. Multilingual learners (MLs), students learning English who benefit from linguistic support to attain academic achievement, are served through models in U.S. schools that vary according to student needs and staffing capability, with English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) as the dominantly implemented format. ESOL is a federally and locally funded program that provides structured academic and linguistic support and accountability for MLs across all grade levels. The purpose of this literature review is to compare the utility and effectiveness of the four program models approved by the U.S. Department of Education to effectively teach content and language to MLs in public schools: (a) structured English immersion, (b) bilingual education, (c) dual language or two-way immersion programs, and (d) English for Speakers of Other Languages (U.S. Department of Education & U.S. Department of Justice, 2015). Furthermore, this article is intended to examine the overarching model of ESOL—the most employed model in the U.S.—and the prominent delivery format of co-teaching. Each of the models mentioned above is discussed in this paper, followed by a delineation of state and federally-approved formats of ESOL: pull-out, push-in, resource labs, sheltered classes, innovative delivery models, and co-teaching. This article concludes with an examination of co-teaching, a subset of ESOL in which a general education educator and an ESOL teacher co-plan, co-instruct, and co-assess an integrated classroom of MLs and non-MLs.

Using social network analysis to investigate sociocultural competence among kindergarteners in a two-way immersion classroom

ABSTRACT Sociocultural competence is the third goal of TWI programs, yet there is a lack of consensus on what it looks like in terms of student outcomes in the classroom. As an inherently social construct, sociocultural competence leads to successful interactions with people who are different from each other along various dimensions. Sociocultural competence in TWI classrooms, specifically, may manifest in successful friendship formation among students across different language and cultural groups. We use Social Network Analysis to investigate a friendship network in one TWI kindergarten classroom in Costa Rica using a measure of “homophily” – the tendency for people to create ties with people who are similar to themselves. Findings from the data in this study reveal patterns of friendship that indicate higher levels of sociocultural competence for bilingual students, both individually and as a group, in that they more regularly establish friendships across language groups in their classroom (showing less homophily) than do English or Spanish dominant students. A major contribution of this paper is to show how social network theory can be leveraged to help better specify and measure sociocultural competence in the TWI classroom by looking across different levels of analyses.

Two-Way Immersion Classrooms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Parent and Teacher Perceptions of Student Learning

The present study examined parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of student learning in Spanish–English Dual Language Education (DLE) programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants included 72 parents of students from kindergarten to second grade and eight teachers in two schools in the southeastern U.S. Parents retrospectively reported their perceptions of their children’s instruction and learning experiences in English and Spanish during the 2020–2021 school year. Teachers reported if their students had opportunities to practice oral bilingual skills and their perception of students’ improvement in English and Spanish skills. Parents reported that there were more opportunities to practice English than there were to practice Spanish. Teachers reported that remote instruction offered fewer opportunities than hybrid instruction did to practice oral language skills. Overall, the teachers agreed that students’ language skills in English and Spanish improved. Similarly, the parents agreed that students’ language skills improved; however, they reported that their English skills improved more than their Spanish skills did. Student and family background factors, such as language fluency and parental education, were negatively associated with barriers to remote access. Implications for future research and suggestions for supporting students attending DLE programs during remote instruction are offered.

“This is a Very Sensitive Point”: Bilingual Teachers' Interactions with Neo‐Nationalism in a Two‐Way Immersion Program in the United States

AbstractConcurrent with the rise in U.S. neo‐nationalism is the growing influx of im/migrant children in the nation's schools. This article explores how a group of eight K‐3 Brazilian bilingual teachers in a Portuguese‐English Two‐Way Immersion (TWI) program in the United States interact with neo‐nationalist discourses pertaining to the theme of immigration. Drawing on recent theorizing about the intersections of neo‐nationalism, language, and bilingual education, this multi‐year ethnographic study leverages multiple formal interviews and informal conversations with TWI educators to understand their perspectives and classroom practices. We found that most of the interviewed teachers were keenly aware that their im/migrant students regularly shared complex narratives of immigration in their classrooms, at times during whole‐group instruction. However, these educators consistently evaded opportunities to engage in conversations about immigration with their students due to a range of perceived obstacles. The teachers also expressed willingness to eventually include a narrow range of “positive” or “neutral” images of immigration in their curriculum and instruction, which further decoupled issues of immigration from U.S. neo‐nationalism. Findings bear implications for language education researchers and practitioners since they indicate how neo‐nationalist discourses may shape elementary‐school educators' orientations and daily moves within bilingual classrooms designed to better serve racialized bilingual students.

The Enlightenment of US Bilingual Education Model to Ethnic Minority Preschool Bilingual Education in China

Two-way immersion (TWI) bilingual education, as a model of strong bilingual education with distinctive characteristics and a unique way of implementation, has been widely practiced in many multi-ethnic, multilingual and multicultural countries, such as the US, and has achieved positive results. This article summarizes and analyzes the implementation mode, characteristics and limitations of the TWI program. In the light of the local conditions of ethnic minority areas in the country, this article also puts forward suggestions on the trial implementation of TWI program in pilot kindergartens in ethnic areas: strengthen national policy support and ensure the vigorous development of preschool bilingual education; stabilize and enhance the quality of bilingual teachers; promote the integration of Han nationality and ethnic minorities as well as realize the sharing of high-quality educational resources; encourage Han children to learn minority languages; develop preschool bilingual teaching resources and facilitate the construction of preschool bilingual teaching materials; and foster a good family and community environment for preschool bilingual education. In a word, bilingual education plays a pivotal role in the long-term competition of the country bearing a special function of cultivating bilingual talents. It is undoubtedly a beneficial exploration and bold innovation to attempt to pilot TWI preschool bilingual education in ethnic minority areas of China

Reimagining Bilingual Education: A Linguistically Expansive Orientation

ABSTRACT This article explores the possibilities of a linguistically expansive orientation to two-way immersion (TWI), a bilingual model that has traditionally adopted a “double monolingual” approach to bilingual learning/ers. To illustrate an expansive perspective, we present two case studies undertaken at the same bilingual school that explored strategies for fostering more flexible understandings of students’ linguistic repertoires. Findings from case study one reveal that student identities are more dynamic and contextually-oriented than typically understood within TWI, while also demonstrating that student sense-making can reflect the program’s narrow lens on bilingualism. Findings from case study two illustrate how, when teachers engage students in multilingual writing, meaningful contexts are created for encountering diversity and for expanding and evolving their linguistic repertoires. We argue that a linguistically expansive orientation invites teachers to move beyond language separation in TWI and, in doing so, make space for and affirm students’ dynamic languaging and dynamically lingual identities.

Designing Critical Multilingual Multiliteracies Projects in Two-Way Immersion Classrooms: Affordances and Impacts on Students

Language separation policies in two-way bilingual education (TWBE) reflect ideologies of double monolingualism (Heller, 1995) and ignore the sociolinguistic realities of bi/multilingual students (García & Lin, 2017). This case study investigates the design and implementation of collaborative multilingual identity text projects (Prasad, 2018) in a Spanish-English two-way immersion (TWI) school. Identity text pedagogies (Cummins & Early, 2011) that engage bilingual students in creating dual-language multimodal texts have been taken up across a wide variety of contexts. Few studies in the United States, however, have examined how TWI teachers can use multiliteracies pedagogy (New London Group, 1996) with a critical multilingual language awareness (CMLA) focus to move beyond the frame of Spanish-English through the creation of collaborative multilingual and multimodal class books. A thematic analysis of classroom data from our case study demonstrates that implementing critical multilingual multiliteracies projects fostered students’ CMLA while building positive bi/multilingual identities, leveraged students’ linguistic repertoires beyond the language of instruction, and encouraged linguistic risk-taking. This empirical study highlights the possibilities for adopting a collaborative, critical, and creative multilingual multiliteracies approach in TWI settings.

Spatial Perspectives on Adopting and Developing the Two-Way Immersion Program in Estonia’s Kindergartens: Resources & Risks

Etniline ja rassiline eraldatus on üsna levinud probleem mitmel pool maailmas ning liigagi sageli kohtame vastuseisu lõimumisele koolis. Seega väärivad sellisest suhtumisest erinevad juhtumid erilist tähelepanu, eriti olukordades, kus kogukonnad on elanud ranges eraldatuses juba mitmete põlvkondade vältel. Eestis, kus nõukogude ajajärgul ühiskonnas domineerinud venekeelne vähemus õppis harva ära kohaliku keele, pööras 1991. aasta taasiseseisvumine etnilise võimustruktuuri pahupidi ja asetas enamiku venekeelsetest elanikest olukorda, kus nende ainsa riigikeele – eesti keele – oskus oli kas vähene või olematu.
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Spatial Perspectives on Adopting and Developing the Two-Way Immersion Program in Estonia’s Kindergartens: Resources & Risks

Ethnic and racial segregation is a common challenge around the world, and resistance to school integration is all too familiar. Exceptions to these patterns thus merit special attention, particularly in contexts where communities have maintained high degrees of separation for generations. In Estonia, where the dominant Russian-speaking minority throughout the Soviet period seldom learned the language, (re)independence in 1991 reversed the ethnic power structure and left most Russian residents with little to no competency in the sole official language of Estonian.

Supporting literacy development in two‐way immersion classrooms (Grades 3–5)

AbstractThis paper draws from a broader research project and reports on literacy program supports and instructional strategies in two‐way immersion (TWI) classrooms (Grades 3‐5) where the partner language is Spanish. The study examined TWI classrooms in which students from multiple demographics were performing at or above the state average on reading exams and highlights commonalities across classrooms. Semi‐structured interviews, class observations, and documents such as lesson plans were used as primary sources and collected from nine teacher participants. Common literacy practices emerged during data analysis and coding. Using grounded theory for qualitative analysis, two programmatic structures emerged: (1) Spanish and English literacy intervention and (2) coordination of literacy standards across languages. In addition, a focus on fluency and utilization of on‐grade level texts were identified as instructional strategies in classrooms. After describing how these structures and instructional strategies were utilized, this paper discusses implications for further research and practical application for literacy instruction in intermediate, and elementary TWI programs.

Development of German reading comprehension in two-way immersive primary schools

Two-way immersion (TWI) is a variant of the increasingly popular bilingual instruction. Most TWI research lacks longitudinal data or the consideration of background variables to control for possible selection effects. This article examines the development of German reading comprehension of TWI students (N = 984) from fourth to sixth grade compared to conventionally taught students (N = 992). The latent growth curve models showed that immersion students reached the same level of German reading comprehension over the three measurement points, even if background variables like first language, socioeconomic background, and cognitive ability were included. Despite reduced instruction in German, TWI students showed the same reading comprehension level as students in regular instruction while having the advantage of learning an additional language. Although the level of reading comprehension differed between language groups (L1 German speakers, L1 partner language speakers, simultaneous bilinguals), the learning trajectories of reading comprehension were similar.

How Teachers and Leaders Facilitate Integration in a Two-Way Dual Language Immersion Program

Background/Context: Public school enrollment in the United States is becoming increasingly racially and linguistically diverse; however, school segregation continues to intensify across the nation. Within this context, two-way dual language immersion (TWI) programs, which intentionally strive to balance English learners and English speakers, may create a natural opportunity for integration. Research Question: How do teachers and leaders facilitate integrative interactions among students of different racial and linguistic groups in a TWI program? Research Design: This qualitative, holistic, single case study explores the TWI program at Silverthorne Elementary School (pseudonym), a K-5 traditional public school in the southeastern United States. Silverthorne is in a rural community on the outskirts of a large metropolitan area that is a new immigrant destination. At the time of data collection, Silverthorne’s TWI program was in its seventh year of implementation. Participants include 12 teachers, one guidance counselor, and one school leader. We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with all participants, observed eight classrooms, and analyzed supplemental documents. We used inductive coding and ultimately generated four themes to describe how TWI teachers and leaders facilitate integration. Findings: Silverthorne’s TWI program provides an opportunity to facilitate integration among students from different racial and linguistic backgrounds. The nature of these integrative experiences is shaped by the structure of the TWI program, the teachers’ conceptualizations of diversity, the teachers’ pedagogical and curricular decisions, and the school leader’s support of the TWI program. Conclusion: Although teachers and leaders in the Silverthorne TWI program have promoted integration in numerous ways, they also have missed important opportunities to facilitate greater integration. Nonetheless, this TWI program illustrates the potential of TWI to provide opportunities for students from different racial and linguistic backgrounds to learn together in a truly integrated environment. Findings suggest the need for enhanced professional development regarding how to facilitate integration in diverse classrooms as well as future research to understand how, if at all, integration is considered when districts and schools are designing and implementing TWI programs.

Construction of bilingual abilities through monoglossic literacy assessments

Schools and classrooms are positioned as sites where various community members come together with the shared goal of fostering and developing bilingual abilities in bilingual education programmes in the United States. In relation to the specific social, political and historical framings relevant to the school or classroom context, individuals in these settings separately and collectively operate in ways that not only support but conversely also erode the possibilities of meeting this goal. The limited purview of currently available and/or well-established forms of assessments in particular around bilingualism often constrains actions. When these assessments are used for decision-making processes in the classroom, the forms of language supported in the assessment can have consequences for understanding bilingualism throughout the school. Through the analysis of recorded assessment interactions, and building on the research which has illustrated how monoglossic literacy assessments, developed for monolingual children, fail to capture bilingual abilities, we illustrate the process of how children’s bilingual abilities become constructed through a monoglossic lens. Together with the narrow definitions of literacy which characterise these assessments, children’s emerging biliteracy becomes invisibilised. The data for this study come from an ethnographic, discourse analytic study of one bilingual, Two-Way Immersion programme that was part of a large urban K-8th school. Using the lens of Language Policy and Planning (LPP), we describe how confusing and contradictory policies were communicated and enacted from the multilingual teacher leaders to the classroom teachers, who were required to assess all students with reading assessments used for benchmarks by the district. Through the analysis of field notes as well as audio transcriptions of testing interactions, we show how literacy assessments that assume monolingualism as the norm fail to capture the multilingual knowledge and repertoires of emergent bilingual children. Through this analysis we show how, in this context, bilingual abilities were defined through multiple, flawed layers of language policies and decision-making – from school leaders with limited knowledge of bilingualism, to frustrated teacher-leaders with differing opinions, to stressed teachers who have no choice but to carry out the decisions made by others – so that children in the end are categorised and assessed in ways that do not show their bilingual knowledge.

Parental attitudes and activism reshape educational language policies: the surge of dual language programmes in California

ABSTRACT While educational language policies have been shown to have a stronger influence on school-aged children’s multilingual outcomes than Family Language Policy, California provides an example of how parental motivation and activism can also have a profound impact on educational language policies. This paper has two goals: first, it provides an overview of the legislative changes that affected California’s educational system between the 1970s and the present, which resulted in an overall shift in public opinion and attitudes towards multilingualism and in a transition from promotion-oriented to restriction-oriented to again promotion-oriented educational policies with regards to multilingual education. The second part of the paper exemplifies the agency of Californian families in shaping their children’s education by describing the history of an Italian/English two-way immersion programme born out of parental activism. The paper then presents the results of a preliminary study on parental attitudes within the programme, highlighting parents’ strong appreciation of multilingualism and their renewed enthusiasm for Italian proficiency, bilingualism, and biliteracy in this Southern California’s community.

Unilateral translanguaging: teachers’ language use, perceptions, and experience in a Portuguese-English two-way immersion program

ABSTRACT This study documents the notion of unilateral translanguaging–the configuration of translanguaging spaces to disproportionately privilege a dominant language or its speakers. We analyze four teachers’ translanguaging practices in a Portuguese-English two-way immersion (TWI) program in the United States. Rather than focusing on whether and how translanguaging occurs, we highlight temporality and purpose to explore when and why participants engaged in translingual practices. Data stem from a three-year ethnographic project and include semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. We found that translanguaging mainly occurred during Portuguese lessons, during which teachers used English to give directions, discipline students, and give important announcements, linking English use to moments of high authority. English-dominant students’ translanguaging practices also tended to be more readily accepted than those of Portuguese-dominant students. Furthermore, in contrast to prior research on language status as unconscious bias, our findings demonstrate teachers’ keen awareness of practices and policies that disproportionately benefit English-dominant students. Still, structural conditions, parental power dynamics, and pressure to maintain the program left the focal teachers feeling unequipped to interrupt these practices. This research highlights how educators’ practices and perceptions of translanguaging interact with structural features of bilingual education programming as factors that may disrupt or reproduce inequities.