Two-way Immersion Research Articles

Constructing perspectives on language diversity in the U.S. Midwest

This paper examines perspectives on language diversity that surfaced prior to, during, and immediately following the implementation of a two-way immersion program in a public school district in Iowa. Using a social constructionist paradigm, combined with Habermas’ understanding of the public sphere, the paper explores local and regional media coverage of the two-way immersion program alongside coverage of emerging language legislation on Official English in Iowa, spanning the last years of the 20th century into the beginning of the 21st. The analysis reveals a variety of postures within the public discourse related to the presence and use of languages other than English in this Midwestern context. The paper argues that it is precisely this interface of varying perspectives that will potentially facilitate a more lasting receptive social environment towards language diversity in the state.

Latino Children Attending a Two-Way Immersion Program in the United States: A Comparative Case Analysis

Research on two-way immersion programs has empirically investigated the success of such programs on children's dual-language development. The present study focuses on the language abilities of Latino children attending a Spanish–English differentiated two-way immersion program in the United States. Family dynamics relating to placement in this program is investigated using mixed methods. Parents identified six factors for placing their child in this program. Children experienced growth in their language abilities in English and/or Spanish as they completed the first 2 years of the program. These findings provide a better understanding of Latino children enrolled in dual-language programs.

The Effects of Two-way Immersion Bilingual Program on Student Academic Performance and Cultural Interaction

The Effects of Two-way Immersion Bilingual Program on Student Academic Performance and Cultural Interaction

The potential of dual-language cross-cultural peer review

This article explores the potential of dual-language cross-cultural peer review and how it improves on traditional monolingual and monocultural peer review. Drawing on scholarship related to international exchange programmes, peer review, and two-way immersion programmes in the United States as well as data collected while facilitating the proposed model of peer review in Chile, the author explains how the type of peer review discussed here may help students develop writing abilities in their second language while promoting greater cross-cultural understanding.

Improving Bilingual Service Delivery in Catholic Schools through Two-Way Immersion

Catholic elementary schools underserve Latino students, especially those who are bilingual. This paper presents a conceptual argument for Catholic elementary schools to improve this by pursuing the two-way immersion model of bilingual service delivery in Spanish and English. The argument is presented in three stages. First, we show that Catholic elementary schools underserve Latino families in general, and bilingual Latino students with limited profi ciency in English in particular. Next, we present evidence from research literature and a case study that the two-way immersion approach to bilingual service delivery is philosophically and functionally well suited for Catholic schooling. We conclude by suggesting the implications of this argument for Catholic as well as other private sector schools.

Two-way immersion education in Germany: bridging the linguistic gap

A PhD literature review in the field of two-way immersion (TWI) education revealed that German TWI programmes are hardly ever mentioned in English-language publications. There have been several TWI programmes in Germany since the 1960s with an increase in number and language combinations since the 1990s. This article provides an overview of German TWI programmes and literature for an English-language audience and summarises relevant research evidence. Combining evidence from Germany and elsewhere, I argue on the one hand that TWI education is likely to have linguistic and sociocultural benefits, and on the other hand that no conclusions of effectiveness should be drawn before at least six to eight years of TWI education.

English and Spanish ‘para un futuro’ – or just English? Immigrant family perspectives on two-way immersion

This article considers immigrants' perspectives on language immersion education. Data are drawn from a longitudinal research project that examined one suburban school district's construction of a two-way immersion (TWI), bilingual education policy. Analyses focus on 18 months of participant observation with six Mexican immigrant families who had at least one child in TWI. Framed by the language policy and planning literature as well as the study of childhoods, the findings foreground both parents' and children's understandings of their district's new policy. Parents' hopes for TWI to develop students' bilingualism matched the policy's stated intentions, but children also foregrounded the public debate's focus on developing students' English skills. The discussion considers what these contrasting perspectives mean for the political implementation of bilingual, TWI policies.

The Effects of the Extended Foreign Language Programs on Spanish-Language Proficiency and Academic Achievement in English

This study was conducted to explore the effects of a two-way immersion bilingual program on maintenance/acquisition of Spanish-language proficiency and on reading and mathematics achievement in English over a period of 4 academic years. The researchers used Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) techniques to compare the effects of two different program models on Spanish-language proficiency of participating students from Spanish- and non-Spanish-language backgrounds. In addition, they employed multivariate matching algorithms to construct a comparison group of schools and students that matched program students academically and demographically and then used HLM methods to compare academic achievement in reading and mathematics of students in program and comparison groups. The researchers found that students in the program model that offered Spanish instruction in language arts and one content area performed better in reading comprehension in Spanish than students in the program model that offered only Spanish language arts instruction. The researchers also found that program students exhibited achievement levels in reading and mathematics that were on par with or higher than those of demographically and academically similar students not in the program. In addition, the researchers determined and that average annual learning rates in both academic disciplines were similar for program and comparison students.

«Why do we do this?» a two-way immersion school principal’s reflections on the roles of parents, teachers, and her own, in the program

The present article offers the reflections of the principal of the longest-running two-way immersion school in Southern California on some of the key factors positively impacting the program, namely parental involvement, teacher commitment, and principal support. Additionally, it includes some of the critical challenges she must continuously face as part of her job, i.e., scarcity of qualified and minority language proficient teachers, lack of funding and adequate materials in the minority language, as well as the impact of federal and state education laws on the autonomy of the program. She also gave some recommendations, based on her professional experience, for those schools interested in the implementation of this innovative educational approach. The information provided throughout the article is connected to recent research on two-way programs in the United States and finalizes with some conclusions for the future.

Can two-way immersion education support the EU aims of multilingualism, social cohesion and student/worker mobility?

For decades, the EU has promoted multilingualism and geographic mobility. This concentrated on official EU languages, and later also on regional and less-used languages, but migrant languageshave largely been kept off the EU agenda. There has been a change in the last few years, and the EU has widened its language agenda, in some instances explicitly including migrant languages. Furthermore, the plight of migrant communities and social cohesion issues have also attracted attention in the EU. In practice, schools largely adhere to the monolingual habitus, expecting all children to speak the same language. This practice has shown to disadvantage children who speak a language other than the language of instruction at school entry. This paper discusses two-way immersion education that uses two languages to teach majority- and migrant-language speakers together in one class, where they can develop both languages to high levels of proficiency by learning with and from each other. Based on evidence from North America and Germany, this paper evaluates this school model in terms of its capacity to meet three aims formulated by the EU: personal and societal multilingualism; geographic mobility; and social integration. It concludes that two-way immersion education may be an appropriate European model to support relevant EU policy developments.

Code-Switching and Symbolic Power in a Second-Grade Two-Way Classroom: A Teacher's Motivation System Gone Awry

Code-switching is a natural part of being bilingual. Yet two-way immersion programs are known to insist upon separation of languages, discouraging both teachers and students from drawing on both linguistic codes at once. Drawing on Bourdieu's concept of symbolic power, I examine one second-grade classroom in which the teacher instituted a motivation system to discourage code-switching. The children continue to code-switch as they find ways to draw upon all their linguistic resources. However, the system offers them a tool for manipulating symbolic power in the classroom. The conclusion agrees with recent research in encouraging teachers to allow conversational code-switches while expecting students to produce monolingual spoken and written texts where appropriate.

‘We teach reading this way because it is the model we’ve adopted’: asymmetries in language and literacy policies in a Two‐Way Immersion programme

In the USA there has been widespread growth in Two‐Way Immersion (TWI) programmes in all states, including those who have outlawed bilingual education. The model offers language majority students the opportunity to become bilingual alongside their language minority peers. Research has shown TWI programmes to be the most equitable and effective for teaching both native English speakers and linguistically subjugated populations. A central goal is that all students become proficient in oral and written communication of two languages. In this mixed methods study of a TWI programme in Texas, official discourse and policies reflected social justice and equitable language and literacy goals for students. However, there was marked incongruence between the interpretation and enactment of policies. There were asymmetrical language and literacy outcomes as the strict observance of programmatic goals constrained the English language and literacy development of Spanish‐dominant students but did not constrain the Spanish language and literacy development of English‐dominant peers. As a result, Spanish‐dominant students and their families became disillusioned and questioned their participation in the TWI programme. Findings suggest that educators must examine literacy ideologies in policies and practice and be reflexive in regards to the local implementation of policy, particularly in meeting the language and literacy needs of students from linguistically subjugated communities.

Race, Power, and (In)equity Within Two-way Immersion Settings

Two-way immersion schools provide a promising model for service delivery to students who are English language learners. With the goals of bilingualism, academic excellence, and cross cultural appreciation, these schools are designed to build bridges across linguistically heterogeneous student bodies. Yet while empirical evidence demonstrates that the two-way immersion model can be effective in these regards, we know little about how such schools address other dimensions of diversity, including race, ethnicity, class, and disability. This study contributes to filling this gap by critically analyzing these dimensions in the areas of recruitment and retention in two two-way immersion schools.

Integration in two-way immersion education: equalising linguistic benefits for all students

As bilingual enrichment programmes that integrate language majority and language minority students, two-way immersion (TWI) programmes have the potential to overcome the harmful effects of segregation and remedial education that are the frequent byproducts of educational programmes for native speakers of languages other than English. Native/non-native speaker integration is considered essential in these programmes to achieve positive academic, linguistic and cross-cultural outcomes for all students, but these benefits have been largely assumed by educators and programme developers. The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the distribution of the linguistic benefits of student integration in TWI classrooms. We argue that, in the absence of a bilingual perspective that takes into consideration issues of differential language status and language acquisition contexts, TWI classrooms may fail to optimise language learning opportunities for all students, particularly for language minority students and in the minority language. We conclude by highlighting programmatic and instructional features that serve to equalise the linguistic benefits of these integrated classrooms.

Cultural and Linguistic Investment: Adolescents in a Secondary Two-Way Immersion Program

This qualitative study inquired into secondary students' perceptions of their participation in a secondary Spanish-English two-way immersion (TWI) program, triangulating data from 166 surveys and 24 focus interviews across grades 6–12. After reviewing current research on secondary two-way immersion programs, the article describes the study and its findings. The first finding stresses the continuous link between language and identity and how this link differs within the Latino group. A second theme centered on how students viewed the linguistic and cultural capital the TWI program aims to develop, with the Anglo students identifying bilingualism for better job opportunities as the most important capital. Latino students also envisioned better job opportunities; however, Spanish was valued foremost for its connection to their families and roots. Finally, the third theme discusses linguistic and cultural equity. Though all students evaluated their experiences in the TWI program positively, they acknowledged that as they moved through the secondary years, their exposure to Spanish declined and English dominated their school day. The authors urge educators to consider how the academic, linguistic, and cultural benefits of TWI programs are distributed for various groups enrolled in the program.

Language Use of English-speaking Children in the Immersion Classrooms

This is an ethnographic case study of the English-speaking preschool children in Two-Way Immersion Spanish Time (TWIST). It...

Abstracts: Bilingual education & bilingualism

07–621De Bot, Kees (U Groningen, the Netherlands; c.l.j.de.bot@rug.nl), W. Lowie & Marjolijn Verspoor, A dynamic systems theory approach to second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition (Cambridge University Press) 10.1 (2007), 7–21.07–622García, Ofelia & Lesley Bartlett (Columbia U, New York, USA), A speech community model of bilingual education: Educating Latino newcomers in the USA. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 10.1 (2007), 1–25.07–623Koutsoubou, Maria (Institute of Education, London, UK), Rosalind Herman & Bencie Woll, Does language input matter in bilingual writing? Translation versus direct composition in Deaf school students' written stories. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 10.2 (2007), 127–151.07–624Saravanan, Vanithamani (Nanyang Technological U, Singapore), Attitudes towards literary Tamil and standard spoken Tamil in Singapore. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 10.1 (2007), 58–79.07–625Serrano, Raquel (Center for Applied Linguistics Washington DC, USA) & Elizabeth Howard, Second Language writing development in English and in Spanish in a two-way immersion programme. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 10.2 (2007), 152–170.07–626Stotz, Daniel (Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland; daniel.stotz@phzh.ch), Breaching the peace: Struggles around multilingualism in Switzerland. Language Policy (Springer) 5.3 (2006), 247–265.07–627Szuber, Anna (Harvard Graduate School of Education, Boston, USA), Native Polish-speaking adolescent immigrants' exposure to and use of English. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 10.1 (2007), 26–57.07–628Tannenbaum, Michal (Tel Aviv U, Israel), Netta Abugov & Dorit Ravid, Hebrew-language narratives of Yiddish-speaking ultra-orthodox girls in Israel. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (Multilingual Matters) 27.6 (2006), 472–490.07–629Vaish, Viniti (National Institute of Education, Singapore), Bilingualism without diglossia: The Indian community in Singapore. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 10.2 (2007), 171–187.07–630Verschik, Anna (Tallinn U, Estonia & U Helsinki, Finland), Multiple language contact in Tallinn: Transfer B2>/A1 or B1>/A2?International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 10.1 (2007), 80–103.

Command of gender agreement in school-age Spanish-English Bilingual Children

By age three to four, monolingual Spanish-speaking children master gender marking and agreement in noun phrases. It is unclear whether bilingual children acquire gender marking rules by the same age as do monolingual children, and whether they in fact ever acquire these rules with 100% accuracy. This study tested sixty 6 to 11-year-old bilingual children attending a Spanish-English two-way immersion school in Chicago divided into two main age groups: younger (ages 6—8) and older (ages 9—11). Thirty-eight children came from Spanish-speaking homes (heritage speakers) and 22 came from English-speaking homes (L2 learners of Spanish). A group of 29 monolingual children from Mexico matched for age formed the comparison group. The children were first asked to narrate the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and then they were asked to complete an elicited picture description task with colored animals. Results of the two tasks showed that the bilingual children produced more gender errors than the monolingual children. In general, heritage speakers were more accurate than L2 learners, although there were differences by age of onset of bilingualism in both groups. Crucially, there was no evidence of language loss with increased age. Our results suggest that a dual immersion school curriculum is conducive to both language acquisition and maintenance.

English Language Learners and Response to Intervention: Introduction to Special Issue

Recent changes in federal law have led to a rush for establishing response-to-intervention (RTI) models in schools. Public Law 108-466, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004), includes a provision that sets stage for widespread changes in process for identifying students with learning disabilities. According to IDEA 2004, states must allow local education agencies (LEAs) to use RTI procedures for (a) determining if a child has a specific learning disability, (b) determining eligibility to receive special education, and (c) as a process of examining child's responsiveness to scientific, research-based ([section] 300.307 (a) (2). If LEAs choose to use RTI procedures, federal regulations provide specific guidance for process. Thus, Section 300.311 (a) (7) states that RTI procedures must include documentation of the instructional strategies used and student-centered data collected. Because majority of students with learning disabilities have reading-related disorders, two reading-related issues arise in implementing RTI, (a) use of intervention strategies that are validated by research and (b) use of valid and reliable assessments for identifying students in need of intervention and measuring their responsiveness to intervention. The purpose of this special issue of Learning Disability Quarterly is to highlight research that addresses issues and concerns that result from implementing RTI procedures in schools with students whose first language is not English and who are considered English language learners (ELLs). The studies in this issue focus on specific instructional and assessment issues surrounding implementation of RTI with ELLs. Do intervention practices that have been validated with monolingual English speakers also work with ELLs? Are there special considerations that would make RTI more appropriate for ELLs? What is best approach to determining ELLs' responsiveness to interventions? The first article, by Kamps, Abbott, Greenwood, Arreaga-Mayer, Wills, Longstaff, Culpepper, and Walton, reports on an experimental study involving 318 first- and second-grade students involved in tier-two, small-group instruction. A little over half of sample were classified as ELLs. The socioeconomic status and school context (urban/rural) varied across six schools included in study. The experimental schools used a three-tier approach, with second tier implementing a direct approach for groups of 3 to 6 students. The reading curricula for experimental second tier included in foundational skills of early reading: phonological awareness, letter-sound recognition, alphabetic decoding, reading fluency and comprehension. The comparison schools used no tiered approach to reading instruction; however, ELL students received supplemental balanced literacy instruction emphasizing word study, group and individual story reading, and writing activities in groups of 6 to 15 students. The authors discuss importance of direct for ELLs in a second tier of intervention. The next article, by Calhoon, A10taiba, Cihak, King, and Avalos, examines peer-mediated as an intervention approach for ELLs. Six teachers who taught a 50/50 two-way immersion program in first-grade classrooms were randomly assigned to peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS) or a contrast condition. The PALS intervention was a supplemental tier-one instructional program conducted three times a week for 20 weeks. The authors explored impact of intervention on different aspects of reading, including phonological awareness, decoding, and oral reading fluency. …

Language Policy in a Korean-English Two-Way Immersion Setting

The purpose of this paper is to examine a language policy in a two-way immersion programme and to explicate the dimensions as well as dynamics involved in the teacher's interpretation and implementation of the policy. The Korean-English two-way immersion kindergarten classroom where this research was conducted, adopted a 70: 30 language distribution policy: Korean was used as the language of instruction during 70% of class time and English was employed as the language of instruction during the remaining 30% of time. However, despite the teacher's strict implementation of the policy, both the ethnically Korean children and ethnically non-Korean children chose to maintain most of their communication in English, reluctant to use Korean in both official and unofficial school settings. Within this setting, I ask questions related to the principles that affected the implementation of the policy by the teacher, specifically, the process by which certain interests became prioritised and the other became marginalised. I provide description of the teacher's value systems and experiences that affected this process.