Dual language
The initiation of dual immersion programs in the United States is characterized by the coalescence of local politicians and community members.
In 1968, the passing of the Bilingual Education Act served to address the reality that Limited English Proficient (LEP) students were in need of proper instructional support to achieve academic gains and, in turn, provided federal funding for primary language instruction in local school districts [2].
In 2002, for example, the implementation of the English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act of the No Child Left Behind Act made it requisite that schools with large numbers of language-minority students provide instruction that facilitates their acquisition of English to perform well on standardized tests consequently [3].
[4] One of the most salient changes in the two-way immersion program since its inception has been its conversion from being centered predominately on aiding ELLs to develop fluency in English to striving for biliteracy, bilingualism, and biculturalism for all students participating.
That implies that native Spanish-speakers may not receive the opportunity to take part in the dual immersion program (Gomez, 2005).
Some schools like Arizona Language Preparatory, in Phoenix, Arizona, and Alicia R. Chacon Elementary School, in El Paso, Texas, include a third language for a full day or a small portion of the day at all grade levels.
Arizona Language Preparatory is also the first school in the nation to send a delegation of "Mini Ambassadors" through Phoenix Sister Cities to Chengdu, China.
[8] So it is vital that educators who recognize the influential role of language to keep the opportunity to enact crucial interventions through teaching methods and social engagements.
[9] Many students who communicate using non-mainstream variants of English have experienced the interplay of dual languages for a significant portion of their lives.
Consequently, they tend to possess a more advanced linguistic understanding compared to the majority of mainstream students, particularly in recognizing the nuances of language variation and its implications as a realm of power and influence.
• First Programs in California: River Glen Elementary School in San Jose, CA • Buena Vista International School in San Francisco, CA • San Diego Language Academy in San Diego, CA • Edison Immersion School in Santa Monica - Malibu, CA For names of more dual language programs not profiled in Wikipedia, see The Directory of Two-Way Bilingual Programs in the U.S. or The Directory of Foreign Language Immersion Programs in U.S. Schools Archived 2006-12-17 at the Wayback Machine German/American Elementary School, Houston, Texas Two-way immersion has been referred to as the most effective bilingual program contributing to long-term academic success (Howard et al. 2003, p. 24).
Thorough planning and effective implementation are crucial to the success of TWI programs, in addition to ample support from administrators and access to quality resources.
To produce academic achievement, students ideally must be enrolled in TWI programs for four to seven years (Howard et al. 2003, p. 24).
For example, an eight-year study of the Navajo/English two-way bilingual program at the Rough Rock Community School in northeastern Arizona confirms that those students who received thorough instruction in their native language as well as the target language encountered more success in school than their peers in English-only programs.
[11] In addition to quantitative measures of effectiveness, research has further credited the two-way immersion model as creating more unified communities in public schools amongst parents and caregivers since speakers of both majority and minority languages are grouped together in an effort to develop literacy skills in both languages and consequently foster cross-cultural relationships in both cultures (Scanlan, 2009).
