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EPR
9:
Two-Way Immersion 101: Designing and Implementing a Two-Way Immersion
Education Program at the Elementary Level
Elizabeth R. Howard and Donna Christian
Two-way immersion (TWI) is an educational approach that combines language
minority and language majority students in a class in which instruction
is presented in both languages. When well implemented, these programs
have proved to be among the most effective in the U.S., graduating students
with both grade-level academic ability and proficiency in two languages.
Produced through CREDE's Project 1.2 "Two Way Immersion," the
report is based on more than 15 years of research and the findings of
leading researchers in the field of TWI, the report is intended to present
information and strategies gleaned from other successful TWI programs
that can assist readers in implementing their own program.
Following is an overview of the EPR, providing brief excerpts and summaries
from each section.
INTRODUCTION
The first two-way immersion education programs in the United States started
almost forty years ago, with programs such as Ecole Bilingue, a French/English
program in Massachusetts, and Coral Way, a Spanish/English program in
Florida. However, while the program model has been in existence in this
country for quite some time, the growth in popularity of the model is
a more recent phenomenon.
As interest in the model has grown, so have concerns and questions about
how to design and implement strong TWI programs. The purpose of this report
is to provide an overview of the main issues that need to be considered
when planning an elementary level (K-5) TWI program, and the core characteristics
that need to be in place in order to have strong model fidelity.
ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TWI PROGRAMS
Definition and Goals
Two-way immersion (TWI) is an educational approach that integrates language
minority and language majority students for all or most of the day, and
provides content instruction and literacy instruction to all students
in both languages.
TWI features three defining criteria:
1. Programs must include fairly equal numbers of two groups of students:
language majority students and language minority students.
2. Programs are integrated, meaning that the language majority students
and language minority students are grouped together for academic instruction.
3. Programs provide core academic instruction (i.e. content courses and
literacy courses) to both groups of students in both languages.
Following from this definition, there are four central goals of all TWI
programs.
1. Students will develop high levels of proficiency in their first language.
2. All students will develop high levels of proficiency in a second language.
3. Academic performance for both groups of students will be at or above
grade level.
4. All students will demonstrate positive cross-cultural attitudes and
behaviors.
Criteria for Success
According to Kathryn Lindholm-Leary, one of the leading researchers in
the field of two-way immersion education, there are eight criteria for
success that all TWI programs should adhere to. (These criteria were first
published as "Bilingual Immersion Education: Criteria for Program
Development," A. Padilla, H. Fairchild, & C. Valadez (Eds.),
Bilingual Education: Issues and Strategies. pp. 91-105. 1990, Newbury
Park, CA: Sage).
They are:
1. Programs should provide a minimum of four to six years of bilingual
instruction to participating students.
2. The focus of instruction should be the same core academic curriculum
that students in other programs experience.
3. Optimal language input (input that is comprehensible, interesting,
and of sufficient quantity) as well as opportunities for output should
be provided to students, including quality language arts instruction in
both languages.
4. The target (non-English) language should be used for instruction a
minimum of 50% of the time (to a maximum of 90% in the early grades) and
English should be used at least 10% of the time.
5. The program should provide an additive bilingual environment where
all students have the opportunity to learn a second language while continuing
to develop their native language proficiency.
6. Classrooms should include a balance of students from the target language
and English backgrounds who participate in instructional activities together.
7. Positive interactions among students should be facilitated by the use
of strategies such as cooperative learning.
8. Characteristics of effective schools should be incorporated into programs,
such as qualified personnel and home-school collaboration.Instructional
Strategies
Teaching in a two-way immersion education program is one of the most challenging
situations that a teacher today can face, and as a result, there are certain
instructional strategies that are particularly important to use in such
an environment.
1. Separation of languages
2. Language/Content Integration
3. Sheltered Instruction, e.g., speaking slowly and clearly, using visual
aids and manipulatives, building on prior knowledge, etc.
4. Active/Discovery Learning: The use of tangible objects that can be
manipulated assists students in understanding abstract concepts.
5. Cooperative Learning
VARIABLE PROGRAM FEATURES
This section illuminates the various decisions that must be made before
a new TWI program can be launched.
Program Setting
• Implement as a neighborhood school or as a magnet school
• Create a whole-school program or as a strand within a school
Grade of Entry/Articulation
It’s recommended that most programs start with just a kindergarten
level, or at most, a kindergarten and a first grade.
Regardless of whether a program decides to begin with a pre-K, kindergarten,
or kindergarten and first grade, it is important to start with at least
two classes at each grade level because some attrition is inevitable.
In terms of articulation, it is essential that the program extend for
at least four to six years.
Program Model
There are two main program models in two-way immersion education: 50/50
and 90/10. In both cases, these ratios refer to the percentage of instructional
time in each language, NOT the student population.
Language Distribution
Because two languages are used for instruction in TWI programs, the issue
of how to distribute instruction across the two languages is another decision
that has to be made when planning a program. In 90/10 programs, because
most of the instruction is in Spanish in the primary grades, this doesn’t
become a major issue until the upper elementary grades. In 50/50 programs,
because instruction is provided in equal ratios in both languages at all
grade levels, this is a decision that has to be made from the very beginning.
There are three ways that language distribution can be accomplished, and
most programs use a combination of two or all three methods. The methods
are time, topic, and person (meaning that two teachers work together,
with one providing instruction in English and the other providing instruction
in the minority language).
Initial Literacy Instruction
There are three main approaches to initial literacy instruction, and these
three approaches tend to be paired with certain program models:
1. Minority Language First: This approach is used in a classic 90/10 model.
In this situation, the students are integrated all of the day, and all
students receive initial literacy instruction in the minority language
only.
2. Both Languages Simultaneously: This approach is most frequently paired
with the classic 50/50 model. Using this approach, students again remain
in integrated groups all day and, from their time of entry into the program,
receive literacy instruction in English during English instructional time
and literacy instruction in the minority language during instructional
time in that language.
3. Native Language First: This approach involves separating the students
by native language and providing the language minority students with initial
literacy instruction in the minority language, and native English speakers
with initial literacy instruction in English. This approach is frequently
used in situations where a 90/10 model is preferred but there are concerns
about the literacy development of the native English speakers.
ADVICE FROM EXISTING PROGRAMS
As part of the questionnaire that existing TWI programs fill out in order
to be listed in the online Directory of Two-Way Immersion Education Programs,
program staff are asked to comment on the most important features of their
programs and to offer advice to new programs. A synthesis of the most
frequent responses is provided. Topics covered are:
1. Planning
2. Well-prepared teachers and staff
3. Parent involvement
4. Equal status of the two languages, cultures, and groups of students
5. High Expectations
6. Ongoing reflection and self-evaluation
CONCLUSION
There is a lot to consider when designing and implementing a two-way immersion
program. Some characteristics of TWI programs are essential and need to
be in place in any TWI model, while others are variable across programs.
TWI programs hold great promise, and when well-implemented, are among
the most impressive forms of education available in the United States,
as their student populations exit with grade-level academic ability as
well as language and literacy ability in two languages.
