Abstract Dual language education pr...

Abstract

Dual language education programs have become extremely popular. Although these programs share belonging to all characteristics, they vary in several relate tos Programs use different languages and include pupils with varying characteristics. For instance, many of these programs include learners with fluent English proficiency and those with limited English proficiency; scholars identified with learning disabilities and those who are gifted; and scholars who are economically advantaged and those who are disadvantaged. sum of two units basic dual language program gauges are the 90-10 and 50-50 moulds This article describes a unique 50-50 prototype that divides language of instruction by means of content area as well as at time. The model has been fortunately implemented in regions with high concentrations of Latino bookish mans It does not require a 50-50 balance of native English speakers and native Spanish speakers. In addition to describing the standard the authors report results of standardized trials administered in English, that indicate that learners in schools following this type are achieving high levels of academic proficiency in reading and mathematics.

Introduction

Two-way immersion education is a dynamic form of education that shut ins great promise for developing high horizontals of academic achievement, bilingualism and biliteracy, and cross-cultural awareness among participating bookish mans (Howard & Christian, 2002, p 1)

Enrichment 90-10 and 50-50 one-way and two-way developmental bilingual education (DBE) programs (or dual language, bilingual immersion) are the solitary programs we have found to date that assist scholars to fully reach the 50th percentile in as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but the [first language] and [second language] in all make submissives and to maintain that on a level of high achievement, or reach calm higher levels through the fall of the curtain of schooling. (Thomas & Collier, 2002 p 7)

Statements like those quot above proceed from a variety of sources and ruminate the growing interest in and support for a token of bilingual education in which all scholars develop full proficiency in their first language and high plains of proficiency in a secondary language. Although this type of program has been given different labels, in this article we use the expression dual language education programs.

Researchers in literacy, bilingualism, and secondary language acquisition; teachers: teacher educators; and policymakers have taken an interest in these programs because they advance success for both language-majority and language-minority close examiners English language learners (ELLs) who have failed in various images of English as a other Language and transitional bilingual education programs have made phenomenal gains in dual language programs (Lindholm-Leary, 2001; Thomas & Collier, 2002) In addition, native English speakers in these programs, despite learning by the and of two languages, excel in their native English, scoring higher than contemporarys studying only in English (Lindholm-Leary).

Dual language programs are based in succession an orientation toward language that Ruiz (1984) has timeed language as resource. Ruiz contrasts this orientation with earlier approaches that viewed language as a moot point and then viewed language as a right. Ruiz points public that regarding language as a resource promotes as a better orientation for language planning for several reasons:

It can have a direct impact forward enhancing the language status of subordinate languages; it can help to ease tensions between majority and minority communities; it can help as a more consistent way of viewing the character of non-English languages in U society; and it highlights the importance of cooperative language planning, (pp 25-26)

Dual language programs have raised the status and importance of languages other than English in many communities across the United States. In a certain communities they have eased tensions between clusters who speak different languages. The programs have helped build crosscultural teach communities and crosscultural friendships among close examiners and parents, relationships that probably would not have bring outed without the programs. Dual language programs raise the status of languages other than English because as native English-speaking children become bilingual, parents and scholars alike see the value of knowing more than common language. Finally, as community leaders, sect board members, school administrators, and teachers work together to design and implement dual language programs, cooperation among form into groupss enriches all parties (Freeman, Freeman, & Mercuri, 2005)

Dual language programs are not strange in this country. The Spanish-English Coral Way program in Florida and the French-English Ecole Bilingue in Massachusetts were implemented in the 1960 However, the interest in dual language education has increased dramatically in the last 15 years (Howard & Christian, 2002) In the spring of 2004 the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) listed 283 dual language programs in 24 states, including 100programs in California (the list can be place at http://www.cal.org/twi/directory/). It is extremely difficult to detain track of the number of dual language programs, in part because of their rapid sprouting In addition, the CAL listing is a soft estimate because the programs self-report. If programs do not register with CAL, then they are not listed in succession the CAL Web site. Data from other sources indicate that Texas has athwart 194 programs (Texas Two-Way/Dual Language Consortium, nd) California and Texas have more programs than any others, and the total for these pair states exceeds the CAL estimate for all the other states.