Two-Way Immersion Education

FUNDER:

Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE)

National Institute for the Education of At-Risk Students (NIEARS)

Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education

Research has shown two-way immersion (TWI) to be an effective and increasingly popular educational approach for language minority students. TWI programs typically promote these students' academic and cognitive development in their native language while English-for-academic purposes is acquired. These programs also integrate language minority and majority students socially into classroom and schoolwide life, thereby facilitating language minority students' transition to mainstream school and community environments.

Conducted at the Center for Applied Linguistics, this project builds on the five previous years of research on TWI under the auspices of CREDE's predecessor, the National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning (NCRCDSLL). During those years, a nationwide directory of programs was created and case study examinations of effective TWI programs at the elementary school level were carried out. The current project will continue to collect data on programs across the U.S. and will additionally address the following concerns:

Language Proficiency and Academic Achievement

• How effective is TWI for acquiring language and academic content?
• How suitable is TWI for at-risk students?
• How do students who exit elementary school TWI programs fare in secondary school?
• What are the characteristics of effective TWI learning environments?

Professional Development

• What are the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of TWI teachers?
• What knowledge and skills are needed to teach effectively in TWI programs?
• What types of questions do TWI teachers have about their students and their own teaching practices, and how can action research help them answer those questions?
• How can professional mentoring help address new TWI programs' needs?

Ongoing Data Collection

• Where are TWI programs located?
• What program model options are being implemented?
• What are the challenges facing programs trying to transition from the elementary to the secondary level?
• What are successful articulation strategies for such programs?

Through surveys, interviews, teacher-researcher collaboration, classroom observations, data collection and analysis, and research literature review, we hope to acquire and share more knowledge about TWI program model options, effectiveness, and appropriateness for diverse students.

OTHER TWO-WAY PROJECTS, PUBLICATIONS, AND RESOURCES

CONTACT PEOPLE:

Project Directors: Donna Christian and Fred Genesee

For more information on this project, contact:

Liz Howard
Center for Applied Linguistics
4646 40th St. NW
Washington, DC 20016-1859
Tel. 202-362-0700

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Last Updated: 9/14/98, more information at webmaster@cal.org