 |
CAL Resources Archive The CAL Resources Archive was created to provide our visitors with access to older pages and content from our Web site that they may find useful. Please be aware that information within the CAL Resources Archive is historical in nature and will not be maintained or updated by CAL. |
Language LinkSeptember 2001 |
Feature Article
Two-Way Immersion Shows Promising Results: Findings from a New Study
Journal Review
Bilingual Research Journal
This publication was prepared with funding from the National Library of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. ED-99-CO-0008. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of NLE, OERI, or ED.
Julie Sugarman and Liz Howard
Center for Applied Linguistics
Two-way immersion (TWI) programs (also known as dual language programs) are becoming an increasingly attractive option for schools and districts that are looking for ways to strengthen and develop the language resources of all of their students. The TWI model provides instruction for native English speakers and native speakers of another language (usually Spanish) with the goal of promoting high academic achievement, first and second language development, and cross-cultural understanding for all students. In TWI programs, academic subjects are taught to all students through both English and the non-English language. As students and teachers work together to perform academic tasks, the students' proficiency in both languages is developed along with their content-area knowledge.
While there is a great deal of variety with regard to some program features of TWI programs, there are two important core similarities: (1) The student populations are balanced, with approximately 50% native English speakers and 50% native speakers of the non-English language; (2) academic instruction takes place through both languages, with the non-English language being used at least 50% of the time.
As part of a 7-year study of two-way immersion, researchers at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) collected data on the language development and academic achievement of 344 students in 11 Spanish/English TWI programs across the country. Half of the students in the study were native Spanish speakers; half were native speakers of English. All had been enrolled in TWI since kindergarten or first grade. The programs in the study varied in terms of geographical location, student population, and number of years in operation. This article presents the findings from 3 years of data collection.
English and Spanish narrative writing samples were collected at three time intervals (October, February, and May) during the 3 years of the study (1997-98, 1998-99, and 1999-2000), when the students were in third, fourth, and fifth grade, respectively. English and Spanish oral proficiency assessments and English cloze reading assessments were administered in third and fifth grade, and a Spanish cloze reading assessment was administered in third grade only. The students also completed English and Spanish writing self-assessments in fourth grade. Background data on each of the students was collected from school records in third and fourth grade, and parents completed a home language questionnaire when the students were in fourth grade.
The narrative writing samples were scored by two-way immersion teachers from a Virginia school not involved in the study. They used a rubric developed by two-way immersion teachers and researchers at CAL. The same rubric was used for English and Spanish writing samples. There were three components in the measure—composition, grammar, and mechanics—each of which had four sub-components. Each component had a possible average score ranging from 0-5 points. The oral proficiency assessment employed a rubric with a scoring system very similar to that used for the writing assessments (0-5 points) but with only two major components: general conversational ability and grammatical sophistication and accuracy. For the cloze assessment, students read a story passage and were asked to fill in 30 blanks throughout the piece by selecting the appropriate word from three choices (0-30 points).
For the writing assessment, the scores of native Spanish speakers were compared with the scores of native English speakers on the English and Spanish assessments across the 3 years (9 time points). Students from both language backgrounds showed growth in both English and Spanish. Between Time 1 and Time 9, the average scores of native Spanish speakers rose from 2.3 to 3.8 for English writing and from 2.5 to 3.8 for Spanish writing. The average scores of native English speakers rose from 2.9 to 4.2 for English writing and from 2.2 to 3.7 for Spanish writing. Thus, both groups' average scores increased 1.3 to 1.5 points in both languages over the course of 3 years.
On average, native English speakers scored 0.4 to 0.6 points higher than native Spanish speakers on the English writing assessment; native Spanish speakers scored 0.1 to 0.4 points higher than native English speakers on the Spanish writing assessment. Although the native English speakers nearly closed this gap in Spanish writing to 0.1 points by fifth grade, the gap between the two language groups in English writing remained fairly constant over the 3 years.
Native Spanish speakers' growth in the two languages shows an interesting pattern: On average, they scored 0.2 to 0.3 points higher in Spanish writing than English writing at the first two time points in third grade, but their average scores for English writing were equal to or within 0.1 point of their Spanish writing scores for the remaining seven time points. Native English speakers did not show the same balanced biliteracy as native Spanish speakers. They consistently had higher average writing scores in English, although they did narrow their English/Spanish writing gap from 0.7 points throughout all of third and fourth grade to 0.5 points in fifth grade.
In English writing, for the three components of the writing sample, both native English speakers and native Spanish speakers performed highest in grammar, followed by mechanics, then composition. This was highly consistent across all nine time points. Native Spanish speakers showed this same pattern in their Spanish writing scores; native English speakers, however, performed slightly higher in mechanics than grammar in Spanish writing, with composition again last.
On average, both native Spanish speakers and native English speakers showed growth in the English cloze assessment from third grade to fifth grade: The scores of native Spanish speakers rose from 18.4 to 25.8 (out of 30), and native English speakers' scores rose from 23.6 to 28.7. Thus, native English speakers scored higher than native Spanish speakers at both time points. On the Spanish cloze assessment, administered only in third grade, native Spanish speakers' average score was 20.9, slightly higher than the native English speakers' at 19.3.
Both groups also showed growth in oral language. On the English oral language assessment, native Spanish speakers had an average score of 4.4 and native English speakers had an average score of 4.8 in third grade, but the average score of both native English speakers and native Spanish speakers in fifth grade was a nearly perfect 4.9 out of 5.0. The average scores for native Spanish speakers on the Spanish oral assessment were 4.6 in third grade and 4.8 in fifth grade, and for native English speakers, the average score rose from 3.6 in third grade to 4.1 in fifth grade.
As can be seen from the data presented here, both native English speakers and native Spanish speakers in the study showed progress in their language and literacy skills from the beginning of third grade through the end of fifth grade. Looking at this descriptive data, some interesting trends begin to appear, such as the fact that native Spanish speakers tend to have more balanced language and literacy skills in the two languages, while native English speakers tend to remain clearly dominant in English. This trend and others will be examined in more detail in future analyses and publications.
For more information on two-way immersion, visit the TWI section of CAL's web site.
The work reported herein was conducted by the Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) under Cooperative Agreement No. R306A60001-96. The contents do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of OERI or ED. |
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced the recipients of the 2001 Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grants, which are awarded annually to state and local education agencies to develop or support innovative elementary and secondary foreign language education programs. Read more about this year's FLAP grant recipients.
Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that the State Department will recognize November 12-16 as International Education Week. In previous years, educational institutions, communities, and government agencies have celebrated International Education Week with activities designed to promote and support international education initiatives and programs. Read Secretary Powell's address.
In late July, California millionaire Ron Unz began to lobby in Massachusetts for a ballot initiative to eliminate bilingual education programs and limit support for English language learners in public schools to one year of sheltered English immersion. Unz previously funded successful ballot initiatives in California and Arizona that eliminated bilingual education in those states. Read more about Unz's initiative in Massachusetts.
In each issue of ERIC/CLL Language Link, we feature one or more of the journals that we abstract and index for Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE), the ERIC database's monthly index to education-related journals. In this issue, we profile the Bilingual Research Journal.
The Bilingual Research Journal (ISSN 1523-5882) is published four times each year and is the professional and scholarly organ of the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE). BRJ covers a wide range of topics in bilingual education, bilingualism in society, and language policy in education.
BRJ's primary focus is education in the United States, but it also publishes articles, book reviews, and research reports of international relevance. BRJ focuses on critical analyses; research and theory in instructional methodology; first, second, and dual language learning; language politics, policy and planning; biliteracy; and assessment.
BRJ's latest issue features a review of the ERIC/CLL book The American Bilingual Tradition. The Summer 2000 issue featured several articles on Two-Way Immersion. Other recent articles include The Role of Heritage Language in Social Interactions and Relationships: Reflections from a Language Minority Group (Vol. 24, No. 4), Validating and Promoting Spanish in the United States: Lessons from Linguistic Science (Vol. 24, No. 4), and Why Bilingual Education Policy Is Needed: A Philosophical Response to the Critics (Vol. 24, No. 4).
BRJ is available in full text on the Web. Back issues from Winter 1997 on are archived on the Web. Print copies of the journal can be purchased through NABE.
You can search online for articles from this and other journals indexed in Current Index to Journals in Education.
You can recognize journal abstracts in the ERIC database by their "EJ" prefix followed by a six-digit number. ERIC abstracts can be read at ERIC centers in libraries in the United States and overseas, as well as on the Web.
Subscriptions to the journals indexed in ERIC can be obtained from the publishers. Individual articles from many journals are available through the following reprint services:
You may also wish to contact your local university or research library.
The Fall 2001 issue of the ERIC/CLL News Bulletin, our semi-annual print newsletter, includes The Heritage Language Literacy Club: Developing Literacy in Two Languages and Humanities Connections in the Teaching of Spanish to Native Speakers. The News Bulletin is mailed to all U.S.-resident members of TESOL and ACTFL and is also available online.
Print copies of these and other publications may be requested from ERIC/CLL at 1-800-276-9834 or eric@cal.org.
Representatives from ERIC/CLL will be participating in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Annual Conference in Washington, DC, on November 15-18, and will be giving two presentations:
Heritage Languages in America
Friday, November 16, 4:15-5:30 p.m.
Grand Hyatt Washington Room, Constitution C
Linking Research to Practice: Exploring the New ERIC
Saturday, November 17, 10:00-11:15 a.m.
Convention Center, Room 20
Also, be sure to stop by ERIC/CLL's exhibit booth (#225/227) to see our latest resources.
The latest issue of NCLE's twice-yearly newsletter, NCLEnotes, is now available (Summer 2001, Vol. 10, No.1). Read about adult English language learners' experiences of personal trauma and what that can mean for classroom practice. Find out what brought Tom Mueller, ESL Coordinator of Laubach Literacy Action, to the field of adult ESL. Learn about the latest adult ESL news and resources. Also, be sure to complete the NCLE user survey included in this issue.
Visit the News and Events page of the U.S. Department of Education's Web site for links to Department initiatives and priorities, grant opportunities, publications, and research and statistics.
Weekly ERIC announcements are published in the New from ERIC section of the ERIC systemwide Web site.
A new Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse was established in August. The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance System (NECTAS), as an adjunct of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, will provide user services and contribute to the ERIC Database by acquiring documents produced by early childhood and discretionary projects funded by the Office of Special Education Programs.
Russ Whitehurst was sworn in July 23 as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement of the Department of Education. Whitehurst previously was lead professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is renowned for his expertise in language acquisition and language disorders, emergent literacy, and prevention of reading difficulties.
The ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education, the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education, and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education recently released a new report, Overview of the Preparation and Certification of Teachers Working with Low English Proficiency Students. This report describes the preparation of teachers of English language learners in institutions of higher education throughout the United States.
The Center for Applied Linguistics will host a familiarization workshop for Student Oral Proficiency Assessment (SOPA). This one-day, two-part workshop at CAL in Washington, DC, will offer hands-on training in the administration and rating of the Student Oral Proficiency Assessment (SOPA). It will be offered on Monday, November 19th, 2001, following the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Conference. The SOPA is a valid test developed by researchers at the Center for Applied Linguistics in collaboration with foreign language educators to assess student oral language proficiency in Grades K–8. The SOPA consists of developmentally appropriate, enjoyable tasks and interactions in an interview format. Student performance is rated using an adapted version of the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. Part 1 of the workshop (9:00am-12:00pm) will familiarize participants with the FLES and immersion versions of the SOPA through videotaped and live SOPA demonstrations. Part 2 (1:30pm-4:30pm) will focus on the SOPA rating scale and provide opportunities for participants to practice rating SOPA interviews and learn other applications of the rating scale. Participants may register for one or both parts of the workshop. For more information, contact Lynn Thompson at the Center for Applied Linguistics (202-362-0700, ext. 219) or visit the CAL Web site.
Thanks to the generosity of the German government, The American Association of Teachers of German (AATG), in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut, is pleased to announce the establishment of TraiNDaF, a program that aims to build future leaders in the field of the teaching of German. The major goal of TraiNDaF is to develop a strong leadership cadre consisting of younger colleagues who after a period of professional development through this program will be able to inform and develop other colleagues in their region of the United States. The 2002 program consists of two meetings and a summer study program in Germany, the costs for which will be substantially subsidized by the grant. Successful candidates for 2002 will be expected to attend the first meeting of the first year "class" tentatively scheduled in Washington D.C. in Spring 2002. During the summer 2002, these same participants will choose a seminar in Germany that most fits their needs for the development of language skills, cultural knowledge, and/or pedagogical/methodological practices. In addition, they will be expected to attend the AATG Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT, November 21-24, 2002, where there will be a meeting of the group as well as a post conference session on Sunday, November 24, 2002.
Leading for Diversity: How School Leaders Can Improve Interethnic Relations, by Rosemary Henze, shows how leaders in 21 highly diverse schools have effectively addressed racial or ethnic conflicts, created positive interethnic environments, and helped relationships among diverse groups and individuals flourish. (EPR 7, $5.00)
Impact of Two-Way Bilingual Elementary Programs on Students' Attitudes Toward School and College, by Kathryn J. Lindholm-Leary & Graciela Borsato, examines the influence that participation in a two-way bilingual elementary program has had on high school students' attitudes toward school, college, and use of Spanish. (RR 10, $5.00)
For ordering information, contact credepubs@cal.org, visit CREDE online, or call 202-362-0700, ext. 218.
CREDE has received a 2-year funding extension to synthesize the work of the 31 research projects conducted by CREDE researchers over the past 5 years. Seven teams, each of which will focus on a specific theme, will produce an array of materials to bring state-of-the-art knowledge on diversity education into America's classrooms. Teams will also make recommendations for future research agendas.
These are the seven focus areas:
Journal Writing
Jill Burton and Michael Carroll, Editors
These chapters argue that through journal writing, language students and teacher learners increase their awareness of how they learn, thereby deepening their control over their own development. Dialogue journals help language learners and teacher learners develop the skills they need for personal and collaborative reflection.
Order No. 986, 188 pp., ISBN 0-939791-98-6. $29.95 (member $25.95)
Distance-Learning Programs
Lynn E. Henrichsen, Editor
In this volume, teachers and learners from around the world bridge the tyrannies of distance, language, culture, location, and time to develop linguistic and teaching skills via electronic and television communication, and other technological means. This volume vividly portrays the importance of teamwork and is a tribute to the dedication of teachers in making learning individually relevant in the global contexts in which they teach.
Order No. 935 , 220 pp., ISBN 0-939791-93-5. $29.95 (member $25.95)
For ordering information, visit TESOL's Web site.
The introduction to the ESL Standards, also published as Promising Futures, a professional paper by TESOL, has been translated into Spanish and put online.
Are there new teacher training programs in your area?
TESOL Publications is preparing to update its comprehensive Directory of Professional Preparation Programs in the United States and Canada. If you know of a new doctoral, master's, certificate, or undergraduate TESOL teacher training program in your area, please alert us by sending an e-mail message with contact information for the program to editor Ellen Garshick.
| Language Link home page | More Resources |
| CAL Home | CAL Store | Press
Room | Jobs | Contact
Us | Site Map | Privacy | Links Copyright © 2013 CAL |