Parents' Questions About Two-Way Immersion

1. What advantages are there for my child in a TWI program? Are the advantages the same for language minority and language majority students?
2. How do students in TWI programs compare academically to students in other types of educational programs?
3. When do students perform at grade level on standardized achievement tests in their first and second languages? Is the time frame different for 90/10 vs. 50/50 models?
4. Within TWI programs, how does the academic performance of native English speakers compare to that of English language learners?
5. What are the characteristics of students who are successful in TWI programs?
6. How can TWI program parents help families who don’t have children in the program understand its benefits?
7. How can TWI parents work with the school board and district administrators to help them understand the importance of supporting TWI programs?
8. What should a TWI program do to promote home-school connections? What can I do as a parent to get involved?
9. How can I help support my child in doing homework in the second language, particularly if I don’t know that language? What kind of homework support can the program provide?
10. What resources exist for parents of TWI students? Are there conferences that I might enjoy attending?

2. How do students in TWI programs compare academically to students in other types of educational programs?

Several investigators have examined the reading and math achievement of students in dual language programs at late elementary or secondary levels to determine the long-term impact of TWI programs (e.g., Cazabon, Nicoladis, & Lambert, 1998; Collier & Thomas, 2004; Howard, Sugarman & Christian, 2003; Kirk-Senesac, 2002; Lindholm-Leary, 2001, 2005).

These studies showed that overall both English language learners and native English speakers made significant progress in both languages; both groups scored at or well above grade level in both languages by middle school; and both groups performed at comparable or superior levels compared to same-language peers in other educational settings. On norm-referenced standardized tests of reading and math achievement in English, native English speakers outscored their English-only peers in English-only classrooms. English language learners who had learned English in a TWI program scored significantly higher than their English language learning peers who had studies in other kinds of programs in the state and also performed on a par with native English speaking students in English-only classrooms (Lindholm-Leary, 2005; Lindholm-Leary & Borsato, in press).