Services for Two-Way Immersion Programs

Drawing on its decades of research in language education, CAL offers services to schools and districts who are planning or implementing two-way immersion (TWI) programs (often called dual language programs). All of our services are rooted in research-based tools and approaches, and are tailored to your needs. Frequently, our projects combine professional development, technical assistance, and evaluation activities.

CAL also offers services designed for teachers of English language learners in other educational settings, as well as for foreign language teachers in immersion or traditional programs. See our CAL Services page for more details.

 

Professional Development

CAL offers professional development to practitioners in TWI programs using our various tools for practitioners and one- to two-day workshops on the critical issues facing educators in two-way immersion settings. Workshops provide program staff with an understanding of the foundations of dual language education, including relevant concepts in second language acquisition, bilingualism and biliteracy, and equity; an overview of dual language essentials in program structure, curriculum, assessment, and instruction; and a summary of research to date on student outcomes.

CAL offers professional development to practitioners in TWI programs using the Two-Way SIOP Model. Based on the SIOP Model used by sheltered English and ESL practitioners across the country, the Two-Way SIOP Model provides a framework for planning and delivering instruction to develop bilingualism, biliteracy, and cross-cultural competence in native English speakers and native speakers of the partner language in TWI programs.

CAL has conducted professional development for TWI programs in California, the District of Columbia, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

 

Technical Assistance

Designing and implementing two-way immersion programs is complicated, and fraught with political, cultural, and academic demands. CAL can help you think through your plans to develop or refine a TWI program by working with key stakeholders in a collaborative environment.

Technical assistance services generally involve on-site meetings with program stakeholders to discuss an array of program-level issues. These issues include program design, the choice of assessments in the partner language, working with families and the community, and planning professional development.

CAL has conducted technical assistance for dual language programs in the District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

 

Evaluation

Whether on a small or large scale, external evaluations are a critical component of two-way immersion program success.

In addition to documenting program implementation and looking at student outcomes, CAL is interested in building evaluation capacity in schools and districts by facilitating the use of the Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education and the Evaluator's Toolkit for Dual Language Programs for self-evaluation and reflection. These documents provide a structure for considering what aspects of a program are critical for examination in both internal and external evaluations.

When conducting external evaluations, CAL offers a wide range of evaluation approaches:

  • Quantitative (e.g., review of student outcome data; experimental, quasi-experimental and pre-/post-test studies; surveys)
  • Qualitative (e.g., focus groups, observations, interviews, document reviews)
  • Needs assessments
  • Mixed-methods (combining one or more of the above)

Evaluation services are tailored to the questions that you have about your program, and may include topics related to

  • program design and implementation
  • assessment practices
  • curriculum
  • instruction
  • staffing and professional development
  • school culture and goals
  • program effectiveness (academic, linguistic, and affective)

CAL's coordinator of evaluation services for two-way immersion programs, Julie Sugarman, is a member of the American Evaluation Association, and has training in evaluation methodology, in addition to her experience working with two-way immersion programs.

CAL has conducted evaluations for two-way immersion programs in Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

 

Contact CAL for more information.