This month America’s Languages Caucus Co-Chair, Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), plans to introduce the World Language Education Assistance Program (LEAP).
The bill would ensure a multi-year grant program within the U.S. Department of Education which would allow school districts to establish, improve, and carry out projects that enrich and expand world language, or dual language programs.
The Joint National Committee for Languages – National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS) has been working closely with Representative Panetta and other Congressional supporters to create the bill.
“World language education needs our support now more than ever, given recent cuts to university language programs and a few state efforts to end language immersion programs,” said Rep Panetta.
The preliminary bill outlines significant structural changes within language education funding and highlights these criteria, moving forward:
Require a significant reservation of funds for Professional Development activities that are sustained, intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused.
Support accessible pathways for paraprofessionals to gain full educator certification and licensure as world language or dual language educators.
Prioritize grants to programs that:
(1) Include intensive summer world language programs for PD;
(2) Link with community-based heritage language schools and communities;
(3) Provide equitable availability of world language and dual language immersion programs across all socio-economic and demographic groups, including heritage language learners and English learners;
(4) Includes LEAs and institutions of higher education; and
(5) Collaborating with the state licensure office to broaden pathways for language or dual language teacher certification in order to diversify and expand opportunities in the teacher workforce.
Amanda Seewald, Executive Director of JNCL-NCLIS said “Developing this legislation with Congressman Panetta’s office has been an honor,” , adding “We are thrilled to see the World Language Education Assistance Program (World LEAP) Act introduced to nationalize the crucial discussion of language education as an essential facet of K-12 learning in the United States.
The World LEAP Act will establish the first K-12 world language and dual language education grants program at the U.S. Department of Education in over 14 years. This important legislation prioritizes funding for the development of programs offered across all socio-economic and demographic groups, builds opportunity for heritage and English language learners, requires a reservation of funds for professional development, and promotes career pathways that will generate economic success for our nation. JNCL-NCLIS proudly endorses the World LEAP Act and is grateful to Congressman Panetta for his leadership.”
In a new study published in the academic journal Science Advances, linguistic researchers explore the relationship between bilingualism and the brain’s memory functions.
The peer-reviewed study by researchers from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northwestern University, specifically sought to explore recollection and identification processes in bilingual individuals, compared to monolingual counterparts.
Previous research in this area has shown that homophones (words with similar pronunciation but different meanings) can directly impact the brain’s ability to remember and store words.
Words with a greater amount of homophones generally have a slower recollection time, and in this case the researchers wanted to explore this trend among speakers of two or more languages.
In this study, researchers Matias Fernandez-Duque, Sayuri Hayakawa and Viorica Marian focused on episodic memory (specific events and their contexts, usually prompted by imagery, sounds or words) and tested 84 bilingual Spanish-English speakers and 42 monolingual English speakers. The participants were asked to complete a visual search test while their eye movements were tracked.
During the test, names of objects were called out in English and individuals had to identify the connecting image from a set of four images. The images included words with competing sounds.
For example, the word ‘clock’ would be called out and the accompanying images would include a clock, an image identifying the competing word such as ‘clown’, and an image of a competing word in the second language, for example ‘clavo’ (nail in Spanish).
The team found that monolinguals could more easily locate the correct image than bilinguals. This could be explained by a fewer number of stored words to process amongst the images.
Results also suggested that bilingual people with a greater proficiency in Spanish, showed a preference towards images that competed in Spanish, while participants with a lower proficiency in Spanish produced the same results as monolingual individuals.
Additionally, the researchers observed that monolingual people spent longer looking at English-competing images.
Testing memory recall in bilingual individuals, the researchers found that participants were able to remember words more effectively when there was a competing word in English. With their ultimate findings, the researchers suggested that this could show that memory recollection is cohesive with greater cognitive function or higher nonverbal IQ predictors.
“Our finding that within-language competitors are remembered better than control items is consistent with research showing that feature overlap with targets during visual search can facilitate encoding of competitor items into memory,” the researchers explained in the study.
“Our results show that phonological competition during visual search affects long-term memory. This adds to the small but growing body of evidence that coactivated labels during speech comprehension can have long-term consequences for higher-order processes such as memory.”
“Our study provides evidence of significant interactivity in the cognitive system, not only across different languages but also across domains of cognitive function.”
On October 11, the AATSP will host a webinar entitled “Facilitating spaces for Indigenous languages and cultures: Diverse curricular approaches for the Spanish-language classroom.” It is part of a series created in honor of AATSP Executive Director (2019-2023) Sheri Spaine Long. The webinar, presented by Dr. Américo Mendoza-Mori of Harvard University, will explore strategies to incorporate Indigenous cultures and languages of the Americas within the field of Hispanic studies as a relevant and complex curricular component. Dr. Mendoza-Mori will discuss opportunities for building up academic and cultural programming to challenge and expand traditional notions of the so-called ‘Hispanic-world,’ and to reflect on how colleges and language departments can support more diverse spaces for the representation and visibility of Indigenous cultures, scholarship and voices, in connection with curricular goals.
Dr. Américo Mendoza-Mori teaches and researches on Indigenous and Latinx Studies at Harvard University. Dr. Mendoza-Mori is involved with different research and community-oriented projects to raise awareness of the relevance of Quechua languages and literatures, Latinx and Latin American cultures, and Indigenous systems of knowledge. His work has appeared in a variety of academic publications, a TEDx Talk, and has been presented at major institutions such as the United Nations and international media (The New York Times, BBC, NPR, The Guardian).
This webinar is free to all AATSP members and comes with a certificate of attendance.
Words matter. Bilingualism and multilingualism are superpowers. But the US education system has not always had that view. Traditionally, not speaking English has been seen as a deficit, and accented English has been considered imperfect English. This approach has made emergent bilinguals and multilingual students less confident and has reinforced stereotypes that lead to inequality. There is a rich cultural background to every student’s heritage, including the languages they speak. We must elevate and honor these students because they hold the superpower of bilingualism.
Today, most state policies refer to students with a first language other than English as English learners or English language learners, while ten, including Texas, use some form of limited English proficient students (LEP). At first glance, these labels may seem neutral and plainly descriptive; however, a closer inspection reveals that these terms are deficit-based—that is, they define students by the knowledge they lack rather than the strengths and abilities they bring into the classroom.
Such terms can affect how we understand students and their potential. They can cause us to give English more legitimacy and power than a student’s first language. Additionally, because of the language used to define students, many may see them as a needy, expensive-to-educate, monolithic group rather than as diverse students who bring enriching resources and assets to the classroom. We can shift our view and the words we use because words matter. These students are working toward something to be celebrated—becoming bilingual.
How do we foster bilinguals or multilinguals in the US education system? We first honor their cultures, heritage languages, and all the rich life experiences they bring. Then, we get them talking. The only way to learn a language is to speak it, but in our classrooms, teachers are speaking the majority of the day. We must give our emergent bilingual students more opportunities to speak academic English— perhaps an online program that allows them to converse in English with characters that look and sound just like them.
When non-English speakers can engage with characters and voices that look and sound like them, it becomes a meaningful learning experience. And when we use relevant pedagogy, we can advocate for teaching that not only reflects but sustains their culture. Rudine Sims Bishop (1990) wrote about the materials students read as mirrors and windows— learning from the lives of other people and their experiences.1 All students deserve to develop language proficiency as readers and writers so they can encounter stories that represent them and share their own stories.
How Representation Changes the Learning Process Lexia English was developed to encourage students to learn English by developing characters as peers, like friends they want to get to know and interact with. The authenticity of accents and experiences was a deliberate choice—all of the characters in the program are emergent bilinguals. The program’s content writers were emergent bilinguals and rarely saw characters who looked and sounded like them in books, TV shows, or movies as they grew up, and the program represents all they wish they’d had when growing up in the US education system.
Each character in the program has a biography that tells where the character comes from, where they live now, their home language, and who their parents and siblings are. As the students move through the program, these facts about each character are uncovered. For example, Sarika’s family is from India, where they speak Punjabi. Sarika was born in India and now lives in Smethwick, England. Rami’s family is from Lebanon and speaks Arabic at home. Rami was born in the US and lives in Birmingham, Alabama. Juan’s family is from Mexico, and although he was born in the US, his family speaks Spanish at home.
Being authentic is essential when representing our students’ cultures and languages. All of the voice actors who voiced the characters speak the first language of each character, so accents reflect how students speak. Bringing to life characters from the same country with the same language and the same accent is so relatable to students that it increases engagement. We wanted to ensure that students saw themselves and heard themselves as they developed academic oral language. A peer speaking English with their accent provides comfort to students, and the message is, no matter how you speak English, your English is perfect, exactly how it is today.
Expanding Support for New English Speakers As the number of emergent bilingual students continues to increase nationwide, educators and district administrators need smarter ways to ensure better academic outcomes for every learner. This means providing teachers, emergent bilinguals, and multilingual learners with the tools they need for success. Our program incorporates culturally responsive pedagogies that support individualized learning paths for each learner and creates an environment that includes and values all students, because words matter.
References 1. Bishop, R. S. (1990). “Windows and Mirrors: Children’s books and parallel cultures.” California State University Reading Conference, 14th Annual Conference Proceedings (pp. 3–12).
Kristie Shelley, MEd, is the senior director of emergent bilingual curriculum at Lexia and co-creator of Lexia English, a program that honors its emergent bilinguals by creating a welcoming and diverse experience to practice academic English.
Dr. José A. Viana is a former assistant deputy secretary in the Office of English Language Acquisition at the Department of Education and is a senior advisor at Lexia.
The official Danish dictionary of spelling, the Retskrivningsordbogen, will be relaunched in 2024 as part of a growing effort to make the Danish language more gender neutral and to tackle inequality.
Researchers from the Danish Language Council, a standards body within Denmark’s Culture Ministry, have sifted through over 1,000 pages of terms, to identify masculine words that have no feminine equivalent while rewriting outdated definitions.
The Danish language does not officially carry a male equivalent for the term “career woman” or a female equivalent for the male-gendered noun “financier,” and researchers have been working to correct these.
Margrethe Heidemann Andersen, a senior researcher at the council and editor of the dictionary explained that the project had “ignited considerable debate within the Danish media landscape,” sparking some resentment and controversy among individuals who “erroneously” feel that the editors of the Retskrivningsordbogen are forcing them to use certain words over others, she told The Washington Post.
For the Danish dictionary, this will be its first overhaul in 12 years and next year’s proposed edition will feature several new terms. Afholdsmand is the existing word for someone who abstains from drinking alcohol and it has a male-gendered suffix, a female version: afholdskvind will be added.
Some heavily gendered examples and phrases will also be removed from the dictionary, such as: pigerne fjantede rundt (the girls fooled around) and han er anklaget for uagtsomt manddrab (he is accused of negligent manslaughter).
Heidemann Andersen has not stated an exact figure for the number of words and sentences that have been analyzed or changed, but she suggested that in Danish there will still never be as many words ending with –kvind (-woman) as mand (-man).
She explained that in some cases, words ending in ‘-mand’ do not refer to a specific gender, but rather “a human being,” therefore making the addition of a female equivalent pointless.
Advances in linguistic gender equality and gender neutrality in Denmark align with the UN’s global goals towards equality for women by 2030, but the cahnges is also largely due to the appointment of Mette Fredriksen, the country’s female prime minister.
Heidemann Andersen explained some of the hurdles that they have have already endured tomake the changes, “When we add a new word, we have to get the argument right, and the frequency matters a lot,” said Heidemann Andersen, adding “There are some people who have grown up with a language who think we are changing too much, and do not think we need a word like ‘female financier.’”
The Danish Language Council is currently finalizing the dictionary’s new additions, in line for 2024 release.
Fluency in multiple languages can increase opportunities and lead to remarkable achievements. As US education secretary Dr. Miguel Cardona shared, “My bilingualism and biculturalism would someday be my superpower.” Recent data from California demonstrates that K–12 students who are fluent in English and another language outperform their monolingual counterparts across all grades and content areas.1
There is a chasm, however, between what we know and what we have incorporated into classroom practices, education policies, and popular opinion about children who are multilingual. Persistent myths, misconceptions, and overt bigotry underlie many of the significant instructional obstacles faced by multilingual learners. One of the most enduring misconceptions is that multilingual students are at a higher risk of low achievement simply because they speak a language other than English. As noted by the National Committee for Effective Literacy for Emergent Bilingual Students (NCEL), students who speak languages other than English at home navigate a school life that perceives their bilingualism as a deficit, framing these students as “limited English proficient” rather than as “emergent bilinguals.” Dominant social messages often do not value the linguistic and cultural resources these children bring to society and rather emphasize the challenges of providing effective instruction in and rapid transition to English. The assumption that monolingualism is the norm is so deeply ingrained that children who function in more than one language are often discussed and treated based on what they lack, rather than on the benefit that they speak another language.
Consistent research demonstrates the cognitive, social, and academic advantages of bilingualism. Bilingual students often showcase enhanced problem-solving skills, greater metalinguistic awareness, and increased cultural competence when compared to monolingual students. Moreover, it is crucial to recognize that bilingualism is not merely the presence of two languages but rather the interaction of two or more languages. Some children learn two or more languages including English simultaneously. Others may primarily speak a language other than English at home and are formally exposed to English-only instruction once they enter school. In this scenario, while the child is learning English, their literacy development is built upon the foundation of the first language. This is a distinct process from monolingual literacy acquisition in that there will be differences based on the child’s first language and cross-linguistic influences.
A child’s phonology will be grounded in their primary language, and their vocabulary will be more developed in their primary language as well. There are also opportunities for the cross-linguistic transfer of skills, especially between English and Spanish, and there is significant evidence that phonological awareness skills and alphabet knowledge are correlated between English and Spanish.
There are also a significant number of cognates that can be leveraged to increase English vocabulary acquisition.
Despite the wealth of research and knowledge available, multilingual learners still encounter opportunity achievement gaps and inequitable unfavorable outcomes in many educational settings. Moreover, these challenges, which have persisted for decades, were further exacerbated by the pandemic. Unfortunately, much of our literacy instruction is focused only on English, and there is generally a lack of awareness about how to incorporate a child’s home language into pedagogical approaches to teaching and assessing reading. Monolingualism is treated as the standard, according to Dr. Lydia Kokkola, linguistics professor and researcher, resulting in emergent bilingual students being considered deficient even before they begin an assessment.2
When the primary assumptions and understandings of how children learn to read and write are based in English, the skills children may bring from another language go unconsidered. This fundamental omission may lead to the negative framing of the skills of bilingual children and to children being misclassified as “at risk.” Teachers may see these students as in need of intervention simply because they are not able to fully demonstrate their language and literacy skills in English, because they are in the process of acquiring English.
As language expert Alexandra Guilamo asserts, while it is essential that we establish a shared definition of effective literacy teaching and learning, it must be informed by a profound understanding of the science behind bilingual development.3 By embracing bilingual assessment practices, we not only acknowledge and celebrate these inherent strengths but also provide opportunities for multilingual learners to excel in their educational journeys, preparing them to become global citizens capable of navigating an interconnected world.
While it is crucial to undertake the necessary work to shift the narrative toward one grounded in factual information and an asset-based perspective, it is equally important to make progress and improvements in providing solutions that can accurately assess bilingual children. High-quality assessments grounded in an understanding of cross-language transfer have the potential to pave the way for a much-needed shift in our nation’s obsolete mindset concerning multilingual learners and the acquisition of literacy in English.
Assessments: A Problem but Also a Solution Bilingual assessment transcends a mere evaluation of language and literacy proficiency; it encompasses a broader recognition of and appreciation for the rich linguistic resources our students possess. By acknowledging the unique advantages of bilingualism, we can cultivate an educational environment that is more inclusive and equitable, allowing all learners access to high academic outcomes.
First and foremost, bilingual assessment acknowledges the intricate and dynamic nature of language development. It recognizes that language is not a static entity but a living and evolving system influenced by cultural and social factors. Assessing students’ abilities in their home languages, as well as in the language of instruction, offers a more comprehensive understanding of their true capabilities. It enables us to identify areas of strength and areas that require further support, ensuring a more accurate assessment of their overall language and literacy abilities.
Moreover, bilingual assessment promotes the preservation of cultural identity and nurtures a sense of belonging among multilingual learners because it places value on what children know and can do in their home languages. Language is deeply intertwined with culture, and by honoring and valuing students’ native languages, we validate their heritages and foster an environment that celebrates diversity and recognizes their strengths. This, in turn, enhances students’ self-esteem, motivation, and engagement, which all support improved academic outcomes.
Another crucial aspect of bilingual assessment is its potential to bridge language barriers and facilitate meaningful communication between educators, students, and families. When assessments are conducted solely in a language that students are still acquiring, it places them at a disadvantage and restricts their ability to fully demonstrate their knowledge and skills. By employing bilingual assessment strategies, we ensure that students’ voices are heard and their achievements are accurately measured, promoting a more accurate representation of their academic abilities.
Assessments should serve the purpose of informing effective instruction and tracking student progress. However, distinguishing between second-language acquisition and language-based learning challenges continues to be an obstacle. A widespread belief equates lack of native English with lower ability generally, and this belief permeates instructional and assessment practices. Despite federal law requiring valid and reliable tools, many students are assessed using tests that are “normed for English speakers” (NCEL) without considering how the lack of English proficiency is a barrier to performing on these tests.
Multilingual learners do not possess two separate vocabulary systems; rather, they process information through a shared conceptual model. Thus, knowledge of concepts, rather than specific words, becomes a better indicator of overall vocabulary knowledge.4 For example, things that might be perceived as errors during an assessment may be elements or functions from the students’ native languages and can instead be used as approximations for English acquisition.
While it is unreasonable to expect a student to read words in a language that they have not been taught (e.g., formal Spanish for a student who speaks Spanish but is instructed in English), it is also problematic to disregard their oral proficiency in their native language. Assessments should not be administered exclusively in English (despite the majority of students being instructed in a single language), nor only in the native language. Students should be allowed to utilize their full vocabulary and skill set in all languages they know. If that is not feasible, teachers should exercise caution and refrain from flagging students as “at risk” when the issue may stem from assessment availability rather than the students’ abilities.
Assessments should evaluate not only oral language but also literacy development. The assessment of literacy should take a nuanced approach that recognizes the relationship between the language of instruction and the student’s ability in that language.
For example, if Spanish-speaking students are only instructed to read in English, they cannot be expected to know how to decode in Spanish if they do not already have that skill prior to entering English instruction. Baseline skills in Spanish can be assessed, but without access to Spanish reading instruction, students may not make progress.
However, skills such as phonological awareness are metalinguistic and are known to transfer across languages. Phonological awareness has been found to be correlated between Spanish and English, and therefore there is utility in measuring a Spanish-dominant student’s phonological awareness skills in Spanish to better predict their reading ability in English, even if they are receiving English-only instruction. Ultimately, there needs to be a systematic decision-making process in place that considers the student’s language proficiency and how this will interact with the language of their reading instruction.
The inadequacy of appropriate resources, rather than students’ abilities, has long compromised the assessment of multilingual learners and resulted in misdiagnosed learning needs. Not only are students inaccurately categorized as requiring more intensive interventions but they also miss out on enrichment and extension opportunities. Researchers who completed a recent study by NWEA that included data from the 2017–2018 Civil Rights Data Collection and Stanford Education Data Archive found that emergent bilingual students are significantly underrepresented in gifted and talented education, at rates ranging from one-eighth to one-sixth of their representation in the overall student population.5
An effective multitiered system of supports (MTSS) should be implemented by trained and knowledgeable professionals who collect data from multiple sources to identify strengths and learning needs across various contexts, including home and school. Assessment instruments must be reliable and have robust evidence of validity to support the uses and interpretations of the assessment.6 Assessments should also have evidence that they do not discriminate based on race, culture, or language. Importantly, they should be conducted in the student’s native language(s) or any mode of communication that yields the most accurate information about the child’s knowledge and abilities.
The role of assessments within MTSS is to determine the additional instructional support students require and to monitor their progress over time while receiving those supports. Educators who possess an understanding of first- and second-language acquisition and reading development are better equipped to distinguish emergent bilingual students who need additional and more targeted reading instruction versus English language learning support, or both.
Learning a second language is not in and of itself a learning delay. It is simply a piece of information about a student. Assessment results must be interpreted with acknowledgement of the role of proficiency in both languages and how this will influence performance on the assessment. The language of instruction should also be considered and will also influence performance. Therefore, multilingual learners would typically benefit from being assessed in their native language and in English, but the types of assessments and the language of assessment may vary based on individual profiles and experiences.
Native-language acquisition provides a template for language learning, aiding in the identification of phonemes, words, inflections, and grammatical structures, even if the structures differ between languages Learning more than one language does not hinder reading in the second language; rather, it promotes reading proficiency. Furthermore, difficulties in oral language development are predictive of reading difficulties. There is clear evidence of cross-language prediction from oral language skills to both passage comprehension and word reading efficiency when considering oral language in the child’s native language and reading in their second language.
Thus, children’s oral language development should be measured, but unfortunately most assessment suites do not include ways to measure oral language, let alone in multiple languages. It is critically important that bilingual students be given credit for all they know and can do, regardless of the language in which they demonstrate that knowledge. When evaluating the academic and language skills of children growing up bilingually, it is best to examine their performance in both languages to obtain a comprehensive view of their strengths and weaknesses and the full linguistic resources they can draw upon to engage in academic work. Failure to do so looks at the student in fractions, treating bilingual students as two monolingual individuals rather than one whole, multilingual person.7
Measures of oral language, including vocabulary and syntax, have been found to independently predict reading achievement. The impact of oral language skills on reading achievement has been well documented: children with stronger oral language skills make faster progress in acquiring literacy skills throughout their elementary school years. The ability to produce oral language in a communicative context should be considered the gold standard for assessing language knowledge, allowing for the evaluation of multiple levels of language use and facilitating comparisons of words, sentences, and narrative structure within and across languages.
To adequately meet the needs of our multilingual learners, we must recognize the importance of bilingual assessment as a powerful tool for unlocking their true potential.
Implementing bilingual assessment practices requires a commitment of additional resources, training, and collaborative efforts among educators, administrators, and policymakers. By investing in bilingual assessment, we are investing in the future of our students, equipping them with the necessary tools to thrive in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.
To fully embrace the power of bilingual assessment, we must challenge the prevailing belief that monolingualism is the standard and that proficiency in a single language is the sole determinant of academic success. Instead, we must acknowledge and celebrate the diverse linguistic talents and abilities of our students, utilizing their bilingualism as a catalyst for fostering inclusive, equitable, and enriching educational experiences.
Let us embark on this transformative journey in which bilingual assessment becomes an integral component of our educational practices.
In doing so, we affirm our unwavering commitment to honoring the languages, cultures, and untapped potential of all our students. Together, we can forge an educational system that celebrates diversity, promotes equity and justice, and unlocks the unlimited potential of multilingual learners.
Resources • Education First, in partnership with the LA County Office of Education and the Greater LA Education Foundation, explored research, systems, and practices for approaches to supporting SEL for multilingual students.
• National Committee for Effective Literacy for Emergent Bilingual Students (NCEL)
• NWEA, a not-for-profit research and educational services organization serving K–12 students, released a new study focusing on the identification of gifted and talented (GT) students who are English learners (ELs) and/or students with disabilities (SWD).
• Guilamo, A. (2023). “Why Focus on Monolingual Solutions to Improve Biliterate Reading?” Language Magazine.
• Kokkola, L. (2013). “Reading Multilingual Literature: The bilingual brain and literacy education.” Bookbird: A Journal of International Children s Literature, 51 (3), 22–35.
• Linan-Thompson, S., Ortiz, A., and Carvazos, L. (2022). “An Examination of MTSS Assessment and Decision-Making Practices for English Learners.” School Psychology Review, 51 (1), 1–14.
• Mancilla-Martinez, J., Hwanh, J. K., and Oh, M. H. (2021). “Assessment Selection for Multilingual Learners’ Reading Development.” The Reading Teacher, 75 (3), 351–362.
• Miller, J. F., Heilmann, J., Nockerts, A., Iglesias, A., Fabiano, L., and Francis, D. J. (2006). “Oral Language and Reading in Bilingual Children.” Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 2 (1), 30–43.
Dr. Lillian Duran (ldu[email protected]) is associate professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the College of Education at the University of Oregon. Her research is focused on improving instructional and assessment practices for dual language learners.
Kajal Patel Below ([email protected]) is vice president of biliteracy at Amplify. In her role, she collaborates and leads initiatives across Amplify’s Spanish offerings, works with national experts in the field, and maintains a pulse on what schools and districts need to serve emergent bilinguals in Spanish.
Bilingualism is becoming popular as more and more parents demand bilingual schooling for their children. English monolingualism, encouraged in the US during the 20th century and stimulated by the English-only movement of the 1980s and 1990s, is diminishing as communications shrink the planet. At the state level, governors and state boards of education are dramatically expanding the number of dual language (DL) schools, along with financial resources for this expansion.
They often justify the expenditure by arguing that graduating more proficient bilingual/biliterate students boosts state economies in the long run. The popularity of DL programs is evidenced by 4,894 schools in 43 states that currently identify as having a DL program (www.duallanguageschools.com), so the challenge is now to honor the commitment to support English learners and their families.
Program Names In this article we’re using the shorter name dual language (DL) to refer to all high-quality models of bilingual schooling, and we’re contrasting DL with the older program for English learners called transitional bilingual education (TBE).
DL Compared to TBE • Dual language education was initially started in a few US schools in the 1960s, but over the last half-century it has evolved dramatically.
• TBE was a remedial program. DL is the mainstream, an enrichment program; it is the standard grade-level curriculum taught through two languages.
• TBE was only for English learners. DL is for everyone, including English learners.
• TBE was provided for only a few years. DL starts in preschool or kindergarten and grows grade by grade each year, until it is implemented in all grades pre-K–12.
• The ultimate goal for students attending TBE classes was English proficiency, resulting in the loss of their first languages. DL graduates are proficient bilinguals, prepared to use their biliteracy in their professions.
• Longitudinal research on TBE found that English learners only closed half of the achievement gap in English. Longitudinal research findings on DL show that by middle school years, all DL student groups reach grade level and above in two languages (English learners, native English speakers, students from poverty, all ethnic groups) (Collier and Thomas, 2017).
Benefits for DL Students DL is not a separate, segregated program only for English learners. All students work together, teaching each other and benefiting from cooperative learning activities in pairs, small groups, and learning centers.
DL students are happier, more engaged with instruction, and more confident; they attend school more regularly, and their high school graduation rates are dramatically higher than for students not attending DL classes (Collier and Thomas, 2018; Lindholm-Leary, 2001; Thomas and Collier, 2012, 2014). DL is exciting, stimulating, and fun.
DL Teachers Rule! What kind of teaching innovations have emerged in DL classrooms? DL is so powerful that it is changing teaching practices for all teachers, because research shows it works for all students, including at-risk groups.
DL teachers must teach very heterogeneous groups of students—of different socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, proficiency levels in the language of instruction, and amounts of schooling they have received in the past.
To manage all these diverse student needs, DL teachers must use many varied strategies based on cooperative learning, with teachers modeling routines and procedures in the process of guiding new curricular experiences and providing lots of clues to meaning through mime, gestures, pictures, word charts, chants, music, movement, graphic organizers, and so much more.
As the lesson moves on, peer teaching among students in pairs and small groups stimulates cognitive development through collaborative problem solving and critical thinking across the curriculum (Collier and Thomas, 2009, 2012).
Many DL classes are team taught, with each teacher providing instruction in one language and the two teachers exchanging their two classes. Team teaching requires coordination and planning, but two heads are better than one for developing innovative teaching strategies and problem solving regarding individual student needs.
Some DL classes are self-contained with one deeply proficient bilingual teacher providing instruction in the two languages, but not translating or code switching, unless that is the specific objective of a lesson. For elementary schools, the amount of instructional time in each language is designated by the program model chosen by the DL school (90:10, 80:20, 50:50, and these variations can influence the choice of either sequential or simultaneous biliteracy development).
Secondary DL classes are planned by offering core curricular courses and electives taught in the non-English (partner) language, along with ESL content courses for the newly arriving immigrants. In our North Carolina research, we conducted principal interviews that confirmed our surprising data-analytic findings regarding DL teaching practices. The types of second-language teaching strategies developed by DL teachers are powerful not only for the English learners but also for other students who in the past have not done well in school.
Professional development opportunities in DL schools now help monolingual English teachers master more varied teaching strategies based on DL teaching innovations, to serve all learners’ diverse needs (Thomas and Collier, 2014, 2017).
DL Administrative Reforms Since DL is the mainstream curriculum, teaching all subjects through both languages over each two-year period (e.g., if math is taught in English this year, math should be taught in the partner language next year), this reform pushes all central-office curricular heads into collaboration and shared financing.
Textbooks in each subject area must be chosen thoughtfully, so that the curricular materials in the partner language are cross-culturally appropriate and authentic, and match the curricular goals of the grade for the subject being taught. Also financial and logistical support should be provided by all departments for hiring high-quality, certified bilingual staff, for library resources in the partner language, and for DL professional development for teachers and administrators. Uniting all administrative divisions also requires collaboration across elementary, middle, and high schools, because all K–12 educators contribute to DL students’ long-term success. This can occur only when the superintendent, chief academic officer, school board members, and principals fully understand and support the DL program.
Extending DL to Secondary DL courses need to continue into the feeder middle and high schools for many reasons. Remember from our longitudinal research that it takes groups an average of six years to reach grade-level achievement in their second language (Collier and Thomas, 2009), and that means that some students get there in a shorter time and others take a longer time.
Extending the DL program into middle school gives all students the opportunity to catch up to grade level in their second language and to excel in their first language. Proficient bilinguals usually outscore monolinguals on any test you give them in either language, so once the DL students reach grade-level achievement, they typically outscore native speakers by as much as one or two grades. Principals of DL middle and high schools watch their scores go up as increasing numbers of students who attended the DL elementary program reach secondary, addressing issues of accountability and making it a win–win for students, teachers, and administrators. Most important, though, is that the DL secondary courses are where the newly arriving immigrants belong when the DL partner language is their native language.
Courses taught in the partner language allow the new arrivals to catch up and keep up with schoolwork while they are acquiring English through the ESL content courses, taught by ESL faculty who are part of the DL program. We have some astonishing stories of student success in our book on secondary DL (Collier and Thomas, 2018), for those arriving in the US at secondary level.
Since bilingually schooled students are high achievers, DL students should be offered many core courses for AP credit in the partner language, as well as popular electives. DL high school programs lead to high graduation rates, big reductions in dropouts and misbehavior, and no more long-term English learners.
The Biliteracy Seal This credential added to a student’s high school diploma helps DL students gain admission and scholarships to four-year universities, professional credibility, and higher salaries in their professional lives.
Languages of DL programs Since Spanish is the primary language of 76% percent of English learners in the US (US Department of Education, 2020), Spanish–English programs are quite popular. Spanish is the second-largest language of the world after Mandarin Chinese, as defined by the number of native speakers (see Figure 1.5 in Thomas and Collier, 2017).
The US now has the second-largest number of Spanish speakers in the world, after Mexico.
There are also US DL programs taught in English and Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Cantonese, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Hebrew, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese, and the list is growing every year.
In addition, DL programs are provided in the following Indigenous languages of the US: Arapahoe, Cherokee, Crow, Diné (Navajo), Hoopa, Inupiaq, Keres, Lakota, Nahuatl, Ojibwe, Passamaquoddy, Shoshone, Ute, and Yurok (US Department of Education, 2015; Center for Applied Linguistics, 2017).
DL Works for Everyone So you can see that DL is popular, and it’s expanding throughout the US. In our research in North Carolina and Texas, we have found that African American students benefit dramatically from attending DL classes, scoring as much as two grades above grade level by the middle school years (Thomas and Collier, 2002, 2014).
In our North Carolina research, DL students with exceptionalities such as learning disabilities, autism, and other categories of special need scored significantly higher than their peers with special needs not in DL; it does not harm these students to study through two languages—they benefit! Native English speakers, new immigrants, English learners, Latinos, Asians, Indigenous groups, students of low socio-economic status—all groups of students thrive in DL enrichment classes.
References Center for Applied Linguistics (2017). Two-Way Immersion Directory. Center for Applied Linguistics. www.cal.org/twi/directory
Collier, V. P., and Thomas, W. P. (2009). Educating English Learners for a Transformed World. Dual Language Education of New Mexico-Fuente Press.
Collier, V. P., and Thomas, W. P. (2014). Creating Dual Language Schools for a Transformed World: Administrators Speak. Dual Language Education of New Mexico-Fuente Press.
Collier, V. P., and Thomas, W. P. (2017). “Validating the Power of Bilingual Schooling: Thirty-two years of large-scale, longitudinal research.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. Cambridge University Press. www.thomasandcollier.com
Collier, V. P., and Thomas, W. P. (2018). Transforming Secondary Education: Middle and High School Dual Language Programs. Dual Language Education of New Mexico-Fuente Press.
Lindholm-Leary, K. (2001). Dual Language Education. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Thomas, W. P., and Collier, V. P. (2002). A National Study of School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students’ Long-Term Academic Achievement. Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence, University of California–Santa Cruz. www.thomasandcollier.com
Thomas, W. P., and Collier, V. P. (2012). Dual Language Education for a Transformed World. Dual Language Education of New Mexico-Fuente Press.
Thomas, W. P., and Collier, V. P. (2014). English Learners in North Carolina Dual Language Programs: Year 3 of This Study: School Year 2009–2010. George Mason University. A research report provided to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. www.thomasandcollier.com
Thomas, W. P., and Collier, V. P. (2017). Why Dual Language Schooling. Dual Language Education of New Mexico-Fuente Press.
US Department of Education: Office of English Language Acquisition (2015). Dual Language Education Programs: Current State Policies and Practices. US Department of Education.
US Department of Education: Office of English Language Acquisition (2020). “The Top Languages Spoken by English Learners in the United States.” US Department of Education.
Virginia P. Collier and Wayne P. Thomas are professors emeritus, George Mason University. Superintendents, school board members, and central administrative staff should check out their short book, Why Dual Language Schooling (Thomas and Collier, 2017; 2019 edition in Spanish).
This is also a good book for convincing bilingual families to enroll their children in DL classes. Educators should ensure that newly arriving immigrants who are speakers of the DL partner language understand the importance of the program so that their children can continue to keep up or catch up to grade level in their native language while they also acquire English.
They should know that the research shows that in DL classes their children will develop deeper proficiency in English than in a monolingual English program. For details on well-implemented DL programs, see Thomas and Collier (2017), as well as the whole series of five books on DL, three of which have editions in Spanish.
Collier and Thomas (2014) is written by and for DL principals, and Collier and Thomas (2018) provides the passionate voices of 19 contributing authors who are experienced secondary DL educators.
On 14 October, Australians will have their say in a referendum about whether to change the Constitution to recognize the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
Voters will be asked to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a single question. The question on the ballot paper will be:
“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
Do you approve this proposed alteration?”
Known as the “Voice to Parliament” the bill signifies Indigenous sovereignty—particularly within the education sector, for many communities, schools and Indigenous groups.
In Coffs Harbour – a seaside town north of Sydney, educator Clark Webb is rallying for change. “Opening our own schools, that’s sovereignty in action,” said Webb.
Webb is seeking to revive the Indigenous language spoken in Coffs Harbour, and explains “And so we need that ‘Voice’ there to lobby for that.”
Upon opening last year, the Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School (GGFS) that Webb helped found, was the first bilingual Indigenous school in New South Wales—the most densely populated state in Australia. The school’s opening is part of a ground-up initiative to revive dozens of Indigenous languages that are close to extinction. It is also being supported by federal and state governments.
The ‘Voice’ would advise Parliament and Government on matters affecting Indigenous communities. Linda Burney, the Minister forIndigenous Australians, has declared that she will ask for the Voice to prioritize Indigenous health, housing, education, and jobs.
Many of Australia’s Indigenous people view language revitalization as a critical pathway to ensuring the survival of their cultures, and 2023 has become one of the most crucial years for Indigenous rights in the country’s history.
Language preservation is one of the key pillars of the ‘Yes’ campaign going into the referendum.
The Aboriginal, Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia are regarded as some of the world’s oldest cultural civilizations, with traditions still practiced today that date back tens of thousands of years.
After colonization by the British Empire in 1788, many Indigenous groups began to face discrimination, which continued for centuries following.
In 1901, Australia became an independent nation, however Indigenous people were subject to forced separation from their children, discriminatory policies and punishment for speaking their native languages as recently as the 1980s.
A new language has been discovered during an archeological dig at a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Boğazköy-Hattusha in Turkey, former capital of the Hittite Empire.
The Hittite Empire is regarded as one of the world’s oldest known civilizations and boasts the world’s oldest known Indo-European language. Excavations at this particular site have spanned more than 100 years, and according to a news report by the University of Würzburg, the archeological work directed by the German Archaeological Institute has previously found “almost 30,000 clay tablets with cuneiform writing.”
The new language discovered among the tablets has been labelled “largely incomprehensible” according to the release, but displays features of a “cultic ritual text” and is already being analyzed for greater understanding. It is the fourth language of its kind to be found at the site.
Previous archeological researchers have discovered cuneiform texts with passages in Luwian, Palaic, and Hattic languages. According to the university, the first two languages are close relatives of Hittite, while the third language significantly differs. The newest language was found where the Palaic language was spoken, but researchers believe it shares “more features” with Luwian. The connection between the languages will be studied by researchers.
The tablets have helped researchers understand the civilization’s history, society, economy, and religious traditions.
Daniel Schwemer, chair of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Würzburg said “The Hittites were uniquely interested in recording rituals in foreign languages,”, suggesting that the find wasn’t entirely unexpected.
The university explained that the type of ritual texts discovered at the site were usually written by the scribes of Hittite rulers, reflecting various Bronze Age traditions and languages.
The discovery of the new language will be studied in context to previous finds, where researchers will look for patterns and continue to build a picture of early civilizations.
In Hong Kong, a group created to promote the use of Cantonese was pushed to close, after authorities raided its founder’s family home last week.
To justify the move, the government cited a controversial national security law and asked the foundation to remove all traces of a fictional three-year-old short story.
The raid has been viewed as another blast on freedom of expression in Hong Kong.
The story (written as an essay) explores the narrative of a man who emigrated from Hong Kong to the UK with his parents in 2020 – the year the national security law was imposed. After the death of his parents in 2050, the man visits Hong Kong, only to find the city’s history washed away by authoritarian rule.
The article ends with the phrase, “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting,” which was written by the late Czech novelist Milan Kundera. Kundera’s large body of work is often critical of Czechoslovak communism.
Speaking to the BBC, The Hong Kong Language Learning Association’s founder Andrew Chan said that he decided to cease operations at the organization upon gaining legal advice.
“My biggest concern is the safety of my family members and friends in Hong Kong. I found out that if I did not shut down the organization, they could keep using the materials online, and harass the people I care about,” he said. Mr Chan is 28 and teaches Chinese and Cantonese online.
Cantonese is spoken by an overwhelming majority of people in the city, in addition to the Guangdong province in China.
Mr Chan founded the Hong Kong Language Learning Association with a mission and ethos of protecting “language rights of the Hong Kong people”.
Tensions between Hong Kong and mainland China have commonly arisen around language, identity, and differences in political convictions.
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