- West Chicago Elementary School District 33
- Dual Language Program
-
Dual Language Program
- Promotes bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism for participating students. Students begin the program in kindergarten and will be literate in reading, writing, and speaking in both English and Spanish by the end of 8th grade.
- The One-Way Dual Language Program is in the preschool and each of the elementary schools.
- The Two-Way Dual Language Program is currently housed at Gary School.
- Leman Middle School has expanded the One-Way Dual Language Program to seventh grade in 2020-2021. A strand of Two-Way Dual Language is in eighth grade this school year.
Overview
-
Dual Language Education is an educational approach to promote biliteracy for native English speakers and ELLs from Spanish speaking homes. The goal is to prepare students for the future with abilities to listen, speak, read, and write both English and Spanish, as well as develop an appreciation for different cultures. The Dual Language Program provides children with the opportunity to learn two languages, while maintaining high academic standards. The philosophy of West Chicago Elementary District 33's Dual Language program is to educate our students to become bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural in a global society. Ultimately, we want our students to achieve academic excellence in two languages and attain a multicultural understanding and appreciation for the different cultures represented in our community.
One-Way Dual
-
One-Way Dual Language supports “one language” of students to become bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate. For example, students whose home language is Spanish would learn in English and Spanish.
One-Way Dual Language Enrollment
The One-Way Dual Language Program is offered at all schools (Kindergarten-7th grade). The program will continue to expand through 8th grade at the middle school by the 2021-2022 school year. The student population of the one-way dual language classrooms are from families of Spanish-speaking, emergent bilinguals. Students whose primary language is Spanish and who did not select the dual language program at Gary school will have the opportunity to enroll in the One-Way Dual Language program at their neighborhood school. All instruction in Spanish and English is aligned with D33’s general educational philosophy and curriculum, intervention, differentiated instruction, as well as the Common Core Standards.
Two-Way Dual
-
Two-Way Dual supports “two language” groups of students to become bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate. For example, an equal number of Spanish-speaking and English-speaking students would learn in both languages.
Two-Way Dual Language Enrollment
The Two-Way Dual Language program is housed at Gary Elementary School (Kindergarten – 5th Grades). This is a magnet program with students attending from all over the district. The student population of the two-way dual language classrooms will be approximately 60% from families of Emergent Bilinguals whose home language is Spanish, and 40% from families of native English speakers. Spanish speaking ELLs will be given the opportunity to enroll in later grades if there is space. Students from families of native English speakers will be given the opportunity to enroll at the kindergarten level only, unless transferring from another school district’s dual language program. All instruction in Spanish and English is aligned with D33’s general educational philosophy and curriculum, intervention, differentiated instruction, as well as the Common Core Standards.
FAQs
-
Why have a dual language program? What are the benefits?
Genesee (2008) points out that the ever increasing globalization of business and commerce as well as the telecommunications revolution has set the stage so that those who know English and other languages will have economic and political advantages over those who know only English.
King and Mackay (2007) present a number of benefits attributed to learning a second language in depth. These include: a cognitive edge in creativity and metalinguistic awareness, enhanced cross-cultural understanding, and an educational and career edge.
Howard, Sugarman, Perdomo and Adger (2005) also cite research that has found that participants in dual language programs are more likely to stay in school than students from other programs and that most participants also plan to attend college.
-
Which languages are involved in the bilingual programs in D33 and how were they chosen?
Although West Chicago has students that come from families where other languages are spoken, all of the bilingual programs involve English and Spanish. English was chosen due to its dominance in our society and Spanish was chosen because there are large enough numbers of students from Spanish speaking homes to require services in Spanish according to Illinois School Code Article 14-C. (105 ILCS 5/Art. 14C heading) ARTICLE 14C. TRANSITIONAL BILINGUAL EDUCATION.
-
Why are the two languages separated? Why don't we translate so students hear a concept in their stronger language?
When students know that material is going to be presented in their stronger language after it is presented first in their weaker language, they learn to tune out and wait for the presentation in their stronger language, and, consequently, do not acquire the weaker language (Lessow-Hurley 2005; Freeman, Freeman and Mercuri 2005).
Also, teachers who do concurrent translation (presenting material first in one language, then in the other) often spend disproportionately more time in English (Lessow-Hurley 2005).
-
Why don't we just teach English and Spanish in language classes?
"Educational professionals also accept now that the development of advanced levels of language competence, in a primary or second language, is most successful when it occurs in conjunction with meaningful, important, and authentic communication. In school settings, this can be communication about academic subjects," (Cloud, Genesee and Hamayan 2000, 2). Freeman, Freeman and Mercuri (2005), also note "Research on language acquisition has shown that language is best and most efficiently learned when taught through content," (96).
Genesee (2008, p. 32) states, "...content is the vehicle for teaching the second language, and content instruction provides opportunities for students to acquire the target language, much like native speakers learn their first language as a result of meaningful, significant and sustained communication with others."
-
What do we say when parents ask how they can support their children with work in a language the parents don't understand?
Cloud, Genesee and Hamayan (2000, p. 92), suggest that parents who are not proficient in the target language or lack literacy skills or time can still support their children's growth in literacy by providing them with various recorded forms of media that their children can listen to and follow along with. Parents can also serve as audience to their children, "by expressing enjoyment and praising their children when they attempt to read and write, and by conveying to their children the importance of becoming biliterate."
-
What is "bridging" and why is it important?
"The bridge is the period during the lesson or unit where the focus is on instructing students in how to transfer what they have learned and stored in one language into the other language. The focus moves from teaching content, to teaching the language of content in both of the students’ languages," (Beeman and Urow, 2009).
-
Aren't dual language programs inappropriate for students with academic difficulties and/or special needs?
No, not necessarily. We wouldn't immediately decide to remove a student with special needs from any class without first convening a team of teachers and other specialists to determine what accommodations would best support the student in the class. In extreme cases, the team might decide that the student's needs cannot be met within the class. The same procedure should be followed for students in or potentially entering dual language programs. Research to date suggests that learning in two languages does not pose an extra cognitive load on the learner.
"...research has shown that immersion programs are effective for students who often struggle in school because they come from low socio-economic backgrounds or have low levels of academic achievement," (Cloud, Genesee and Hamayan 2000, 3).
"It is not appropriate or recommended to suggest that a bilingual child with SLI [specific language impairment] be encouraged to use only one language. There is no reason to assume that dual language knowledge is a burden for children with SLI; in fact, children with SLI are able to learn two languages,” (Genesee, Paradis and Crago 2004, 88).
"...low academic/intellectual ability is no more of a handicap in in bilingual education that it is in L1 [English-only] programs and, to the contrary, low performing students can experience a net benefit from immersion in the form of bilingual proficiency," (Genesee, Paradis and Crago 2004, 181).
Regarding students whose first language was English who are experiencing difficulties in a dual language program: "Professionals should not assume that the difficulties (linguistic or academic) experienced by some language majority students in bilingual programs are due to participation in a bilingual program? Learning through the medium of another language in not a linguistic, cognitive, or social hardship for most majority language students," (Genesee, Paradis and Crago 2004, 186).
Furthermore, "TWI programs can be seen as ideal placements for special needs students, as many of the accommodations considered useful for these students (e.g., hands-on learning, thematic instruction, and multimodal instruction) are the same strategies recommended for two-way educators," (Howard, Sugarman, Perdomo and Adger 2005, 48).
"Special needs students can and should be included in EE [‘enriched education’ or dual language] programs with appropriate modifications to insure their success,” (Cloud, Genesee and Hamayan 2000, 131).
King and Mackey (2007, 217) note that, although much more research needs to be conducted in this area, "Most researchers and practitioners would agree that intensive and interactive exposure to appropriately complex language is important and beneficial for all children and that bilingualism does not need to fall by the wayside.
Research has found that all students in dual language programs, regardless of their pattern of language dominance, do as well as or better than students in monolingual English programs on standardized tests administered in English (Freeman, Freeman and Mercuri 2005, xiv).
Research shows that students who participate in well-implemented dual language programs perform at or above-grade level on district and state tests, as well as achieve advanced levels of proficiency in two languages (Collier & Thomas, 1997). In addition, graduates from these programs have a head start on language requirements for college and have enhanced employment opportunities.
Students will be interacting with each other academically and socially to develop proficiency in both languages. Certified bilingual classroom teachers deliver instruction in Spanish and English, with support of other staff.
Resources
-
Sites for Parents and Teachers
¡Colorín Colorado!
A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learnersFAQ for teachers
about curriculum and instruction issues (part of the Two-Way Immersion Toolkit)