Conversations about dual-language programs often lead to a number of questions about how these programs can meet their goals of bilingual proficiency, academic achievement through two languages, and cultural pluralism for their language majority and minority students (Hadi-Tabassum, 2006). Given that Spanish is the minority language used most frequently in bilingual programs in the United States, this section will use Spanish to exemplify the minority language. A similar process would hold for other minority languages relative to English in the United States. Because Spanish-speaking and English-Speaking students’ needs are very different, this discussion addresses questions about goals for these populations separately.
Dual-language programs …show more content…
The first dual-language program in the country was established in 1963 at the Coral Way School in Miami, Florida, as part of an organized state and federal effort to serve the large numbers of Cuban refugees that were resettling in South Florida (Kim et al., 2015). The Coral Way dual-language program has been described as an effective means of integrating Spanish-speaking Cuban students into the academic mainstream and of providing equitable educational opportunities to native English- speaking and native Spanish-speaking students that the schools serves (Kim et al., 2015). The Lillian Weber School (i.e., PS-84) in New York City is another example of an established dual-language program that encourages additive bilingualism for its language minority and language majority students as a means of promoting academic achievement for all of its students (Kim et al., 2015). Bilingual education advocates have argued that well-implemented dual-language programs like the ones at Coral Way and PS-84 can offer an equitable and effective means of educating language majority and language minority students. As a result, this type of bilingual program has been attracting mounting attention and funding in the United States since the late 1990s (Kim et al., 2015). In 1992 there were only 20 documented …show more content…
In some programs, students from the two language backgrounds are integrated for all of their instructional time. In other programs, students are integrated for the majority of their content-area instruction but segregated to receive additional language instruction in their second-language (Adelman-Reyes & Kleyn, 2010). Other programs segregate students from the two language backgrounds for the majority of their instructional time (which may be through one or two languages), and then integrate students for a small portion of each day and/or week for dual-language instruction. This third option is not likely to yield the full benefits of the dual-language approach because students from the two backgrounds spend limited time together (Adelman-Reyes & Kleyn,
Dual-language programs …show more content…
The first dual-language program in the country was established in 1963 at the Coral Way School in Miami, Florida, as part of an organized state and federal effort to serve the large numbers of Cuban refugees that were resettling in South Florida (Kim et al., 2015). The Coral Way dual-language program has been described as an effective means of integrating Spanish-speaking Cuban students into the academic mainstream and of providing equitable educational opportunities to native English- speaking and native Spanish-speaking students that the schools serves (Kim et al., 2015). The Lillian Weber School (i.e., PS-84) in New York City is another example of an established dual-language program that encourages additive bilingualism for its language minority and language majority students as a means of promoting academic achievement for all of its students (Kim et al., 2015). Bilingual education advocates have argued that well-implemented dual-language programs like the ones at Coral Way and PS-84 can offer an equitable and effective means of educating language majority and language minority students. As a result, this type of bilingual program has been attracting mounting attention and funding in the United States since the late 1990s (Kim et al., 2015). In 1992 there were only 20 documented …show more content…
In some programs, students from the two language backgrounds are integrated for all of their instructional time. In other programs, students are integrated for the majority of their content-area instruction but segregated to receive additional language instruction in their second-language (Adelman-Reyes & Kleyn, 2010). Other programs segregate students from the two language backgrounds for the majority of their instructional time (which may be through one or two languages), and then integrate students for a small portion of each day and/or week for dual-language instruction. This third option is not likely to yield the full benefits of the dual-language approach because students from the two backgrounds spend limited time together (Adelman-Reyes & Kleyn,