Which students benefit the most from dual-language programs? The answer, one educator says, is nuanced.
鈥淚t isn鈥檛 that some English learners benefit, and native English speakers do not. It also depends on what one means by benefiting,鈥� said Patrick Proctor, a former dual-language teacher in Detroit and an education professor at Boston College, during a recent Education Week online event. 鈥淭he benefits that accrue to different populations in dual language can be very different.鈥�
Dual-language education teaches students core academic subjects in two languages, English and a partner one, which promotes bilingualism. These programs have grown significantly, with more than , according to the American Councils Research Center. But only about were enrolled in dual-language immersion programs in the 2019-20 school year.
In an EdWeek K-12 Essentials Forum earlier this month, experts addressed the challenges affecting the expansion of these programs and discussed ways to create them equitably so that all students鈥擡nglish learners, native English speakers, and students whose family primarily speaks another language at home鈥攃ould benefit. (.)
鈥淭here鈥檚 such strong research, such a clear consensus about the power of multilingualism. It is above and beyond the highest quality program for our English-learner students, and it鈥檚 incredibly powerful for English-dominant students,鈥� said Anya Hurwitz, the president and executive director of Sobrato Early Academic Language Program, based in Oakland, Calif., which works with schools in the state to improve their dual-language programs.
Dual-language programs, she added, 鈥渃reate school communities that are inclusive and acknowledge the beauty of multiple languages, multiple cultures.鈥�
Limitations of dual-language programs
Despite their growth, the number of dual-language programs remains small, which, in turn, prevents English learners from accessing them. This has created a Catch-22, said Proctor.
鈥淯ntil you have more bilingual programs producing biliterate people, you鈥檙e not going to have the linguistic resources in the population to become bilingual teachers in the future,鈥� he said.
Hurwitz added that a shortage of bilingual teachers isn鈥檛 the only staffing obstacle. Having 糖心动漫vlog with previous experience in a bilingual school system or classroom lead schools with dual-language programs makes a huge difference, she said, but those 糖心动漫vlog are also in short supply.
Teacher shortages and questions about access aren鈥檛 a problem inherent to dual-language programs, experts said.
For example, monolingual education, when a student only speaks one language, is common鈥攂ut it, is not always equitable either, said Proctor.
鈥淒ual-language education, like monolingual education, does not happen in a societal vacuum,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he best curricula will not work if students don鈥檛 get to school, or are hungry, or live in fear of ICE being parked outside of their schools every day.鈥�
While dual-language programs have expanded in recent years, their future remains uncertain as the Trump administration pushes toward an English-only education, and federal funding for English-learner support is at risk, with some teacher-training grants canceled and Title III funding marked for elimination in Trump鈥檚 budget proposal, Proctor added.
鈥淣o program can overcome these types of issues at scale,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to be careful not to place too much expectation on dual-language programs as a panacea, lest we blame dual language for outcomes that are less about the program and more about the society we live in.鈥�
Dual-language programs should benefit all students, advocates say
Designing a dual-language program that benefits all students requires being intentional and taking into consideration the needs of different groups of students. Hurwitz calls this the 鈥測es and鈥� approach to the work.
鈥淭hey have multiple [dual-language] programs based on the community of a specific school and the design that they鈥檙e trying to advance,鈥� she said.
For example, one-way dual language programs, which serve students who share the same primary language, could benefit English learners鈥攂ut if a school is filled with a diverse mix of English learners, native English speakers, and heritage language speakers, then other student populations are not being served.
鈥淚t [becomes] an either-or, and the politics of that are going to undermine the community and its togetherness on multilingualism being such a powerful overall approach,鈥� said Hurwitz.
