Dual Language Program

The goals for students in dual language education programs include high levels of bilingualism and biliteracy, academic achievement, and cross-cultural competence for all students (Lindholm-Leary, 2012). Dual language immersion programs integrate language and academic content instruction in English and a partner language to promote bilingualism and biliteracy.

“Learning a foreign language draws your focus to the mechanics of language: grammar, conjugations, and sentence structure”(Merritt). Before I began learning Spanish, I did not even know that conjugation was a thing, but in speaking a different language, I have had the opportunity to push myself to learn about conjugation in Spanish as well as recognize it in English. “The positive effects of learning to speak a second language can train the brain to analyze and process different linguistic structures” (9 Big Advantages). In the same way a foreign language affects one’s first language, it also creates skills that are highly beneficial to those who choose to use their brains. Benefits include: improved memory, increased attention span, improved multitasking abilities, more logical and rational thought, increased awareness of surroundings, and more. “Speaking a foreign language improves the functionality of your brain by challenging it to recognise, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language systems” (9 Big Advantages). Consequently, these cognitive benefits translate into different aspects of one’s life such as affecting their professional life.

It is important in the United States to have a competitive workforce, and a great way to do that is to have a society of learners that can communicate with people of other cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Although there are efforts for teaching school children other languages, most programs are primitive at best, left to be forgotten before the skills reach the point of relevancy. Dual language programs should be established in the US wherever feasible to give parents, at the very least, the choice to expand the minds of their children. Recent years have seen the inclusion of voluntary language immersion programs in places such as Athens, Georgia, in which students are taught from Kindergarten in two languages. These are steps in the right

“Language is power. If you cannot understand or be understood you have no power. You are at the mercy of everyone.” – (Rudat, 1994, Stow, Dodd 356) Should Americans be required to learn Spanish as a second language? The construction of our nation stands on documents written in English, however English is not our official language nor has it ever been. America is a “melting pot” in which English is the most prominent language, followed closely by Spanish. Requiring Americans to learn Spanish is a great controversy; I strongly believe that it should be a requirement, because it improves academic achievements, career success, and cultural and social understanding. The controversy has great counter arguments such as the double standard Americans are held to, and further division of the country. Regarding the counterarguments, I still firmly believe that it should be a requirement because the integration of a second language in our schools is more beneficial to our country’s success as a whole.

There is substantial information about the benefits of students learning better in their primary language the book “Growing up Hispanic” by Landale, McHale and Booth has important data on the reason why the Latino students are not making adequate progress in academia like their counterpart whites, Asian and Afro-American. One of the reasons is that United States schools contrary to Canada and Sweden don’t have a consistent and systematic bilingual and second language acquisition policy in place to support students that speak other language than English (Landale, 2010). There are third world countries such Philippine that are making adjustments to their education policy because they want their people to be proficient in their mother tongue language, but also be able to compete in this global economy. According to President Aquino “Philippines should learn English to connect ourselves with the world, Filipino to connect ourselves to our country, and our mother tongue to connect ourselves to our heritage” (Inquirer, 2010). While there are international initiatives to revitalize native language and promote multilingualism United States is stock in the obtuse idea of one standard language. Although according with Melvyn Bragg the 80% of modern English vocabulary does not have English roots, which demonstrates that the power of a language is its flexibility to

Taking dual language programs will help students have great advantages for employment opportunities. This programs allow students to travel to foreign countries for better work opportunities. As for traveling to foreign countries, students won't need the help of interpreters to communicate. According to the College Grad, students taking dual language programs in high school or throughout their education career, students have a higher opportunity of being their own

For example, a previous student of R.H King Academy who finished high school was going through university received an internship in Belgium where she was to work and improve her french, it was originally a three month internship, however when her employers learned that she could also speak Spanish, they tested her level of Spanish and she scored very close to fluency, this allowed her to stay in Belgium for a six month fully paid internship to practice her french and also her Spanish. This gave her a huge advantage over other people because she is from Canada and studied in Canada and got the opportunity to use her bilingual skills somewhere else in the world, she improved her skills and earned more money while doing it. Bilingualism does not only help in the job market, but it can also help the

Being part of the Dual Language program is an experience I cherish because of how it molded me into the person I am today; someone who appreciates their two cultures. I was apart of the Dual Language club in high school, that was a club for bilingual students and for Dual Language students. Further, being part of a diverse program made me realize that I want to continue to celebrate and appreciate my two cultures. The Dual Language program exposed me to a culture embedded in my roots, for that I am thankful for it. Being active and part of two different cultures has impacted me more than any other experience.

The United States is a diverse country of many cultures and languages. As diverse as the U.S. is, it is also the land were all dreams become a reality where everything is possible. That is why in recent years, bilingual education or dual-language education, has become a topic of interest and debate among the public. Some may think that bilingual education is waste of time, effort and money. However, these critics do not see the true benefits of a bilingual education. We need to focus on the positive aspects of a bilingual education and how it has benefited not only immigrant students but also American students among other matters.

When examining the District handbook, it is clear that West Chicago highly values student achievement and seeks to create lifelong learners. The handbook is reviewed every year and the district values and asks for the input of students and parents in order to increase investment. Throughout its history “Providing a foundation for excellence in learning” has been the district’s vision. This, coupled with its mission statement: “To impart the knowledge and skills that will empower all students to pursue their maximum potential to confidently contribute to and benefit from our society locally and globally,” inform their policies and attitude towards all students, especially English Language Learners. In a Frequently Asked Questions portion, the District answers the question of whether students will fall behind due to learning an extra language by explaining that dual language is a form of enriched education and that learning two languages has many cognitive benefits as evidenced by research that has shown how students who participate in Dual Language programs outperform their peers on standardized tests.

A person that knows two languages is qualified to work in countries all around the world. They could work as a simple translator for a company. The job of a translator may appear to be a simple job, but it is quite difficult and requires a lot of skill. With the language education and life skills that Doulos teaches students makes such a job a lot easier. Translators need to be able to receive information in one language and translate it accurately into another language. One would think that translating word for word would make the best translator, but actually the best translators are the ones who slightly change the translation to thoroughly get main point across. The reason for this is because a lot of the time if someone translates word for word there are subject verb agreement complications. Companies during this century are constantly trying to expand in foreign countries (How Speaking A Second Language Can Help Your Career). They are trying to become mega companies and dominate the industry. Not just factories, but all sorts of different companies. Companies will highly value a skill of knowing a foreign language. Even companies that may not be expanding at the moment will value such a skill. A car dealership in the U.S for example, they may have many Hispanics walking in looking for a car. With a single employee that knows Spanish they can make the customer feel even more welcomed

What is Dual language? Dual language is a form of bilingual education that teaches students, as young as pre-k programs, literacy and content in their native speaking language. These programs typically start in kindergarten and continue for the next few years, many are now continuing into middle school

The dual language program can affect the minorities.It can, in turn, affect the immigration of people from other countries in future.When I look for higher studies I always prefer a country which doesn't force me to learn their first language.It is not because I don't respect their culture and language.I like to live in a country where they care about individual preferences

Requiring two years of foreign language study for high school graduation would benefit students greatly as they move onto college. Acceptance rate, ability to succeed in and graduation rate would increase greatly if all college students were bilingual.

Dual Immersion Program is one of the innovative bilingual education program, meaning what develops the high levels of academic proficiency in the students on both learning languages (Thomas and Collier 2002; Lindholm-Leary 2001)4. Other common used terminology used for one of the variations of this type of program model is Dual Language Program, Dual Language Immersion, Two-way Dual Language, One-way Dual Language, Partial Immersion, Full Immersion, etc.