Dual language programs as a strand within a secondary school: dilemmas of school organization and the TWI mission

AbstractDual language (DL) programs aim to create additive bilingual learning environments where the dominant language and the minority language are given equal status at the program, curricular, and instructional level. While several studies have documented the effectiveness of DL programs and classroom-based practices, few have considered how the organizational context affects the implementation of effective DL practices when the program is only a strand within the school. The purpose of this study was to consider this question in the context of a middle school two-way immersion (TWI) program through the analysis of teacher interviews, triangulated with student survey and focus group data. Our analysis suggests a basic conflict between effective TWI practices and the middle school structure. We conclude that integrated, interdisciplinary approaches that are systemically supported within the school are necessary to support TWI goals and pluralist discourses.Keywords: bilingual educationtwo-way programmeslanguage policy Notes1. By 2007, the program had completed a gradual shift to a TWI school.2. ELLs are placed in a traditional bilingual and English as a Second Language program housed in another middle school.3. With the exception of one year where the school experimented with a TWI team concept. The teaming could not be continued due to budgetary restrictions, according to the teachers' report.4. The same is done at the high school where students examine literature written by South-American writers and place those in the sociopolitical context of these authors' countries.