Effects of Two Way Immersion on the Ethnic Identification of Third Language Students: An Exploratory Study

While two-way immersion programs have been shown to be very effective for both language majority and language minority students, their effectiveness with students who speak a home language other than those used in the classroom has not been established. Since tlfe inclusion of such third language students in two-way immersion programs is rare, little is known about whether the effects might be positive or negative. However, a Korean/English two-way immersion program implemented in Los Angeles which includes several speakers of Spanish and Tagalog presented a rare research opportunity. Among several possible areas of concern regarding the effects of two-way immersion on third language students, differences in ethnic identification might be anticipated. This exploratory study provides and discusses indicators of positive program outcomes which relate to academic achievement, language development and ethnic identity, focusing on ethnic identification with students' own group and with others. Data were collected from students in two other programs, English mainstream and Spanish bilingual, for comparison with same school peers. It was found that the third language students fared well in academic and language development, as well as in ethnic identification, with some interesting differences. Based on these findings, it is tentatively suggested that two-way immersion may provide a better educational alternative than submersion for third language students for whom a bilingual program is not available.