Dual Language Program
Dual Language (DL) programs seek to offer students the opportunity to become bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural while improving their academic ability. In the majority of dual language programs, the students receive half of their instruction in their primary or home language, and the remainder of their instruction in the target language, the language that they are learning. However, there are other time configurations that exist. For example in a 90% to 10% model, a greater percentage of the instruction is in the target language other than English and decrease over time until reaching 50% to 50%.
Students learn to speak, read, and write in two languages, and also learn about other cultures while developing strong self-esteem and diverse language skills.
Dual Language Education
Proficiency in more than one language is a valuable skill to be cultivated and nurtured in our schools and communities. Bilingual education is an umbrella term for many types of programs in which two languages are used for instruction.
Dual Language education is an effective approach to developing language proficiency and literacy in English and a partner language. Two-Way Immersion, one type of dual language education, integrates native English speakers and native speakers of another language for academic content instruction through both English and the partner language beginning in elementary schools.
Dual Language programs promote bilingualism and biliteracy, grade-level academic achievement and cross-cultural competence in all students. Students maintain their native language while adding another language, and they develop pride in their own culture while developing an understanding of others (from the Center for Applied Linguistics).