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A Summary of the Importance of Dual Language Learning for Native English Speakers

Prepared by D. Tedick, University of Minnesota

January,2010

Background:In December of 2009, Dee Tedick made a presentation on the benefits of Dual Immersionto the Windom School PTO. This presentation was given primarily in Spanish and quickly translated into English. There were many questions about the benefits of native-English speakers participation in a dual language learning program and this document summarizes the answers to those questions while also explaining the overall benefit of learning a second language.

Benefits of a 2nd Language: Below is a summary of a few reasons why language learning has become so important and why the government and educational communities in the U.S.are emphasizing the need for our PreK-16 learners to develop high levels of proficiency in languages other than English.

Learning a language other than English for U.S. citizens is critical for participating in the global community in the future. We are facing a growing need to learn other languages and unprecedented reasons for doing so. The U.S. must cultivate and strengthen the language skills of immigrants and their children while at the same time building foreign language capacity among native English speakers. DI programs are exceptionally well-positioned to meet this need. The current “National Requirement for Capacity in Languages other than English” includes the following factors (Jackson & Malone, 2009):

  • International commerce and economic development – It will not serve the U.S. well in the long run to rely on others to learn English.The international language of business is always the language of the client or customer. If businesses in the U.S. don’t speak the language of their customers, they will be at a competitive disadvantage (Cutshall, 2004/05). “Indeed, individuals and communities who know English and other languages will have the real advantages (economic, political, etc.) in the future in comparison to those who know only English” (Genesee, 2008, p. 23).
  • National security and diplomacy – In the late 1990s, a senior Dept. of Defense official said that the greatest national challenge in the U.S. was its “general apathy toward learning foreign languages” (Clifford, 2004, in Cutshall, 2004/05).In Aug. 2001 (one month before 9/11), the NationalForeignLanguageCenternoted that the country faced “a critical shortage of linguistically competent professionals across federal agencies and departments responsible for national security” (Brecht & Rivers, 2001 in Cutshall, 2004/05).
  • Need for increased global perspectives and knowledge for all in the U.S. – The U.S. is not keeping pace with the rest of the world in providing quality language instruction in schools (Christian, Pufahl, & Rhodes, 2004/05). Most of the world is multilingual, not just bilingual.
  • Need to meet needs of an increasingly diverse U.S. citizenry – More than 380 languages are spoken in communities across the U.S. It is critical that we be able to communicate with all residents across domains, including medicine, business, education, science and technology, and law enforcement (where one of the fastest growing professions is court interpreting).
  • Increased need for scholarship and research – Research depends on a scholar’s ability to locate, understand and explain information from many sources. While English remains the most important international language, increasingly there is rich information about science, technology, economics, medicine, etc. shared in languages other than English. The numbers of graduate students possessing the language ability and specialized cultural knowledge to conduct in-depth research in many languages are shrinking.

If you are interested in reading more, see:

Questions & Answers: Below are some common questions and answers about language learning.

(1)What are the advantages for native English speakers in terms of Spanish acquisition vs. native English speakers who take Spanish language classes (once a day, learning language in traditional foreign language class) only?

  • When it comes to proficiency (language acquisition), there is simply no comparison between students who attend immersion programs and students who participate in traditional foreign language classes. Immersion students achieve higher levels of second language proficiency when compared with students in non-immersion (foreign language) programs (Campbell, Gray, Rhodes, & Snow, 1985; Forrest, 2007; Genesee, 1987).
  • Native English-speaking immersion students achieve high functional levels of language proficiency. They:
  • communicate meaning typically without difficulty,
  • display fluency and confidence in their second language,
  • develop near native-like levels of comprehension, i.e., listening and reading skills, in their second language (Genesee, 1987).
  • At the same time, the language proficiency they develop is not native-like and contains errors. This is because when immersion programs began we assumed that all teachers had to do was “immerse” the children in the language and they would learn it. Research has since shown that this is not the case—simply exposing learners to the language is not sufficient. We now know that teachers must be intentional about language development in the context of their content teaching and they need a very immersion-specific knowledge base and skill set to be able to do so. So, professional development for DI teachers is critical so that they learn these skills to improve the quality of the language proficiency that’s attained by learners in DI programs.
  • Anecdotally, often when K-5/6 immersion students go onto a continuation program at the middle school level, they have Spanish language arts taught by a Spanish-licensed teacher who typically doesn’t have immersion-specific preparation. Students tend to get very frustrated by the more grammar-based approach that most foreign language teachers use and often decide to leave the program and stop learning Spanish. So it’s very important that the learning of Spanish continue to happen in the context of learning content (social studies, science, math), as that is how immersion students are accustomed to learning language. We also know that content-based language instruction (the basis of immersion) is a much more successful approach to language teaching than the traditional “foreign language” approach that focuses on teaching the language itself.

(2)What is the benefit for native English speakers to continue DI into middle/high school years? (other than dual language proficiency).

First, we know that language learning doesn’t stop at grade 5. Native English-speaking children who attend immersion programs are not likely to reap the benefits of bilingualism if their experience ends after grade 5. They are likely to continue to do well academically (at least as well as and possibly better than peers who did not go to immersion), but they are also likely to lose much of the Spanish acquisition they developed if they do not have an opportunity to continue to learn Spanish in the context of content (subject matter) learning. The typical Spanish as a foreign language classes offered in middle and high schools are not likely to further their Spanish development, are likely to be disengaging and insufficiently challenging and may possibly turn them off to language learning in general.

In addition, there are academic, cognitive, language/literacy, and personal benefits to participating in immersion over the long term. The higher the level of bilingualism achieved, the more your children will benefit.

Academic benefits:

  • English-speaking immersion students of various academic abilities are capable of achieving high levels of functional proficiency in the immersion language while at the same time achieving academically on par with or above their non-immersion peers on standardized tests administered in English (Genesee, 1987; Lambert & Tucker, 1972; Lindholm-Leary, 2001; Swain & Lapkin, 1982; Turnbull, Lapkin, & Hart, 2001).
  • Students from a range of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds are successful in these programs (Bruck, Tucker, & Jakimik, 1975; Caldas & Boudreaux, 1999; Holobow, Genesee, & Lambert, 1991; Krueger, 2001; Lindholm-Leary, 2001; Slaughter, 1997).
  • Higher bilingual proficiency levels developed in dual immersion programs are linked to increased academic language proficiency and successful schooling experiences long-term for both native Spanish speakers and native English speakers (though native English speakers achieve grade level norms before native Spanish speakers do) (Lindholm-Leary & Borsato, 2006; Lindholm-Leary & Howard, 2008; Rolstad, 1997).

Cognitive benefits:

  • Research finds evidence for greater cognitive flexibility (Bruck, et al., 1976; Lazuruk, 2007), and better nonverbal problem-solving abilities of foreign language immersion students (Bamford & Mizokawa, 1990). These findings point towards a relationship between second language proficiency and the development of symbolic reasoning.
  • Fully proficient bilinguals outperform monolinguals in the areas of divergent thinking, pattern recognition, and problem solving (Baker, 2006; Bialystok, 2001; Cenoz & Genesee, 1998; Peal & Lambert, 1962). The longer students stay in the program, the higher the level of bilingualism they are likely to attain.
  • Bilingual children develop the ability to solve problems that contain conflicting or misleading cues at an earlier age and more quickly than monolinguals. In so doing, they demonstrate greater executive control while resolving conflicting response options (Bialystok, 2008).
  • Fully proficient bilingual children have been found to exhibit enhanced sensitivity to verbal and non-verbal cues and to show greater attention to their listeners’ needs relative to monolingual children (Lazaruk, 2007).

Language/Literacy benefits:

  • Contrary to initial concerns about the possible detriment to English language development, language immersion students who achieve relatively high levels of functional second language proficiency demonstrate:
  • Enhanced levels of English language skills over time
  • Improved metalinguistic awareness— a skill that positively impacts learning to read because it facilitates decoding abilities (Bournot-Trites & Denizot, 2005; Harley, Hart & Lapkin, 1986).
  • Bilingual students display greater facility in learning a third language than monolinguals (Cenoz, 2003; Cenoz & Valencia, 1994; Sanz, 2000).

Personal benefits

  • Evidence (Wilbers, 2000) suggests that learning another language:
  • Increases job opportunities in careers where knowing another language is an asset, [The late Paul Simon argued 30 years ago that more than 200,000 Americans lose out on jobs because they do not know another language (1980)].
  • Enables students to enter a world different from the one they were born into and to explore it on its own terms,
  • Helps them see their own culture and ways of doing things in a broader context,
  • Makes students more receptive to other points of view,
  • Leads students to examine their habitual ways of thinking and expressing yourself,
  • Makes them more patient with people who are learning English,
  • Helps students achieve a deeper understanding of their native language by making them aware of the elements that are common to all languages,
  • Requires them to take a disciplined, intentional approach to developing an important skill,
  • Reminds students of the value of using their own language well, and
  • Prepares them to learn a third language (and more!) more efficiently and quickly.

(3)Why/what is it that allows students in DI programs to achieve at or above levels achieved by peers in other [English-only] programs? What is it that causes the high development?

This is a great question and we aren’t totally sure why – there are likely a large number of factors that impact these outcomes. One theory is that kids have to think harder and use their brain more when they are learning through a second language. We also know that the development of bilingualism creates more synapses (connections) in the brain. In addition, parent support and involvement tends to be very high in immersion programs, and we know that parent involvement correlates with achievement. We also know that the teaching in immersion programs tends to be of high quality (immersion teachers can’t assume all the learners understand so they go to great lengths to ensure comprehension). So it is likely a combination of these factors and others that lead to the achievement outcomes.

(4)Why does it take until middle school years for language minority learners to achieve/surpass the grade level norms [established by native English speakers]?

This is another good question and one that is really quite complicated. We know that it takes a long time to develop academic language proficiency in a second language (the type of language proficiency needed to succeed on standardized tests). We also know that in general the majority of language minority learners tend to start school in the U.S. less prepared than native English-speaking learners. It thus takes them longer to catch up. In addition, it is not uncommon for language minority learners to come from homes where parents may not be literate and where (often due to socioeconomic factors) a rich literacy and language environment is not provided—this also impacts their literacy and language development. But this is a very complicated question that would take much more time to answer completely.

(5)If a child at Windom chose not to attend Anwatin, as experts in the field, knowing the commitment to 6-8 for bilingual success, what is the next best option for these students?

I don’t believe I can fully answer this question, because it probably depends on individual learners. What might be successful for one child may not be the best choice for another. In general, it would be important for them to have options to continue Spanish language learning if at all possible through subject matter content (or advanced Spanish taught by a teacher who goes beyond traditional foreign language teaching approaches). Beginning to learn a third language is also a good option for these learners. Parents should also try to maintain student use of Spanish in the home context (but this becomes increasingly challenging as the children get older). My hope is that Spanish-speaking and English-speaking parents will choose to send their children to Anwatin. I have every confidence that a strong middle school continuation program will be developed and believe that program will be by far the best option for students who complete the K-5 programs at Windom and Emerson.