Prince William County Public Schools

Dual Language Immersion

What is Dual Language Immersion?

Dual Language Immersion is a program where students study academic content in two languages. Students work on the four domains of language learning (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) in both languages throughout each year in the program.

Goals of Dual Language Immersion

According to the Center for Applied Linguistics, the long-term goals of dual language education programs (often referred to as the three pillars) are:

Goal 1: Bilingualism and Biliteracy

• Students can speak and understand each of the two program languages
• Students can also read, write, translate, and use each of the two program languages to support the continued growth of the other

Goal 2: High Academic Achievement

• Students can achieve grade level expectations in core content areas in both program languages

Goal 3: Sociocultural Competence

• Everyone working to ensure the understanding and advocating for the culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomic diverse needs of all
• Sociocultural competence also includes the use of multiethnic curriculum resources and valuing families' home languages and dialects

PWCS' Dual Language Immersion Model

All PWCS Dual Language Immersion sites will be using an 80%/20% model, which means students kindergarten students enrolled in the program will receive 80% of their core instruction in the target language, while 20% is taught in English. This helps to build a strong foundation in that target language and sets students up for success in later years. As students progress through the program, each year, the amount of English instruction increases until it is 50%/50% in 3rd through 5th grade.

Benefits of Dual Language Immersion

Some of the benefits of a dual language immersion education are, but not limited to:

• Students who are exposed to two languages at an early age, on average, outperform their monolingual peers in traditional classrooms – particularly in reading.
• Heightened sense of social understanding and cultural awareness
• Beneficial for English-learning students since it encourages the development of English, but not at the cost of losing their native language
• The ability to learn additional languages more easily
• Minimizing the achievement gap between English learners and native English speakers that often arises in traditional classrooms
• Improved memory, as well as higher problem-solving skills and executive function