Dive Brief:

• Students who are bilingual tend to have strengths in learning, yet most who speak languages besides English at home fall behind by 4th grade, and most states don’t provide supports recommended by experts, according to The Hechinger Report.
• About 25% of U.S. students are English learners (ELs), according to the National Institute for Early Education Research, an education think tank. They are often expected to learn English, but sometimes don’t yet have literacy skills in their own language. Dual language programs can improve both.
• In a report about supporting dual language preschool students, researchers found that only three state preschool programs nationwide provide students with most supports they recommend, while half don’t provide any, and many don’t even collect data about their initiatives.

Dive Insight:

Research at Stanford University has shown that EL students taught in English-only classes perform better than dual-language learners initially, but that over the long term, their achievement matches or exceeds students in traditional classes when they are in classrooms taught in two languages. The study tracked 18,000 ELs for 10 years in dual language classes that included English learners, bilingual students and native English speakers. Research has also shown such classes, if structured properly, benefit all students involved.

Beginning in the 2016-17 school year, a dual language program called SEAL, operating in nearly 90 California schools and reporting good results. It similarly found students in such courses slipped behind those taught primarily in English, but later caught up and often passed them. A 2015 U.S. Department of Education report showed that ELs do better in dual language courses. Reviewing state programs, the authors suggested that more materials, training and standards are necessary.

Additional resources are available that provide guidelines dual language program, and a new report from the University of Minnesota's Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition reviewed dozens of previous studies to find that while student outcomes likely improve in courses taught in two languages, there are also a number of challenges for schools developing them, including finding teachers and suitable material, and adjusting the program to the wide range of students' abilities.