https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0131-3247
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ABSTRACT
Teachers working in middle and high school Dual Immersion (DI) programs (Spanish-English) face unique sets of challenges: linguistic equity between the two languages of instruction, attrition due to high linguistic and academic expectations, and preparing DI students for standardized tests in English. In this article, we reflect on our current experiences both from the teacher preparation perspective and from daily teaching and learning in DI classrooms. From the intersection of our positionalities and lived experiences, we conceptualize the next steps in the preparation of future Dual Immersion (Spanish-English) secondary teachers. In doing so, we outline the specific skills middle and high school DI teachers must have in order to build effective practices around three key areas for Dual Immersion instruction: Bilingualism and Biliteracy, Student Achievement, and Socio-Cultural Competence. We argue that in order to guarantee the success and high quality of DI programs in middle and high school, Teacher Preparation Programs and School Districts should work together now developing a comprehensive and intentional preparation and support for middle and high school DI teachers and administrators working in these school sites.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Dual Language School/Immersion Programs in the United States- (https://duallanguageschools.org/. DLS, 2019).
2 IUL calls for a broader understanding of concepts such as language proficiency, academic language, competency, full control, among others.
3 Additional or alternative credentialing regulations (e.g. language test exemption for degree-holders from universities where the assessed language is regularly used for instruction) are not described as they pertain to reduced groups of educators.
4 In this article, we focus on how DI teachers are being prepared to teach Spanish and in Spanish in DI programs. Similar arguments could be made when preparing DI teachers to teach in other languages (i.e. Vietnamese, Korean, Mandarin).
5 Within this group, some students are classified as Initially Fluent English Proficient (IFEP) speakers, which means that they have a language other than English at home. In 2018–2019, the CDE (Citation2019b) assessed that roughly 20% of English Learners taking the initial ELPAC test classified as IFEP, and considered equally proficient as English natives.
6 For differentiated instruction strategies in social studies delivered in the target language, reading texts in layers of complexity or multiple readings can of help in the process (Rodríguez-Valls, Solsona-Puig, and Capdevila-Gutiérrez Citation2017).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
María Capdevila-Gutiérrez
Ms. Maria Capdevila-Gutiérrez is the current Foreign Languages Department Chair at Toll Middle School, Glendale, CA. Ms. Capdevila-Gutiérrez started teaching SSL and ESL in 2003 at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Spain. Since 2004, she started combining her university teaching at UCLM with High School. She was recruited by GUSD in 2012 to teach Spanish Language Arts in the dual immersion program in secondary. She holds a BA in Modern Languages (Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, UCLM, Spain), and an MA in Spanish and English (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), and is she is currently working towards achieving a Ph.D. at the UCLM.
Eduardo Muñoz-Muñoz
Eduardo R. Muñoz-Muñoz, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor and the Coordinator of the Critical Bilingual Authorization program 'Bilingüismo y Justicia' at the Lurie College of Education at San José State University. Dr. Muñoz-Muñoz earned his doctorate at Stanford University in 2018 and also holds a Master's Degree in Sociology (Stanford University, 2016), a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership (UC Berkeley, 2010), and a Licenciatura in English Philology (Universidad de Córdoba, España, 2000). In his research, teaching, and practice, he engages with issues of linguistic access, educational opportunities, and teacher preparation from a critical policy ethnography stance.
Fernando Rodríguez-Valls
Dr. Fernando Rodríguez-Valls is Professor at California State University, Fullerton. Dr. Rodríguez-Valls has created partnerships with school districts and local educational agencies to develop and implement community-based [bi/-multi]literacy programs. At CSUF, Fernando coordinates the Bilingual Authorization Program and the World Languages Program. In this capacity, he recruits and prepares future educators to design, implement, and evaluate asset-based and heteroglossic practices. As a scholar, Dr. Rodríguez-Valls' publications focus on equitable and linguistically inclusive methodologies for emergent bilingual, newcomer, and [im]migrant students as well as on the socio-cultural factors affecting their academic achievement, educational continuity and school engagement. Fernando has directed and co-directs grant projects in which teacher candidates have the opportunity to create brave learning spaces where teaching overpowers instruction, where learning surpasses drilling, where languages conquer monolingualism, where critical thinking eradicates fanaticism and a fake sense of monoglossic and univocal identity.
Jordi Solsona-Puig
Dr. Jordi Solsona-Puig works currently as a dual immersion teacher at Toll Middle School, Glendale, CA. Dr. Solsona-Puig spent 16 years in Spain as an Elementary and Secondary teacher and counselor, as well as University Instructor. He was recruited by GUSD in 2012 as a Spanish Dual Immersion teacher. He attended the Autonomous University of Barcelona for his Bachelor's degree, the University of Lleida for his Masters in History and Psychology, and Pepperdine University for his Doctorate in Education. He is currently working towards achieving a Ph.D. at the University of Lleida, Spain.