Sixth International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education: Connecting Research and Practice Across Contexts

Paper/Best Practice Session (1 hour)

Spanish-English

One-Way Second/Foreign Language Immersion

Pre-K
Elementary (K-5)
Middle School/Junior High
High School

This paper considers the impact of a Spanish-English immersion program in Honduras on its participants’ identity. To address this question, qualitative data were gathered from students and graduates through online questionnaires and interviews. Participants indicate a positive influence of the program on the development of their cultural and national identity. 

This paper considers the impact of a Spanish-English immersion program in Honduras on the national and cultural identity of its students. This question is critical as research on majority language bilingual programs typically focuses on pedagogical and administrative concerns, while ignoring important discussions surrounding the impact of these programs on cultural identity (de Mejía & Montes Rodriguez, 2008). As well, bilingual research in Latin America favours inquiry into indigenous language programs even though there are a growing number of majority language programs in this region (de Mejía, 2002). In Honduras alone, there are over 800 bilingual schools, many of which follow the one-way immersion model (Secretaria, 2011). While research in Latin America has not yet explored the impact of immersion programs on identity, Alley (1996) questions whether these programs in Honduras have a positive or a negative impact on students’ sense of national identity. To explore these questions, data were gathered from current students and graduates from an immersion program in Honduras. Through an online questionnaire, as well as follow-up individual and focus group interviews, participants discussed the impact of this immersion program on the development of their cultural and national identity. Participants noted a primarily positive impact, believing the immersion program exposed them to new cultural values and norms of other nations, while helping them develop a keen sense of their own cultural and national identity. These findings are important as Tedick, Christian and Fortune (2011) argue immersion programs often fail to promote intercultural understanding, even though this is one of the stated goals of immersion programs. This paper addresses a noted gap in immersion research and provides insight into the impact of immersion programs on the identity of their students.