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

Paper/Best Practice Session (1 hour)

Multiple

One-Way Second/Foreign Language Immersion
Two-Way Bilingual Immersion

Elementary (K-5)

A number of studies have asserted the effectiveness of dual language/immersion education for closing the academic achievement gap for English Learners. In this session, we will report on a Utah study that compares ELA performance of ELs in DLI programs to statewide EL data.

In this session, we will report on research that will determine to what extent English Learners (ELs) in Utah’s dual language immersion (DLI) programs succeed in English Language Arts (ELA). This on-going research will contribute to scholarship that has asserted the effectiveness of dual language/immersion education for closing the achievement gap for ELs (e.g. Collier & Thomas, 2004; Marian et al., 2013; Thomas & Collier, 2015). The recently completed Portland study (Steele et al., 2015) measured causal effect of random assignment to dual immersion on achievement of native English speakers and ELs. The study found positive effects on ELA by 5^th and 8^th grade across languages and program types, including two-way programs, where roughly half of a class is classified as EL.

Our EL achievement study builds on previous studies on ELA and math achievement of students in Utah’s dual immersion programs, conducted in 2013 and 2014. Our 2013 study found that DLI students, who learn math exclusively in the target or partner language in grades 1-3, performed at the same level as their (baseline equivalent) non-DLI peers in 3^rd grade math. Our 2014 follow-up study found that DLI and non-DLI students grew the same in ELA, but DLI students grew significantly more in math than their propensity-matched non-DLI counterparts. In both studies, ELs achieved at levels comparable to their native English-speaking peers.

We are now investigating whether ELs in Utah's DLI programs outperform their non-immersion peers in ELA to determine whether DLI, as an intervention, helps close the academic achievement gap for ELs in Utah. We are focusing on ELA, because, unlike math, the curriculum is the same for Utah students in DLI and non-DLI programs. Ourcurrent study of 2015 data, expanded to include more students in 3rd grade, and also 6^th grade, will compare ELA performance of ELs to state-wide ELA data.