The Value of Two Languages
Dual Immersion Education In Long Beach
By Debbie Rodriguez
“I was able to help a man get to the right bus because I spoke Spanish,” said Owen Sweeney, a dual immersion (DI) student in Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD).
Owen was proud that he was able to help someone find his way that didn’t speak English. “I like being able to help people, to be able to connect with different people, and hear their stories.” Before going on his way, the man thanked Owen and told him, “Vales por dos.” You’re worth two people.
Owen is an alumnus of the dual immersion program at Patrick Henry K-8 School and is a sophomore at the California Academy of Math and Science. Patrick Henry recently received national honors and was named the 2015 Two-Way Bilingual Immersion School of Distinction by the Association of Two-way and Dual Language Education based in San Jose.
Dual Immersion at Lafayette Elementary School
The DI program was started twenty-five years ago and has deep roots in Long Beach. Dual immersion involves learning in two languages, in this case, Spanish and English. Ideally, classrooms consist of about half and half first-language English speakers and first-language Spanish speakers. DI is not merely a Spanish class or two added to the curriculum. Core subjects and electives are taught in English and Spanish resulting in students achieving high levels of bilingualism and bi-literacy. DI students also demonstrate positive attitudes and behaviors towards other cultures.
Owen Sweeney’s mother, Amy Koplovsky, says, “It’s a gift to learn another language. You have an opening into other cultures and are able to understand the complexity of other people’s lives. And, Owen has a better understanding of the English language by being bilingual.”
Dual immersion education prepares students for the demands of globalization but that is not the only benefit of DI education. There is extensive research about the benefits to brain function and cognitive abilities when a second language is learned. A study conducted by Northwestern University and the University of Houston and published in the journal Brain and Language (Nov. 2014), found that bilinguals were more efficient at making linguistic and visual connections even if their work does not require them to use their second language.
Patrick Henry Elementary School
In LBUSD, there are four elementary schools offering DI education. Until recently, DI education was available through eighth grade at Patrick Henry. Parents with children in the other elementary DI programs were concerned that there wouldn’t be enough slots for all DI students in middle school.
Those schools will now feed into Keller Dual Immersion Middle School, which opens this fall. However, not all middle school students will be eligible to attend. Only students who have attended dual immersion programs since kindergarten may apply. At capacity, Keller Dual Immersion Middle School is scheduled to matriculate about two hundred sixth graders. That’s three times the current capacity at Patrick Henry K-8 School where the program has resided the last five years until the end of this school year.
Helen Keller Elementary School
“Dual Immersion programs are high demand programs in Long Beach and nationwide,” says Jay Camerino, Assistant Superintendent of Middle Schools at LBUSD.
Two years ago, Woodrow Wilson Classical High School opened its DI program to complement the DI K-8 plan. Now, LBUSD students have access to seamless dual immersion education from kindergarten through high school graduation.
Reba Ara is a mother of dual immersion students as well as a DI teacher. “Learning another language really opened my eyes to other worlds,” she says. “Dual immersion education makes that happen for my children.”
Reba’s daughter, Alexa Ara, says, “I like knowing Spanish for travelling. You can talk to everyone and not have any restrictions in communication.”
