Does Dual Language Actually Get Kids Fluent?

Have you ever heard of dual language programs? They seem amazing and dreamy, and they promise to make your kids bilingual. But do they truly work?

Hi, there! This is Micah Bellieu and today we’ll discuss if dual language actually gets kids fluent.

Dual Language Fluency Expectations

If you find a dual language program that promises your kid will be fluent in both languages very soon, we highly recommend you take that affirmation with a grain of salt. We do believe in these programs, but it takes time for the children to become truly fluent. Just think about it: they are just starting their journey learning a completely new language. It won’t happen overnight.

Especially because many of the schools that offer dual language classes, only teach 10% of the class in the partner language. When kids pass to another grade level, they add another 10% of the class in the partner language, and so on, until classes achieve a 50/50 model.

That is, until teachers instruct the class 50% in the first language and 50% in the second or partner language. So, for example: If your kids are learning Spanish, only 10% of their class during their first year of learning will be in this language.

The rest of the time, the class will be instructed in English. This means children won’t learn everything in one class, but rather through many years.

Of course, it all depends on your school’s dual language teaching model, because this is not the only model. Nonetheless, your kids still need patience. Dual language is about a gradual introduction to bilingualism.

Dual Language Programs – Seeing the Bigger Picture

An EdSource article states that just 12.5% of third graders learning English at Dolores Huerta International Academy, a dual language school, had a good reading and writing grade level. If you only look at those scores, you might be disappointed. Especially if you compare them to the statewide percentage of 16.8%.

Why aren’t other students having a good level? Aren’t they learning? Is the dual-language method not working? No, no, no, none of that! But they are just starting their language classes; remember, this is just third grade.

Take a look at the bigger picture: that same article states that the number of English learners reading and writing at a good grade level increases as they grow and pass to another school grade level. Of course, because there will be more instruction time in their partner language added to their classes.

Ed Source says that by sixth grade 42.85% of English learners will have met or even exceeded the English language standards and will have passed the statewide percentage that by that time it is 34.66%.

See? At first it might seem like your kids are not excelling, but the results of their dual language classes will be outstanding after a few years of learning and being immersed in whatever two languages they’re learning.

So, if you’re looking for dual language school programs, make sure not to get carried away just by the results of children that are in their first year of dual language. Instead, look at the results of those that are finishing the program, to see if they advanced.

But hey, at least this assures parents that their kids will get fluent in their second language even if it takes time, right? Right? Well, not necessarily. Children will learn a lot of important academic topics in a second language, which could be convenient in the future if they want to study a career abroad.

But what about speaking about and doing normal, everyday tasks in their second language? Since dual language is about teaching school subjects in bilingual classrooms, it doesn’t mean your kids will acquire common vocabulary and idioms to use for their daily life outside of school.

This could lead to trouble socializing in their partner language, actually sounding like natives and more importantly having a real conversation with natives. Imagine your kids have an encounter with a native of their target language and they don’t know how to respond, because they don’t understand much outside math and biology.

That’s sad. Real life vocabulary and conversations are just as important as a bilingual academic life.

Classmates in Dual Language Programs

Don’t worry, not everything is lost, though. Their classmates could help with this. Like I told you, dual language classrooms are composed of a mix of native speakers of the first language and native speakers of the partner language.

For example: English native speakers and Spanish native speakers. This is a huge advantage, because it means kids will not only learn from teachers but also from speaking and doing activities with their classmates and friends. And there’s nothing better than learning from a native! Even if it’s a kid!

Honestly, that’s better, because then they’ll learn proper everyday vocabulary for their age. Just make sure, your kids aren’t scared of talking and asking things to their classmates; remind them that they’re also learning.

Outside the Dual Language Classroom

This takes us to our second point regarding your kids’ fluency in a dual language program. They need to practice after school. By saying this, I mean two things. First, children need to speak in their target language after school hours; it could be at home or while gathering with friends.

For this, you could ask them questions in their target language about any common thing, like which tv show they want to watch. Encourage them to speak, so the knowledge they’ve been acquiring won’t be left behind in the classroom and instead they’ll apply it in different situations.

You could also invite their friends from their dual language program for a bilingual party, so they keep practicing together in a cooler and more relaxed environment! You will just have to pay close attention to see they’re actually speaking in their target language, because oftentimes, kids could start talking in their native language if nobody is watching. After all, it’s easier, because it comes natural to them.

Second, children need to keep practicing after they finish the dual language school or program. If they don’t, they run the risk of forgetting what they’ve learned, because they simply won’t be putting it into practice anymore. You don’t want all that effort to get wasted.

Something helpful for this could be to enroll them in dual language programs that go beyond elementary school, maybe even throughout the high school years. Or simply enroll them in immersion after school classes.

In fact, we truly believe that enrolling them in immersion classes besides the dual language program could be extremely beneficial for their fluency. Why? Because in a good immersion program, they’ll get to learn their second language the way they learned the first one, by listening and practicing speaking.

Since dual language classes are more focused on the academic side, they’ll be forced to learn reading and writing, while learning topics from different subjects, like math or history. That could be a lot! And it doesn’t leave much time for speaking. It probably doesn’t even motivate kids to speak a lot either; they’re concentrated on learning, memorizing and passing their writing tests.

So, another tip when looking for dual language programs could be to ask the schools which activities they implement for kids to achieve speaking fluency.

Even the EdSource article I told you about says that Claude Goldenberg, a professor at Stanford University, and Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan, a “bilingual speech-language pathologist”, said that bilingual classes are helpful for biliteracy, but kids could still take up to six years to become fluent.

This is not for you to be disappointed, but rather to take your precautions when looking for the perfect dual language program.

Use All the Tools You can When Teaching Your Kids a Second Language

And hey, not everything is lost with the dual language method. U.S. News and World Report also stated that this kind of education helps with biliteracy. This not only means your children will excel at reading, but also at cognitive things, like their memory will improve and their problem-solving skills will be better.

Even cooler, they’ll also do better in other subjects, such as math.

Another benefit? Children will develop cultural awareness. Being exposed at such a young age to another language and to hang in the same classroom with native speakers of that said language, will make your kids learn about a brand-new culture.

And it won’t stop there, they won’t just be aware of it, as they get to know this culture, they’ll start loving it and respecting it. What a great value to have in such a diverse world!

So, now you know: dual language programs aren’t the devil in disguise and are not just a thing that sounds cool to enroll your kids in. They’re helpful. But you should do good research before committing to one school.

Plus, you could still use other tools to help your kids achieve full and realistic language fluency. If that’s what you’re trying to do, take a look at trufluencykids.com and check our Spanish immersion classes. Our main focus is on speaking! So, your bilingual kids will truly learn useful things for a real-life conversation and will practice a lot!

See you in the next video!