What Does “Well-implemented
Dual Language” Mean?
 Administrators at both school and district levels fully
support the DL program (superintendent, school board, central
office staff, and principals) by providing full financial and
administrative resources for hiring good teachers, and choosing
high quality classroom materials and equipment.
 Fidelity to the DL model chosen: all staff fully understand the
non-negotiables of the model, and the research rationale for the
key program characteristics.
 Careful attention to instructional time in EACH of the two
languages, with deep proficiency development of BOTH languages
throughout the academic curriculum.
 Regular DL program planning meetings are scheduled, at
which staff can talk out what is working well and what might need
to be changed, through collaborative group decision-making.
 All bilingual and English-speaking teachers work together
creatively and collaboratively. Teachers who are assigned as
team-teaching partners appreciate and value each other, and plan
together
 Thoughtful choices of assessment instruments for BOTH
languages across the curriculum as part of ongoing program
evaluation.
Copyright © 2014, Wayne P. Thomas and Virginia P. Collier. All rights reserved.
What Does “Well-implemented
Dual Language” Mean?
 High quality, ongoing staff development in research-based
and effective practices for DL teachers and administrators.
DL teaching includes:
•
Not too much teacher-lecturing; but clear instructions for
each activity
•
Cooperative learning implemented effectively, with lots of
varied work groupings: pairs, groups of four, learning
centers, whole-class …
•
Problem-solving, creative projects, varied activities, highlevel thinking, stimulating learning
•
Sensitivity to cross-cultural issues and emotional support for
all
•
Students engaged and actively participating in meaningful
learning
•
Active participation of all students whatever the language of
instruction (L1 or L2), with lots of clues to meaning
(scaffolding) provided by teachers and fellow students
Copyright © 2014, Wayne P. Thomas and Virginia P. Collier. All rights reserved.