Author: Johanna Watzinger-Tharp and Jamie Leite
Date of Publication: June 2017
Series Title: Scottish Languages Review Issue 32
Notes: DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.5100526
In this article, we discuss the context, key features and vision of Utah’s dual language immersion (DLI) programme. Students in this programme spend half of the school day learning subject matter in English, and the other half learning in a target language. Utah’s DLI programme started in 2009 with 25 elementary schools and three target languages (Chinese, French and Spanish) and is supported by legislative funding. In the autumn of 2017, 200 schools in 22 districts across the state will offer dual language immersion in Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and for the first time Russian. Schools and districts that participate in dual language immersion commit to implementation that complies with the state model. We explain the model’s key features and discuss the central role of collaboration between public and higher education to realise the vision of articulated language education.