Dual Language Education 

Bilingual education has become very popular in many parts of the united states. The reason for this is because the population of Emergent Bilinguals (EBs) has increased in many states and it will continue to increase. In order to meet the needs EBs, as educators we need to provide them an effective education that can offer quality and effective instruction for these students. Many states and districts in the United States pursue to now offer Dual Language Education (DLE) programs as an option to meet the needs of EBs thus research has proven these programs to have great academic achievement in both the first language and second language of students, as well as in closing the academic gap in the 2nd language and in addition, DLE programs can effectively work for native English speakers as well.

Implementing DLE programs takes planning, time, and fidelity and it is not easy task to carry out. It is crucial for principals and other administrators to have the knowledge necessary to help implement and support DLE programs. It is also very important for administrators and teachers to understand that Dual Language Education programs take 1-2 years to show academic improvement and moreover, 5-7 years to close the learning gap in which students catch up to their native English-speaking peers.

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In order for Dual Language Education programs to be successful, it has to involve the feelings, thoughts, and concerns of parents, teachers, and administrators. In this way, they all get support from each other and the implementation of the program becomes a successful program that meets the academic needs of English native speakers and Spanish native speakers, resulting in greater academic achievement for both groups (DeMatthews & Izquierdo 2018; Alanis & Rodriguez, 2008).