The purpose of this research has been to conduct a quantitative and qualitative study analyzing the effectiveness of the transitional bilingual (TBP) and immersion (SEI) curricular programs used in California with immigrant Latino population. This has been done done by using a sample of three groups of 2nd grade elementary students, in the city of Santa Ana, California (USA), and as testing instruments, the California English Development Test (CELDT) and the California Standard Test (CST). Firstly, a longitudinal study analyzes the linguistic competence of students over 5 consecutive years in both programs. Secondly, a quantitative analysis studies and compares the proficiency level of all the students in Language Art and Mathematics at the end of 2nd grade in L2. Finally, the research analyzes the role of L1 in the students’ learning process, their level of achievement in content areas, their work and study habits, and the emotional and affective factors involved. Conclusions are intended to contribute with new and relevant data to the scientific community and to the uninterrupted Bilingual/Immersion Education debate in working with immigrants. At the same time it pretends to inspire changes that may provide a better response to the linguistic, professional, social, political and cultural demands of our multicultural societies.
Key words
Language acquisition, bilingual education, immersion program, immigrants, L1, mother tongue, L2, second language, linguistic competence, multiculturalism.
García Martín, M.J. (2012). Análisis de los Modelos Curriculares Bilingüe y de Inmersión en una Sociedad Multilingüe y Multicultural. REICE. Revista Iberoamericana sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación, 10 (4), pp. 78-102.
http://www.rinace.net/reice/numeros/arts/vol10num4/art6.pdf. Consultado el (Fecha).
