What is the difference between Two-Way and One-Way Dual Language programs?

Instructionally?  Absolutely nothing.  In both, content instruction time in both languages should be at least 50% in the Language Other Than English (LOTE) with Language Arts being taught in both languages each year.  Our goals of High Academic Achievement in both languages, Bilingualism and Biliteracy, and Sociocultural Competence stay the same.  The curriculum is the same.  There should be a separation of languages with the exception of intentional translanguaging time in both programs.  And the program must last for at least 6 years, if not longer.

The only difference is that Two-Way Dual Language programs have a near-equal combination of dominant English speakers, balanced bilinguals, and dominant LOTE speakers whereas One-Way Dual Language programs cater predominantly to one linguistic group, usually students who have the LOTE as their home language.

Both Two-Way and One-Way Dual Language programs have their benefits.  Dual Language programs were originally created for linguistically-minoritized students in order to close the opportunity gap and help students preserve their language and culture.  Therefore, One-Way Dual Language Programs that cater to students whose home language is the LOTE can ensure that more students who need the program have access to the program.  On the other hand, in Two-Way Dual Language programs, all students serve as language and cultural models for students who have different language and linguistic backgrounds.  This can help speed up the attainment of the three goals of Dual Language.

That said, a common trap in Two-Way Dual Language programs is that the programs can slowly gentrify to accept more English speakers than nonEnglish speakers.  In a perfect, Two-Way, Dual Language classroom, 33% of students should be dominant English speakers, 33% balanced bilinguals, and 33% dominant LOTE speakers, with the majority of balanced bilinguals being students with home languages other than English.  However, often the number of English speakers starts to increase in these programs well past the 33%.  Let’s take a look at why and what we can do to ensure the perfect balance.

1. Not enough speakers of the LOTE apply.  – If this is the case, as a district or school, we need to advertise our Dual Language programs more, especially to the community that speaks the LOTE.  Seats reserved for LOTE speakers should not be handed to English speakers.
2. English speakers ask for more seats. – English-speaking parents often tend to go to the school superintendent or school boards to lobby for what they want more than our LOTE-speaking parents.  It is important that we explain to English speaking parents for whom the program was created and why it is important to preserve the delicate ratio of seats.
3. Balanced bilingual seats are given to English-speaking families. – Oftentimes, students who are gaining proficiency in the LOTE because of preschool experiences may appear to qualify for bilingual seats.  It is important to remember that these seats are for balanced bilinguals only.  Even if a student is gaining proficiency in the LOTE, they rarely have the same proficiency level in the LOTE as they have in English.  
4. Students who are deemed “low proficiency” in both languages are not assigned balanced bilingual seats. – Most of our Emergent Bilingual students are now simultaneous bilinguals.  They are gaining proficiency in both English and their home languages; thus, when tested they appear “low” in both languages.  Nevertheless, studies demonstrate that their combined linguistic repertoire is greater than students who are monolingual speakers of either language.  Such students are the students we are thinking about when we talk about “balanced bilinguals.”  Nevertheless, many school systems consider them not to be bilingual because they are not testing proficient in both languages.
5. Newcomers are not invited to join the Dual Language program. – While the first four reasons describe the lottery system, this last reason describes the effect of attrition on our programs.  Students who speak the LOTE at home often are from more mobile families and will exit the program due to movement out of the district.  While there is not much we can do about that, newcomers should be afforded seats in the program when there is space.  Newcomers can infuse the LOTE back into the classroom since the longer students are in the United States, the more likely they will choose English over the LOTE.  Furthermore, Dual Language programs will help our newcomers progress faster on their bilingual and biliteracy trajectories.

So if your district has a Two-Way Dual Language program, make sure that the majority are students who really need the program by not falling into these five traps.  Always remember that our programs were created for our LOTE speakers.