Transfer in a Dual Immersion Program: Teaching for Cognates, Morphological Awareness, and Language Differences

• In Event: 63.084 - Roundtable Session 22
  In Roundtable Session: 63.084-17 - Language Acquisition and Identity in Dual Language School Contexts

Abstract

This qualitative case study explored how two bilingual teachers employed transfer in a Spanish-English Dual Immersion program in second through fourth grade. Research data included three months of classroom observations and interviews with teachers at the beginning, middle and end of the study. Results showed that teachers used cognates and morphology to demonstrate similarities between Spanish and English, and transfer was observed both from L1 to L2 and from L2 to L1. Teachers’ beliefs about transfer influenced whether and how they taught for it. Pre-service implications suggest an expanded focus on theory and instructional practices that support transfer. Programmatic implications include reconsidering the strict language separation rule in Dual Immersion programs.

Author

• Allison Briceno, San José State University