Biliteracy development in two -way immersion education programs: A multilevel analysis of the effects of native language and home language use on the development of narrative writing ability in English and Spanish

This study investigated the English and Spanish writing development of 344 native English speakers and native Spanish speakers in 11 Spanish/English two-way immersion programs across the United States. Nine waves of writing data in each language were collected over a three-year period, from the beginning of third grade through the end of fifth grade. An analytic rubric was used to score these writing samples according to composition, grammar, and mechanics. Using an individual growth modeling framework, analyses were conducted to estimate average growth trajectories in each language, as well as to assess the predictive power of native language and home language use on average final status (end of fifth grade performance) and average rate of change.;Three major findings emerged from this study. First, writing development in both English and Spanish slowed over time, with faster growth in third grade and slower growth over fourth and fifth grade. Second, both native language and home language use were significant predictors of English writing development, with native language related to both final status and rate of change, and home language related only to final status. After controlling for gender, free/reduced lunch eligibility, and participation in special education, being a native English speaker and speaking more English at home were associated with higher average final status in English writing, although the gap between the native language groups diminished over time. Third, home language was a significant predictor of Spanish writing final status. After controlling for gender, personal problems, participation in special education, and free/reduced lunch eligibility, speaking more Spanish at home was associated with higher average final status in Spanish writing. There was also a significant interaction between home language and free/reduced lunch on the rate of change of Spanish writing development. The fact that, on average, students showed continual progress in both languages and that second language speakers and/or those who used a given language less at home approached the performance of native and/or frequent speakers of that language over time indicates that these TWI programs are achieving one of their primary goals, that of biliteracy development for all students.