Dual Immersion Programs

OUSD’s Dual Language immersion programs offer a rich bilingual experience for young learners when their minds are developmentally best able to acquire a second language. Instruction is divided between two high quality, creative classrooms: one English and one in the program’s language.

There is no other type of instruction, short of living in a second language environment, that is as successful as a dual immersion program to help students attain high levels of second language proficiency and well-developed cultural skills. The cognitive, socio-cultural, and economic benefits are great. Young children especially thrive in this type of instructional environment. 

OUSD’s Dual Immersion students are on a pathway to read, write, speak and listen in a global  language at a high intermediate proficiency level by the ninth grade when they take Advanced Placement courses and the AP test.

Benefits to Dual Immersion Students Include:

• Improved Performance on Standardized Tests
  • Immersion students perform as well as or better than non-immersion students on standardized tests in English and math that are all administered in English.
• Enhanced Cognitive Skills
  • Immersion students typically develop greater cognitive flexibility, demonstrating increased attention control, better memory, and superior problem solving skills as well as an enhanced understanding of their primary language. Current research shows that being bilingual boosts brain power.
• Increased Cultural Sensitivity
  • Immersion students develop and awareness and appreciation towards other cultures. A survey of top international business executives done by the Center for Applied Second Language Studies at the University of Oregon in 2007 showed that multinational businesses are looking for potential high-level employees with cultural sensitivities and the skill to perform in a foreign environment.
• A Solid Foundation of Computer Science Knowledge and Innovative Thinking
• Long-Term Benefits
  • Immersion students are better prepared for the global community and job markets where a second language is an asset.