The Two-Way Immersion (TWI) is a program that allows native English speakers and speakers of other languages (most commonly Spanish) to integrate into the same language classes, aiming for students to become bilingual and biliterate.
Sylvia Mendez Elementary School offers this program to their students as well as a continuation program in Longfellow Middle School. Sylvia Mendez begins their students in a strictly “Spanish only” atmosphere to ensure that native English speakers familiarize themselves with a secondary language early on in their childhood. At Longfellow, TWI students are automatically enrolled into two classes in Spanish every year throughout middle school to solidify the basic structure and understanding of Spanish taught previously in elementary school.
By deliberately designing lessons that are taught in another language, educators encourage the brain to adapt and connect language with meaning. “Having classes in Spanish teaches you to not just use it when you're thinking about it,” Berkeley High School sophomore and TWI alum Maia Wilsey said. “A lot of kids who attended Silvia Mendez or Longfellow don't speak Spanish at home, so school is the only time when you're speaking Spanish … Having that continuous thing and making sure that people are speaking Spanish in class is the most important thing,” Wilsey said. Having a program like TWI incorporated into BHS ensures that students are not only receiving exposure through a language class, but also in other classes, leading to long-term language retention and cognitive development.
“The immersion classes didn’t only teach academic Spanish like a lot of the classes at BHS. It felt more like Spanish, you could use to communicate in another country, not just pass exams,” BHS freshman and TWI alum Asha Dreher said. By prioritizing authentic language usage rather than using textbook exercises, students gain functional fluency that enables them to communicate effectively beyond the classroom. Functional fluency encourages students to think outside of curricular lessons and into everyday use where communication requires spontaneity and adaptability.
If bilingual education slows down, students lose the momentum that drives them to learn. Language is like a muscle: if students' language retention slows over time, the ability to use it academically, and in real-world ways fades. “The program (TWI) could help with next steps after learning the language, like applying it to jobs or real-life situations,” Dreher said.
Learning another language also becomes beneficial in the broader world. “Knowing more than one language gives you so much more opportunity,” Oscar Edmunds, a BHS freshman, said. Multilingualism becomes a major advantage when searching for jobs, as employers often value individuals who can communicate across cultures, potentially providing a cutting edge advantage in the workforce.
By encouraging students to learn academic subjects in Spanish and English, two-way immersion programs help students develop deeper comprehension and fluency through real-world language use. TWI students are set up for the future through refined language proficiency, improving communication skills and cognitive flexibility. Students are then able to converse in diverse environments, access more job opportunities, and engage in our increasingly interconnected global society.