Career readiness, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, is defined by the following eight competencies: Critical Thinking/Problem Solving, Oral/Written Communications, Teamwork/Collaboration, Digital Technology, Leadership, Professionalism/Work Ethic, Career Management and Global/Intercultural Fluency (NACE, 2020).

K-12 multilingual programs, specifically dual language immersion programs, tick the boxes of the NACE career readiness competencies. Multilingual programs value not only additional language acquisition, but also foster empathy and cross-cultural understanding. Students and parents appreciate the value of foreign language learning not only as a discrete skill, but as a way to learn empathy and how to relate to a fellow classmate who has a different cultural background and different life experience. Second language proficiency coupled with a cross-cultural awareness best prepares students for a future in an increasingly globalized economy (Thomas & Collier, 1997). The entire dual language immersion experience adds an additional layer of empathy and connection very relevant for students preparing to enter a diverse and global workforce.

Dual language immersion programs are growing in number across the nation in response to both the needs of English language learners and native English speakers to mutually acquire a second language while learning academic content area beginning in kindergarten. As the United States, and California in particular, continues to see its English language learner population increase, schools around the country are exploring different bilingual models in an effort to promote academic achievement for all students, despite language background. The English language learner population is growing and often these students do not attain the same level of academic achievement as their English-speaking peers (Lindholm-Leary, K., & Genesee, F., 2010). At the same time, a growing number of monolingual English-speaking parents are looking for schools that offer foreign language instruction as enrichment for their elementary age children to learn a second language. One model, which simultaneously addresses the needs of English language learners and native English speakers acquiring a second language, is the dual language immersion program. Dual language immersion programs serve both ELL students who are acquiring English, as well as native English speakers who are acquiring a second language (Bearse & de Jong, 2008). In addition to language acquisition, Gerena (2011) found dual language immersion programs promote academic success for both groups of students. Gerena (2011), explained the goals of the dual language immersion program are academic excellence and language proficiency in two languages, English and the second target language through content area instruction in both languages.

In addition to positive academic and cognitive outcomes, dual language immersion programs encourage and foster a cultural understanding amongst peers of different backgrounds in the same classroom, striving to learn each other’s language through content. Not only are cross-cultural relations and an appreciation for students from a different background fostered amongst students in a dual language immersion program, but the status and role of the two languages are leveled and equally valued. Sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu (1991) described linguistic capital as the monetary-like embodiment connecting language use and status to the decisions around when and how we use language to maximize our power. Bourdieu’s linguistic capital theories have repercussions in the field of education and bilingual education as children of minority languages are either schooled in English only or English along with their native language. By schooling in multiple languages, these programs also raise the status and importance of languages other than English (Gomez et al, 2005).

Given the effectiveness of dual language immersion programs in developing second/another language proficiency, policy makers and educators in the U.S. acknowledge a need for residents who are proficient in more than one language (Howard & Christian, 2002; Christian, 1996; Calderon & Carreon, 2000). Raising biliterate students through our public schools expands our nation’s language resources by conserving and building upon language skills of minority students while developing second language skills in English speaking students. In addition to increasing the bilingual population, there is hope of improving relations between majority and minority groups by building cross-cultural understanding and appreciation (Christian, 1996).

Unlike an era of English-only policy in this country, policymakers and parents are currently striving to educate globally competent and bilingual students. Proficiency in a second language and intercultural competency open up employment opportunities. Employers demand increasing involvement in the global economy. High level and high paying jobs will demand competence in more than one language (Fixman, 1990; Garcia & Otheguy, 1994; Halliwell & Jones, 1991; Mann, Brassell, & Bevan, 2011). On a sociocultural level, becoming bilingual expands one’s worldview and enables one to not only know more but also know differently. In summary, language is viewed as a resource in the current global marketplace (Gomez et al, 2005). Given this current climate, dual language immersion programs are a promising approach in education.

The push for globally competent and bilingual students is set in a context of an already diverse country in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2013), “the percentage of public school students in the United States who were English language learners was higher in school year 2011–12 (9.1 percent, or an estimated 4.4 million students) than in 2002–03 (8.7 percent, or an estimated 4.1 million students).” In contrast to the national statistics, the English language learner population in the state of California, in which this article is based, is higher at 29 percent of the state’s K-12 public school enrollment. As the student population changes, so must educators adapt to students’ needs. DLIPs are a method of adapting instruction to meet the needs of a linguistically diverse student population as well as the language-majority students. In contrast to other bilingual education programs, DLIPs are also better positioned to encourage cross-cultural understanding and biliteracy as demanded by the global marketplace (Genesee & Gandara, 1999).

On July 1, 2018, the California Department of Education’s regulation for implementing Proposition 58, also known as the CA Education for a Global Economy Initiative, took effect. Californians overwhelmingly voted in favor of empowering school district and county offices of education to establish programs for English learners, better described as emergent bilinguals, that promote proficiency in multiple languages and leverage the home language as an asset. While this work is not new for many of California’s educators, there is now legislation in place to support multilingual programs in schools.

That same year also marked the launch of Global California 2030 as a call to action to grow and strengthen multilingual programs, so that half of K-12 students graduate from high school proficient in more than one language. With this vision, great efforts are being made from school districts to higher education to increase the number of teachers with bilingual authorizations in languages such as Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, French, Japanese, Italian, Armenian and German to serve in new and existing dual language immersion programs.

Currently, several initiatives across California support the growth and linguistic rigor of dual language immersion programs. Support and funding to increase the number of bilingual authorized teachers, provide ongoing training for administrators of dual language programs, and assist districts with creating new dual language immersion programs comes from several public and private organizations such as the California Department of Education, Californians Together, the Center for Equity for English Learners at Loyola Marymount University and the California Association of Bilingual Educators.