The instructional programs educators design to help English Learner (EL) students work toward English proficiency look different in schools across the United States. This is due in part to the variety of approaches K-12 educators take to important questions such as: Should the program foster bilingualism or focus solely on English? Should ELs…

A strong research base demonstrates the benefits of bilingual education models in supporting Dual Language Learners' (DLLs')--young children who have at least one parent who speaks a language other than English in the home--academic development. However, in super-diverse pre-K through grade 3 classrooms where no single non-English language is…

In early childhood education and care programs across the United States, there is a growing need for effective approaches to teaching in classrooms where children come from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Many of the tried and trusted models for supporting Dual Language Learners (DLLs) were developed in more homogeneous or…

What steps can organizations take to provide accessible and inclusive services to families who speak a language other than English, and how can they support these families in developing their English and home language skills? This brief explores two-generation (2Gen) practices--interventions that work with both parents and children--that aim to…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs across the United States are experiencing an increasing level of linguistic and cultural diversity among the children they serve. Dual Language Learners (DLLs)--young children who grow up speaking more than one language at home and in the classroom--bring to these classrooms unique learning…

More than 7.4 million U.S. children ages 5 and under live in a household where a language other than English is spoken by a parent or caregiver. But despite the size and growth of this Dual Language Learner (DLL) population, and these children's distinct linguistic assets and learning needs, standardized policies for identifying them and…

Nationwide, one-third of children ages 5 and under have at least one parent who speaks a language other than English. These Dual Language Learners (DLLs) are an incredibly diverse and growing group of young children, and with the right support these preschoolers have the potential to develop as multilingual and multiliterate individuals. Yet…

Dual Language Learners (DLLs)--those under age 8 with at least one parent who speaks a language other than English at home--make up 32 percent of the U.S. young child population and a growing share of children in most states. While these young learners stand to benefit disproportionately from high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC),…

Enactment of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA) in 2015 introduced opportunities to use federal funds to strengthen the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce as a means of better meeting the needs of the growing and increasingly diverse young child population. Children under the age of 5 who have at least one parent or…

How the young children of immigrants experience their early school years may in large part determine their academic future and negatively affect their emotional, social, and mental development. Children benefit from a positive, supportive learning environment where their contributions are valued; many from immigrant families, however, experience…

This fact sheet provides demographic information for the young Dual Language Learner (DLL) population in Colorado, based on Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data pooled over the 2011-15 period. DLLs, defined as children ages 8 and under with at least one parent who speaks a language…

This fact sheet provides demographic information for the young Dual Language Learner (DLL) population in Maryland, based on Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data pooled over the 2011-15 period. DLLs, defined as children ages 8 and under with at least one parent who speaks a language…

This fact sheet provides demographic information for the young Dual Language Learner (DLL) population in Florida, based on Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data pooled over the 2011-15 period. DLLs, defined as children ages 8 and under with at least one parent who speaks a language…

This fact sheet provides demographic information for the young Dual Language Learner (DLL) population in Michigan, based on Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data pooled over the 2011-15 period. DLLs, defined as children ages 8 and under with at least one parent who speaks a language…

This fact sheet provides demographic information for the young Dual Language Learner (DLL) population in Massachusetts, based on Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data pooled over the 2011-15 period. DLLs, defined as children ages 8 and under with at least one parent who speaks a…