World Languages and Dual Language Immersion (DLI)

The goals of the world languages and dual language immersion program in Gwinnett County schools are to:

Communication

• Address individual student needs and afford all students the opportunity to learn how to communicate in another language.
• Provide students the opportunity to achieve a high level of proficiency by offering a variety of languages in an articulated sequence beginning in elementary and/or middle school.
• Incorporate a variety of technologies to enhance communication and allow for direct connection to the target language and culture.

Culture

• Develop an understanding of the diverse perspectives, practices, and products of cultures in an international community.

Connections

• Encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and provide access to resources unique to the target language and culture.

Comparisons

• Expand students’ knowledge of their own language and culture through the study of another.

Communities

• Expose students to academic and career opportunities in global society and to promote lifelong learning.

In meeting these goals, various models of World Languages and Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs exist in Gwinnett schools. At the elementary level, many schools provide exploratory models in order to raise students’ awareness of other languages and cultures. In addition, schools that offer a dual language immersion model engage 2-teacher teams (one English and one foreign language speaking) to collaborate and deliver AKS content 50% of the day in English and 50% of the day in the foreign language. At the middle school level, most schools offer introductory courses in the Connections block, and most offer sequential one, two, or three year programs that meet high school-level Carnegie unit Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) for the target language studied. Gwinnett's high schools offer programs of study in multiple languages. Contact your local school to find out which languages are offered at your school.