Two-Way Immersion Education in Germany: Bridging the Linguistic Gap

A PhD literature review in the field of two-way immersion (TWI) education revealed that German TWI programmes are hardly ever mentioned in English-language publications. There have been several TWI programmes in Germany since the 1960s with an increase in number and language combinations since the 1990s. This article provides an overview of German TWI programmes and literature for an English-language audience and summarises relevant research evidence. Combining evidence from Germany and elsewhere, I argue on the one hand that TWI education is likely to have linguistic and sociocultural benefits, and on the other hand that no conclusions of effectiveness should be drawn before at least six to eight years of TWI education. (Contains 24 notes.)