Cultural Responsiveness and Dual Education (CRADLE)

The Importance of Dual Language Acquisition

The demand for staff and program support in Early Head Start and Head Start programs is increasing dramatically because of the growing number of families whose home language is not English. The goal of the CRADLE Project is to assist Early Head Start programs in deepening their relationship with parents and young children in the area of language acquisition in order to give the children the foundational support required for future success. In 2006, 24 Early Head Start (EHS) and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs were selected to participate in the CRADLE I project. In 2007, 20 EHS and MSHS programs were selected to participate in the CRADLE II project. Participant program teams are gaining an understanding of linguistic and cultural features of children under three, the linguistic and cultural issues and concerns affecting families and expectant parents, and approaches for implementing promising practices in dual language acquisition for infants and toddlers.

Program teams learned about current applicable theory in dual/second language acquisition, and they participated in activities that helped the team to apply theory to practice in their work with children and families. Teams also explored the unique ways in which infants and toddlers learn and how dual language is acquired during the infancy/toddler period.

Programs attended a training in February 2006 and February 2007. The training was interactive and experientially based. Teams defined their program philosophy in the area of dual and second language learning, and developed action plans that included parent involvement, staff development, and program and community activities. In addition, teams were given the tools and the training to set benchmarks and monitor their own program goals.

Team Leaders attended a separate two-day training and were responsible for the follow-up activities during the 9-month implementation phase that followed the training. In addition, conference calls and other consultant supports were provided during the follow-up phase. The project evaluation followed the teams through the training and implementation phases.

In January 2008, two members from the teams that participated in CRADLE I and CRADLE II, met to discuss and share their lessons learned.