Attending To The Third Goal

In two-way immersion (TWI) programs in the United States, the development of student cross-cultural competence is one of three primary goals, along with academic achievement and bilingualism and biliteracy. However, as "the third goal," cross-cultural outcomes have received less scholarly attention. In this article, the researchers briefly review the literature on cross-cultural outcomes for students in TWI programs, and highlight a consistent focus on the self in these studies, particularly as it relates to student identity. As cross-cultural competence begins with awareness of the self within the socially and culturally diverse classrooms that TWI provides, we assert that scholarly attention should be paid to the ways that TWI programs support identity development as an aspect of achieving the third goal of cross-cultural competence. They offer brief descriptions of three theoretical frameworks that hold promise for scholars considering student identity development within TWI, and close with suggestions for further research.