Anyone have experience with elementary school language immersion programs?

[egoldber]

I can't believe I am already having to think about this, LOL!

The school district we live in offers language immersion programs starting in kindergarten and in 1st grade. To get her into a kindergarten program, we'd have to apply next winter. But we want to start doing some research about the schools and the programs now.

In our district, they offer immersion (really partial immersion) programs in Spanish, French, German and Japanese. For kindergarten, the only programs are in Spanish. The other languages all start in 1st grade.

Does anyone have any experience with these types of programs? Anything to look for? Unfortunately none of these programs are available at the elementary school we are slated to attend, so I would have to drive her to the school. Some are not too far, but some (the Japaneses programs in particular) are quite far.

Any thoughts on the "best" or most "useful" language?

Thanks!

[Rachels]

A friend of ours sent her daughter to a French immersion school. Talia loved it, and she is now eleven and completely fluent. I would look for the same kinds of stuff I'd look for at any other school in terms of environment, etc. Kids are MUCH more receptive to learning foreign language before the age of nine (same for music), so elementary school is a great time to get in on that.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya Angelou

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif Two years and counting!

[LucyG]

I don't have experience with language immersion programs, but my guess for the most "useful" language would be Spanish. At least in my part of the country (Georgia), the ability to speak Spanish as well as English is growing increasingly popular, even necessary in some fields (such as mine - elementary education). As far as what to look for, I would observe how true the actual immersion is. My guess is that it's probably fairly total, but I would want the language integrated into all aspects of the curriculum and school day rather than isolated into lessons. KWIM? You want it to be natural rather than merely drill on isolated words, phrases, etc.

And, I would ask about how students with various learning needs (accelerated, delayed, physically disabled) and styles (linguistic, kinesthetic, aural) are incorporated into the immersion program.

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif[/img][/url]
21 months and counting!

[heidis2girls]

I don't have personal experience, but a former co-worker of mine sent her daughter to a French immersion school starting in Kindergarten. The mom is from France and speaks French and wanted her children to as well. She also sent her son there when he was old enough. Both of the kids loved it. Their dad is from Greece and speaks Greek to the children at home. They have been doing this since the children were born, mom speaks to them in French and dad speaks to them in Greek. They also speak English, obviously.

I think it is a fabulous idea. DH speaks German (his mom is from Germany) and he is teaching our daughters German. It's amazing when Hannah starts telling me colors in German! I'm not sure how much use they'll get out of it in Massachusetts, other than talking to DH, his mom and their relatives in Germany, but it's still great to know another language.

I'd have to agree with the PP that at this time Spanish is probably the most useful other language in this country. Personally, "I" would love to speak French. It is such a beautiful language.

HTH!

[Saartje]

I don't have any experience with such programs (but I'm glad to know they exist! Thanks for mentioning this), but I can say I don't think there is a "best" or "most useful" language. Usability depends on context -- obviously, German will be more useful in Germany than in Mexico. But, travels to other countries aside, I've found use for all of the four languages I've studied in day-to-day life here in the U.S. at one time or another. I don't think you can go wrong with regards to choosing a language.

[californiagirl]

Any foreign language is a great tool to have, and learning a second language as a child is not only easier and more complete than learning it as an adult, it's also good for your brain. You really can't go wrong no matter which you pick. That said, Spanish is probably the most likely to be useful day-to-day, but Japanese is the most different from English, and therefore the hardest for an English speaker to pick up later. It's a pity it's the least convenient; if it were easy to get to, I'd definitely pick Japanese in your situation, but I'm not sure it's worth making life nastily inconvenient for.

[StaceyKim]

DS has been taking a Spanish class since he turned 1 and loves it. He knows and speaks at least 5 words now! It is so much fun for him and I am brushing up on my Spanish too ( : !

Here is the link to the school:

http://www.languagestars.com/

[aliceinwonderland]

Oh, I'm so glad these exist!! I thought I'd have to spend hours tutoring E in the languages I want him to learn!!
Thanks Beth for posting.

[miki]

DH had a co-worker who sent her DD to French immersion school. She started doing it because when they lived in Oregon, the school in their neighborhood happened to have this program as its feature. But neither parent spoke French, the mom spoke Russian. When they moved to SF, they went out of their way to continue enrolling her in a private school so she could continue the French immersion. After the girl started 1st grade, her mom started taking French lessons because she felt that the girl really needed the presence of the language at home to make a complete learning experience. Shortly after that, they switched her to a non-language immersion school. The mom could not really keep up taking her French lessons and they decided it was not worth it to them to have their daughter learning a language they themselves did not speak and that they didn't think would be so useful to her.

IMO, Spanish would be the most useful for a person living in the US. As a previous poster said, Japanese is probably the most difficult to learn later. But unless you go into certain fields where you have a high likelihood of working in Japan or for a Japanese company, it's day-to-day usefulness would be rather limited.

[jd11365]

Awww, says they're all in IL. :(
Stace...I don't know why, but I always thought you lived in Manhattan. Huh!

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
May '03

[StaceyKim]

Hi Jamie,
Yup, I am in Chicago but I am from Boston. People here always think I am from NY too.

[bluej]

We sent Alex to a German Kindergarten where she was the only non-German child. The teacher started out giving instructions in German and then in English. By December she was just giving the instructions in German b/c Alex would start to respond and do what the teacher instructed while she was giving the instructions in German. By the end of the year Alex was speaking German quite well. The following year and a half she went to an International school and had German for an hour every day. I guess that was partial immersion, but it was only for an hour each day. I have no experience with the immersion programs here, but I would say immersion is the quickest way for a child to learn a second language. I think I also read somewhere that if a child does learn a second language it makes it easier for them to learn languages later on in life.

[StaceyKim]

check it out:
http://www.thibauttechnique.com/default.htm


http://www.berlitz.us/default.htm?lcid=0

you can search by location

[August Mom]

My nieces are enrolled in a French immersion program in Maryland. They like it, but there is some concern about the oldest one's (1st grader) mastery of English. She is behind compared to her non-immersion school friends in reading. Her parents attribute this to the French immersion schooling, but I have no idea if that's the cause. They chose the immersion school route because the regular public schools in their district aren't very good. It would definitely be helpful if the parents were familiar with the language being learned. The girls are learning French but neither parent had French. In kindergarten, both English and French were used. By the second half of the year, it was mostly French. In 1st grade, only French is used supposedly.

[ethansmom]

This is REALLY common in Ontario. I don't know if the people who frequent the Canadian board regularly visit the lounge; it might be worth a separate post.

At her young age, it's impossible to predict where your DD might end up in life and which language she might use. I think globally (ex:Africa), French is probably more common, but you can't go wrong with whatever language you choose.

I think it's great that your DD will learn several bigger lessons: other people are different than her (but still similiar), the world is bigger than her small circle, etc.

[kijip]

A co-worker's daughter is in an immersion public school here in Seattle. The choices are Japanese and Spanish. Spanish is a very good language to know in the US considering how many Spanish speaking people live all over the country (my husband use his at work a lot!). In Seattle, where there is a lot of Pacific Rim commerce, Japanese is an in demand language. They have her in the Japanese program. She is learning SO fast. The school offers lessons for the parents as well.

[cilantromapuche]

Dh student taught in a Spanish immersion program and was very impressed. Where we currently live there is not one, but if there were I would send my child there.
I just took Abe (17 months) to Argentina to visit family and he picked up Spanish in one week. I was blown away. I could tell him to "give me a kiss", "turn off the light", "press the button," and stuff like "bring me your shoes."
I have been lazy about speaking in Spanish to him because it is easier to do it in English. He started talking more since we went on this trip. I told my DH that his first language must be Spanish.
As far as language goes...whichever you like more. Any second language is good. I think that a romance language is good because it is latin based and helps you figure out root words in other languages, but it is personal preference.
THose of you who have this option are lucky!!

Chris
mama to Abe

[mykidzmom]

In my opinion...Spanish would be the most useful. I live in TN, and work at a Children's Hospital, and I use Spanish every day! I'm not completely fluent, but I took Spanish in HS and college. Where my children attend school, they have Spanish classes in elementary, and other languages are offered starting in middle school.

[C99]

I'm torn on this as well. I think Spanish would be most useful for an American, but I don't speak Spanish and neither does my husband. I do, however, speak French, so if Nate was in an immersion program for French, we would get some backing at home too.

[jubilee]

I have a friend that lives in an area with a dense population of migrant farmworkers. Because of this, the schools do an interesting "immersion"- they teach in both Spanish and English (supposedly equally). My friend says the school setting suffers in the other areas (math, sciences, etc.) because of this. In fact the school district is the worst in the state and gets federal funds to help. So, I say this to recommend you check the test scores on all aspects of the school. I think a second language is wonderful- but maybe not at the expense of the other subjects.