Language Immersion

[Anonymous]

I grew up bilingual because of where we lived. I want that for my child and I know that the earlier the kid is presented with other languages, the easier it is for them to learn. It is my hope that language is the gateway to other cultures and even more languages for my kid.

[Anonymous]

It's easier to learn another language at a young age, and it's another life skill that may benefit our kids. We split our time between America and overseas, so for us it just seems like a natural choice. As with anything else, it may or may not be a life skill that you value. It is time consuming to support, and you can't expect true success in the target language by simply shipping your kid off to school. We provide lots of support outside of school, but we think it is totally worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it important to you? I don't get it.

So I don't have to communicate with my flesh and blood in a foreign language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in a bilingual household in a part of the country that speaks both English and Spanish interchangeably. I like the confidence of being able to move through the world able to communicate with more people. I want my children to do the same. It's honestly not about future career prospects or anything like that; I just think life's more fun when your world is a little bigger.

I love this last line. Not everything is about getting on a career fast track. Well put!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get why people think it's important; I don't understand why some people seem to think it's the most important.

I'm 9:20, and I agree entirely. For my family, it comes naturally to be multicultural. But I do think a lot of parents force the issue when it really doesn't fit and they can't support it at home. I've heard that there's a lot of attrition in the immersion programs once actual schoolwork starts because the language acquisition overwhelms the academic learning, and parents who don't speak the language can't help. It does feel a little trendy at times, but so do a lot of the other models.

I'm 9:23. Everyone in our family learned a 2nd and/or 3rd, 4th language that wasn't supported at home. Believe it or not, this is how most of the world learns another language, at school (usually from nonnative speakers).

Yes, but you learn as part of a curriculum, not as the predominant factor. I learned Spanish in school, so I get it. But if I was taking 90% of my instruction in Spanish and my homework and textbooks were in Spanish, that would have made things complicated for my parents. Immersion and instruction are very different.

It's nice that your parents helped with your schoolwork, mine never did except in 3rd grade when my mother made me memorize the multiplication table. Nevertheless, I'm bilingual. I think home support in learning another language is overrated.

My kid's school uses a 50/50 immersion model. No one in our family knows the language. It hasn't been a problem. DS is above grade level in both English and the immersion language.

[Anonymous]

My kid's school uses a 50/50 immersion model. No one in our family knows the language. It hasn't been a problem. DS is above grade level in both English and the immersion language.

I see this remark often on dcum and I wonder what is meant by being at grade level in the immersion language. Does it mean that a child meets the grade expectations of the school for the immersion language (which, in my experience could be low but I accept as better than no second language at all) ? Or that they are just as proficient in both languages (e.g., that your third grader is at a par in Spanish with third graders of Spanish speaking countries)? This last I certainly don't see happening, our immersion students are at least two grades behind foreign educated students when they finish elementary school here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My kid's school uses a 50/50 immersion model. No one in our family knows the language. It hasn't been a problem. DS is above grade level in both English and the immersion language.

I see this remark often on dcum and I wonder what is meant by being at grade level in the immersion language. Does it mean that a child meets the grade expectations of the school for the immersion language (which, in my experience could be low but I accept as better than no second language at all) ? Or that they are just as proficient in both languages (e.g., that your third grader is at a par in Spanish with third graders of Spanish speaking countries)? This last I certainly don't see happening, our immersion students are at least two grades behind foreign educated students when they finish elementary school here.

It means they are working above the current grade level curriculum in the immersion language in our case the Flying with Chinese books. Not sure how that compares to foreign educated students in the same grade.

[Anonymous]

According to the Flying with Chinese site the series, K-6, teaches 500 characters total which should be enough to understand about 75% of modern Mandarin.

http://fluentinmandarin.com/content/how-many-chinese-characters-do-you-need-to-know/

But you need to know ~3000 characters to have a complete understanding.

So probably not at the same level as native speakers but the kids should be able to achieve proficiency with a little more work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in a bilingual household in a part of the country that speaks both English and Spanish interchangeably. I like the confidence of being able to move through the world able to communicate with more people. I want my children to do the same. It's honestly not about future career prospects or anything like that; I just think life's more fun when your world is a little bigger.

I love this last line. Not everything is about getting on a career fast track. Well put!!

This! I wouldn't trade my Spanish-only Latin American friends and family for anything. If I didn't speak Spanish I would never know the gems they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it important to you? I don't get it.

Very good question. I don't get why we have schools to start with. For most of history, kids just learned at home. Let's go back to basics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it important to you? I don't get it.

Very good question. I don't get why we have schools to start with. For most of history, kids just learned at home. Let's go back to basics.

Hah!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might ask why it bothers you that other people have different priorities than you do.

Was just curious.

I don't believe that it's "just curious", I think taking the time to ask on DCUM goes beyond that. Are you a parent and wondering if you're missing something in all the hoopla as you consider schools for your kids? Wondering what the big deal is because you'll need to make a choice eventually and want to understand the hoopla more?

None of that changes the answers we give you,, but just wanted to point out that I can't imagine bothering to ask the question if it isn't more than just general curiosity.

All that said, for our family it's about expanding our (and our kids') world views. I learned French in school, and if not for that probably would have never sought to spend time in France when I got older. Doesn't mean I never would have gone, but I will always know a bit more about French culture and music and geography because I studied the language than I would have if I hadn't had that interest. Plus, I grew up in NYC, which when I was growing up if you'd asked me to draw a map of the world it would have had a giant circle labled "NYC", some vague sense of where Canada and Mexico were, and that woulda been it. Starting to learn French in 5th grade was the beginning of being aware that there was more to the world than NYC. Maybe that's a unique experience to me, but that's why I value learning another language.

Immersion... I have to be honest that it was a strategic decision for us involving our beliefs about college admissions and career choices. I don't know that if it wasn't for those things whether we would have sought out actual immersion vs. just learning as I did as a class in a non-immersion school.

[Anonymous]

I am quadralingual and can comprehend a fifth, but I can only read/ write in two of the languages. I like the idea of immersion so that my child can master reading/writing in a way that I never did. In other countries, the immersion concept seems normal and not unusual at all.

[Anonymous]

What do call someone who speaks three languages?
Trilingual

What do call someone who speaks two languages?
Bilingual

What do you call someone who speaks one language?
American

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get why people think it's important; I don't understand why some people seem to think it's the most important.

I'm 9:20, and I agree entirely. For my family, it comes naturally to be multicultural. But I do think a lot of parents force the issue when it really doesn't fit and they can't support it at home. I've heard that there's a lot of attrition in the immersion programs once actual schoolwork starts because the language acquisition overwhelms the academic learning, and parents who don't speak the language can't help. It does feel a little trendy at times, but so do a lot of the other models.

I'm 9:23. Everyone in our family learned a 2nd and/or 3rd, 4th language that wasn't supported at home. Believe it or not, this is how most of the world learns another language, at school (usually from nonnative speakers).

Yes, but you learn as part of a curriculum, not as the predominant factor. I learned Spanish in school, so I get it. But if I was taking 90% of my instruction in Spanish and my homework and textbooks were in Spanish, that would have made things complicated for my parents. Immersion and instruction are very different.

This. I am completely in favor of learning a foreign language in childhood, but I have some reservations about immersion as a method.