Language Immersion Schools and Reading Levels

[Anonymous]

My DS attends a DCPS language immersion school. He’s in K, and he tested at a first-grade reading level, in both English and Spanish. I have often heard that there is a delay in reading/writing skills for kids in immersion programs. It makes me think that DS might be further ahead in reading if he attended an English-only school; especially because his PK year was completely in Spanish. I’m curious to hear from others who have children in language immersion schools (DCPS or charters). If your kids had above-grade level reading skills in K, did they stay ahead in later grades (4th and above)? Did you do anything at home to help them improve their reading, especially in English?

[Anonymous]

My kid attends Yu Ying. He is three grades ahead in reading in English but below grade level, does not meet bench marks in Chinese. His reading level in English has stayed ahead since K but his Chinese has not advanced at all this year and he's fallen behind. He's in second grade.

We got him a Chinese tutor recently. We don't do anything for English and Math.

I've also heard that immersion kids have a delay in reading/writing skills but never seen any backup for this. I doubt DS's English skills would be more advanced if he attended an English only school but he's only in 2nd grade.

[Anonymous]

First grade level is a huge span. At the beginning of first grade students aren't fluent readers but can sound out short vowel words and know some sight words. By the end of first grade they have mastered long vowel and many digraphs. Where at a first grade level is your child?

[Anonymous]

Both of my kids did immersion (no English at school till first grade) and both have always tested ahead in both languages. One was basically off the charts in both (we knew that she was reading way above grade level in English before preK, and we sought out language immersion to give her a challenge), and one has consistently tested 2+ grades ahead in English and 1-2 in Spanish.

I wouldn't worry about trying to get farther and farther ahead in reading. The concept of reading levels is basically a moot point once you have a highly fluent reader. Does your child love books? Is he happy, engaged, and at least occasionally challenged?

Immersion has been great for our kids. Can't recommend it highly enough.

[Anonymous]

My child is in second grade and above level for English (3rd grade), but behind in Spanish (end of 1st grade level). I think he would have been further ahead in English but started to slow down in K after being able to decode in English since PS3. He used to be on level in Spanish, but not this school year. I'm not worried about English, but planning on getting a tutor to help with Spanish over the summer. I can read in Spanish (comprehend), but my pronunciation is horrible, and that is his primary issue.

[Anonymous]

OP - what are you trying to learn? Each kids only goes through it once, so no one can give you an equal comparison between dual language / traditional.

If you don't think it's right for your kid, there's nothing wrong with picking a traditional school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid attends Yu Ying. He is three grades ahead in reading in English but below grade level, does not meet bench marks in Chinese. His reading level in English has stayed ahead since K but his Chinese has not advanced at all this year and he's fallen behind. He's in second grade.

We got him a Chinese tutor recently. We don't do anything for English and Math.

I've also heard that immersion kids have a delay in reading/writing skills but never seen any backup for this. I doubt DS's English skills would be more advanced if he attended an English only school but he's only in 2nd grade.

How far behind is he in Chinese? Why do you think his Chinese has fallen behind?

[Anonymous]

I am not sure why someone would care if their kid was as many grade levels ahead in reading as he/she could possibly be. My kid is above grade-level in reading, and I thought she needed more challenge, so we switched her to an immersion charter last year. I do, however, worry about if she is being stretched to her potential in math, but I am not sure that this concern would be mitigated by being at a different DC public school or charter as it seems really teacher-dependent at the early elementary school level.

[Anonymous]

Why do you want your kid to continue to be so far ahead? There certainly are merits to a second language whether they are ahead or not. I guess it comes down to what you think is more important. I have a kids in dual language and he is ahead in both, but my priority is for him to learn the second language, so as long as we are happy with the school we will stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First grade level is a huge span. At the beginning of first grade students aren't fluent readers but can sound out short vowel words and know some sight words. By the end of first grade they have mastered long vowel and many digraphs. Where at a first grade level is your child?

OP here. I only have the reading level letters on his report card. His English reading level is K (which is actually 2nd grade--but just barely). I don't know which chart I was looking at before that made me think K was first grade. In Spanish, his reading level is G, which is about where he should be in the middle of first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - what are you trying to learn? Each kids only goes through it once, so no one can give you an equal comparison between dual language / traditional.

If you don't think it's right for your kid, there's nothing wrong with picking a traditional school.

Actually, I think that immersion is great for my son. I just want to get a sense of how other kids have done, in the long run,who started out ahead in K. I have already learned that two posters' kids have reading levels that slid in the target language, while staying a grade level or two ahead in English. while I understand that is a very unscientific sample size, it helps to know that may be an area of concern in the future--and perhaps not uncommon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you want your kid to continue to be so far ahead? There certainly are merits to a second language whether they are ahead or not. I guess it comes down to what you think is more important. I have a kids in dual language and he is ahead in both, but my priority is for him to learn the second language, so as long as we are happy with the school we will stay.

I never said that I was unhappy with my son's school. In fact, we're quite pleased with what he is learning--and he loves school. I was just wondering if perhaps he would be further ahead in a monolingual school--despite his above-grade reading levels in K. Why wouldn't I want my child to reach his full potential?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid attends Yu Ying. He is three grades ahead in reading in English but below grade level, does not meet bench marks in Chinese. His reading level in English has stayed ahead since K but his Chinese has not advanced at all this year and he's fallen behind. He's in second grade.

We got him a Chinese tutor recently. We don't do anything for English and Math.

I've also heard that immersion kids have a delay in reading/writing skills but never seen any backup for this. I doubt DS's English skills would be more advanced if he attended an English only school but he's only in 2nd grade.

How far behind is he in Chinese? Why do you think his Chinese has fallen behind?

He's 1 level behind according to one assessment and very behind according to the Circle assessment that the school uses. I give more credence to the Circle assessment since this is a standard assessment used for Mandarin. The reason he is behind is bc Chinese is harder than English reading and writing wise and he only gets to use Chinese at school.

His tutor thinks his deficits are correctable. She was tutoring a similar child who caught up.

Honestly, we are not particularly concerned since he does well in English. We consider any Mandarin he learns a bonus. His receptive Chinese is much better than his expressive Chinese according to his teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid attends Yu Ying. He is three grades ahead in reading in English but below grade level, does not meet bench marks in Chinese. His reading level in English has stayed ahead since K but his Chinese has not advanced at all this year and he's fallen behind. He's in second grade.

We got him a Chinese tutor recently. We don't do anything for English and Math.

I've also heard that immersion kids have a delay in reading/writing skills but never seen any backup for this. I doubt DS's English skills would be more advanced if he attended an English only school but he's only in 2nd grade.

How far behind is he in Chinese? Why do you think his Chinese has fallen behind?

He's 1 level behind according to one assessment and very behind according to the Circle assessment that the school uses. I give more credence to the Circle assessment since this is a standard assessment used for Mandarin. The reason he is behind is bc Chinese is harder than English reading and writing wise and he only gets to use Chinese at school.

His tutor thinks his deficits are correctable. She was tutoring a similar child who caught up.

Honestly, we are not particularly concerned since he does well in English. We consider any Mandarin he learns a bonus. His receptive Chinese is much better than his expressive Chinese according to his teachers.

We go to YY and had a similar issue. We caught up quickly by buying all the FWC flashcards and going over 10-15 flashcards every night until they knew every single one. A lot of memorization but we made it fun by acting out the words. Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you want your kid to continue to be so far ahead? There certainly are merits to a second language whether they are ahead or not. I guess it comes down to what you think is more important. I have a kids in dual language and he is ahead in both, but my priority is for him to learn the second language, so as long as we are happy with the school we will stay.

I never said that I was unhappy with my son's school. In fact, we're quite pleased with what he is learning--and he loves school. I was just wondering if perhaps he would be further ahead in a monolingual school--despite his above-grade reading levels in K. Why wouldn't I want my child to reach his full potential?

Breathe. Full potential is not reached by racing through these silly reading levels. It's like making a toddler try to run a 5k just because they mastered walking at 9months. Future reading comprehension ability is not at all determined by how fast they progress through these levels in the early grade. In fact, going too fast can actually be a detriment to reading comprehension in the 4th/5th grade years when they start having to read dense texts of non-fiction. Just enjoy reading with your child, let him/her read what captures her interest and all will be well. Your child is an advanced reader but that's really not a big deal. Everyone gets there in their own time given smart and appropriate instruction