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We didn't win the MCPS immersion lottery-now any suggestions for learning language?
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Anonymous
| It seems all or nothing in MCPS-either immersion or no exposure to foreign language. We don't speak a second language at home. What have other parents done who wanted to offer good exposure to a language and have no immersion options? Thanks for any suggestions. |
Anonymous
| Hire a tutor. |
Anonymous
| Then do one of those house exchanges over the summer, so your kid can have some "immersion". |
Anonymous
| If your elementary school does not already offer it, organize the FLES language program for your school. They offer French, Spanish and Mandarin--before/after school. They require a minimum number of students--less than 10 per class. |
Anonymous
OP here, thank you for this suggestion-do you have any more information on how to contact the FLES program and get one started? I can't do an exchange program really because our house is puny. Plus it always seems those exchanges are designed to let the other person learn English and experience America. |
Anonymous
| I have not heard great things about FLES at our school, actually... |
Anonymous
| OP here. I searched and found the FLES website: www.fles.org. Apparently they work through PTAs so you need to contact your home school PTA and see if they've got a program going. If not, maybe I could volunteer to organize it, assuming FLES is able to locate qualified teachers. |
Anonymous
|
I'm the PP who advised starting FLES. We've had a very positive experience with it--my son learned more this year in the FLES program than he did in two years of a Saturday school language program. And the teacher (Mandarin) was very good. So thumbs up from us!
I'd contact your PTA president and/or Principal and find out if they have a FLES coordinator lined up for next Sept. If not, ask if you could do so--it will be your responsibility to get enough kids to meet the minimum number of kids. Also, contact the FLES office for more info... |
Anonymous
| FLES is a mixed bag. If you're in a school community that values learning a foreign language in elementary it can work. But if you're in a school with a diverse socio-economic mix (read: down county), it can be very hard to get the requisite number of kids. Our school could barely support Spanish, and if you were interested in French, you were SOL--year after year there weren't enough kids. |
Anonymous
| 20:44 here. The critiques about FLES at our school revolved around the fact that they eventually were only offering it in the morning (their choice, not the PTA's), so numbers were low and they had to combine levels. Also that the teachers were not really engaging. Obviously, great teachers would make all the difference. |
Anonymous
Actually, I can see French being a tougher sell - it's not the most useful language. What about Mandarin? There are some high-end Mandarin immersion programs. That seems like it could be indicative of interest? |
Anonymous
| Frankly, I don't think there would be much interest in Mandarin either...I just don't think there were enough families in the school who valued a foreign language. enough to a) pay the bucks, b) send their kid before school. Years ago there was a phenomenal woman who taught French after school at Takoma ES...but I don't think that was FLES. |
Anonymous
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Try to find programs that cater to the kids of immigrants whose parents want them to speak their native language -- there are definitely options out there for Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese, to name 3.
Good luck. |
Anonymous
| If you need childcare, hiring an au pair to teach foreign language and culture is a good way for kids to learn another language or getting a group of kids together interested in the same language and hiring an instructor might be another way. |
Anonymous
| or jabberu or communikids... |