Language immersion

[Anonymous]

Has anyone tried this? DH has family in Germany and we would love to have DC fluent. I know Fairfax has a program but was interested to see view points.

[Anonymous]

It is not easy but a wonderful gift to give your child! We are raising our two children bilingual. Mom speaks one language and dad speaks English. We also found an immersion preschool and hired a childcare provider who speaks the non-English language that we're focused on. I make a point to buy books in both languages. In the summer we travel where the kids can use the langauge even more.

I would recommend you read the Bilingual Edge, written by two G'town professors. It is a very well written "how-to" to raising your children bilingually, regardless of the parents' native language.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I fully concur with the PP. We're raising our DS in Spanish -- neither of us is a native-speaker but DS has learned it at daycare and will be going to immersion kindergarten in the fall. We buy lots of books and music in Spanish and there are lots of Spanish-language opportunities in the area. I'm always amazed more people aren't doing this.

The Bilingual Edge is a great book!

[Anonymous]

You don't say if husband or you speak German, but if he does, is he willing to speak to this kids in German? A lot? For years to come? Is anyone else nearby? Are you ready to do schoolwork in German with your kids?

I grew up overseas and was a language major in college. I also have an ear for languages and really like learning them. I am pretty fluent in one of them and pretty good at another. That said, my parents pretty much only speak English, and so do my little sisters and they were overseas with me at the same time.

I also would never be mistaken for a native speaker in the language I know very well. And my family (kids included) was exposed to the same things as I was but could not use it now if they tried.

I guess what I'm saying is, it depends on what your goal is. Do you want your son to be comfortable with German? Fluent? If he's interested, so be it, but I also think the immersion programs can be confusing for an elementary kid once they get to a higher level math or something, and then they also need exposure to the language constantly to maintain a level of proficiency. It's a really trendy thing to do around here, but I for one am not going to do it with my child.

I also find Dora the Explora annoying because she's constantly speaking in 2 languages at once, but that's just me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess what I'm saying is, it depends on what your goal is. Do you want your son to be comfortable with German? Fluent? If he's interested, so be it, but I also think the immersion programs can be confusing for an elementary kid once they get to a higher level math or something, and then they also need exposure to the language constantly to maintain a level of proficiency. It's a really trendy thing to do around here, but I for one am not going to do it with my child.

Language immersion programs most definitely are not confusing. Language immersion is a very different way of learning a language -- it has nothing in common with the language classes many of us had in school, including if we lived overseas. The kids do not get confused, especially in a subject like math, which is, after all, numbers. 4 looks the same in German, Spanish, or English (granted, it can be written differently in languages like Arabic and Chinese), and so do geometric formulas.

It's true that kids need the constant exposure -- Arlington actually offers immersion through middle school, and then language classes for native speakers in high school, so it's not a problem with Spanish. Other school systems may not offer the same level of support.

In our wired world, it's easy to find ways to keep up a child's language skills -- there's pop music, music videos, TV programs, and of course books.

[Anonymous]

17:09 overstates her case. Some kids don't get confused and thrive. Some do get confused. If you can, try and find the exit stats on the bilingual kids - many parents do reevaluate and transfer their kids. There was an article in the post about this a few months back.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for all the feedback. DH does speak German well although not necessarily grammatically correct. He actually did part of his Residency training there but our niece will often correct him for poor article use....anyone who knows German, this is very complicated. I speak some German but far from fluent. DH could likely do homework in German but had not thought of that as yet.
We are hoping to have a German speaking nanny in the near future - we have not found any day cares which offer German as a language spoken so far.

There is one school in Springfield which offere German immersion and I am having difficulty deciding whether to go with that option or a school I feel better about overall scholastically.

[Anonymous]

Hello OP -

Which school offerers German Immersion in Fairfax?

Thanks!

[TwinsinAdMorg]

OP - Bilingual Edge book can be really helpful as a tool to help you decide what you would like to do. It has actual worksheets (seriously!) to help you think about different aspects of your children, like ages, learning disabilities, schools etc.

It's a quick read - although kind of obvious in parts - and a useful, day-to-day guide. We found it helpful in dispelling some myths we had about our own language experiences. (I'll spare you the details. :wink

For German resources you might want to try Goethe Institute
http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/enindex.htm

[Anonymous]

I am not the OP, but the school is Orange Hunt Elementary.

http://www.fcps.edu/OrangeHuntES/

[Anonymous]

Language immersion can benefit all kids, even those with learning disabilities. We went to a program in Arlington for the immersion schools where they discussed the latest research on second-language acquisition and the "how-to" of their immersion program. Kids can definitely do well -- when there are difficulties, it seems that the parents are the ones with issues, not the kids.

And yes, per previous posters, The Bilingual Edge is a must read!

[Anonymous]

There is also a private German School in Potomac MD. I read about it on the main DC Urban Mom List.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I think the one in Potomac is the German School and I believe they are not just German immersion but also teach German curriculum...though this is info from word or mouth so not 100% sure. Thansk for the resource book suggestion. I'll get that ASAP.