Language Immersion - How is it going online?
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Anonymous
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My DCs (K, 2, and 3) are in full Spanish immersion and I have to say, it’s been a real struggle for us over the past three months. I see them losing their Spanish language skills already and struggling to retain language skills they had.
They are engaged in the remote learning, inclusive of specials, and DH and I are trying to add in more Spanish language books and Spanish online options - games, Kids shows, etc in Spanish. Nevertheless, DH aren’t Spanish speakers so we don’t have the ability to talk to the kids in Spanish to keep the fluency up. We also work full time so it’s been challenging just navigating the online forums let alone trying to supplement classroom time. Am also disappointed that subjects like science are now in English; just one less opportunity to learn the language. The school has basically told parents to hire tutors or pay for online language resources if our kids are having trouble maintaining their language skills. We tried organizing “Spanish speaking play dates” via Zoom but the kids reverted to English despite best efforts of parents. Feeling pretty discouraged. Wondering how other immersion families are navigating and keeping up language skills, especially those who don’t have native or proficient speakers (adults) at home. |
Anonymous
| My kids are older but they also did full immersion and we aren’t native speakers. While I didn’t have a pandemic to deal with, I will say- keep the faith. They will seem to “lose “ their second language every summer or long break. We also bemoaned the English that only increases as you get to higher grades. There are also some teachers who speak way too much English imo. But. But. That second language is in there, don’t worry. Make them read in Spanish/French every day. They will retain it and keep up when they get back to things. My kids have acted as tutors in Spanish for younger kids- maybe you want to hire a HS Spanish speaker to hang over zoom with your kids for two hours every week over the summer. Maybe make all screen time in Spanish. Anyway, I’m sure this is hard with the shutdown, but keep the faith. It’s super cool that my kids share this language that my husband and I don’t even speak! It’s such a gift. |
Anonymous
| You won't get many responses because so many families like yours have sucked up all the spots. |
Anonymous
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Our third grader is in immersion for a language that we don't speak--it's even tougher because it's not Spanish. We also work FT. Here's what we've been doing almost every day since the pandemic:
-all cartoons in 2nd language on Netflix (we were doing this before) -daily reading in second language--when we ran out of books, we ordered a Kindle -will do a few weeks of virtual summer camp, may also consider a tutor/babysitter who is a native speaker Good luck! I think it'll be worth it in the end. |
Anonymous
Immersion programs are for “families like hers.” That’s not “sucking up” spots—it’s enrolling. Not sure what you are getting at. |
Anonymous
I think PP is alluding to the sibling link that for a long time meant that immersion slots were going mostly to siblings. That's less true moving forward, so I think PP can simmer down. I have one child in language immersion (no sibling link!) and it's been okay. Because my child is in a lower grade, I do worry that gains are being eroded, and the amount of work that requires parental supervision is daunting, but it's also given me a chance to see the great parts of the immersion experience. I could probably be better about insisting that screen time be in the target language, but that's one thing that would be easier if my older child HAD received a spot. |
Anonymous
| Why doesn't MCPS offer more language immersion programs when they are so popular. Look at DC. They have a charter school or DCPS school on almost every single major language. |
Anonymous
Oh, that's easy to answer. You need teachers who are fully bilingual AND licensed to teach that grade/subject in Maryland. It's actually a pretty small pool of teachers that meet the criteria. Charter school teachers do not need to be accredited, and about a quarter of DCPS (non-charter) teachers lack credentials. |
Anonymous
Define "major" language. MCPS has full immersion programs for Spanish, French, Chinese. Which other "major" languages does DC offer that MCPS is not offering. |
Anonymous
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We have been struggling with this also. We have a 3rd grader in Spanish immersion. He has always grumbled about reading in Spanish at home, but at least he used to get pretty much a full day of Spanish in school. Now that extra reading is more crucial. He finds Raz Kids boring but I like it because I know the level and we are trying to increase his proficiency. He prefers translations of his favorite book series like Wimpy Kid, but at least that's reading something he enjoys.
We have considered an online tutor to keep up with spoken language but haven't done it yet. There are a lot of online tutors available from many countries through various organizations. We haven't settled on one yet, but for the summer it will be even more important. One thing is that we are all in the same boat. When we are back in school, most of the kids will be lagging a little more than usual. It's the kids who aren't really doing anything at home who will really suffer from this. If we are online next fall, hopefully the schools will have more classes in Spanish. |
Anonymous
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OP here - thanks to the poster who replied with helpful info and encouragement.
As for the poster who suggested “families like mine” sucked up all the spots, you can rest easy knowing sibling link is no longer available to families. We recognize how fortunate we are to get a spot and take the program and opportunity very seriously. Hence, one of the reasons I’m curious how other families with kids in the program are faring, especially families like ours who don’t have native speakers at home. If others have any helpful guidance on retaining language skills would love to hear from you. If you have concerns about immersion program lotteries, please feel fee to start your own thread. |
Anonymous
Not arguing about what's major or not, but DC has immersion schools for Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Hebrew. |
Anonymous
Thanks, PP. I appreciate the additional perspective. I hadn’t heard of Raz Kids and will look into it. Also like the idea of a high schooler to help with online / virtual language. Even someone to converse with in Spanish would be great. |
Anonymous
| We didn't bother with the lottery system here in MoCo. We moved to be in-bounds for one of the dual immersion (Spanish) schools when our littles were nearing school age. DH and i speak basic, decent Spanish (started in middle school and continued on with 2-4 years in college) so we can support at home on basic/intermediate level. |
Anonymous
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I have a first grader in Spanish. We are pretty discouraged. Neither of us speak the language and we work FT.
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