Reply to I need some real talk about language immersion

Forum Index » VA Public Schools other than FCPS

Reply to "I need some real talk about language immersion"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I always dreamed of letting my son go to Spanish immersion.  We bought when Key was our neighborhood school.  Then, he relocated, and also my son was diagnosed with a language disorder.  For those reasons, I abandoned my immersion hopes. Fast forward, and I kind of spontaneously entered him in the lottery for key as he enters second grade, and we got in.  I need some real talk on whether this is viable at this point.  My son still struggles with receptive and expressive language delays.[b] Language is hard for him. [/b] He gets a ton of support through an IEP.  On the other hand, ironically, he really enjoys foreign languages, because the way that foreign language is taught is so visual, and it’s slow, and there’s lots of repetition. Which is exactly what he needs. We are not a Spanish-speaking family. I never even talk Spanish in school and I have no attitude for it. It’s not something that I could help him with. But I am not adverse to getting tutoring assistance for him.

My husband and I come from rich cultural backgrounds, and our parents never taught us our mother tongues.  It’s a constant source of sadness for both of us that we missed out on language opportunities.  I think Spanish is a great and very practical foreign language and I would love to give my son the gift of bilingualism.

We need to make a decision very soon and I would love your honest opinions on whether it is too late or we would not be a good fit for Key.

The other thing I need to consider is that I depend on extended day.  The extended day sign up is this Monday.  If I don’t register at our current elementary school, we will likely lose our spot.  So, while my plan would be that if key doesn’t work out we could just go back to our wonderful elementary school, we would be going back without extended day, which is pretty problematic for me.[/quote]

I bolded the answer you wrote to your own question.  We had two kids do immersion at a well regarded private.  It was difficult for all students who did not have the language spoken at home by at least one parent.  Past experience had taught the school not to offer spots to children who had issues with learning a first language.  We have good friends who have utilized Saturday school, parents speaking the target language, and tutors to give the "gift" of bilingualism to their child who had receptive and expressive language delays.  After years they have a child who is substantially behind their grade cohort in both languages.  It can be hard to know when it is more a parental desire than something actually good for the actual child, but this seems not really a direction that is about your child's needs.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics