Reply to Yu Ying (and immersion programs in general)

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Reply to "Yu Ying (and immersion programs in general)"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]These threads seem to gravitate toward the idea that if a child doesn't become totally fluent, immersion programs aren't worth it. In my opinion, the exposure is fantastic for a kid regardless of the degree of fluency. I started French when I was 8 and didn't have anything like immersion, but taking those classes gave me a facility in French that I was able to develop as an adult, and a general comfort with learning languages that opened a lot of doors for me in my life. So as a parent of a child in an immersion school, I'm not that concerned about whether my kid is fluent by 5th grade -- I am just happy that he will have this tool in his arsenal. [/quote]

OK, but let's not whitewash the situation. Totally fluent isn't the goal. Some of us are not impressed with how well DCI kids can speak the languages they've learning for years and years.

I'm Canadian and speak French decently. When I visited DCI recently and tried to communicate in basic French with a dozen students I was introduced to as "advanced French learners," I was amazed by how poorly they spoke and seemed to understand. I was told that most had started learning French at age 4-6.

OK, the charters can't recruit native speaking students as they'd like. But couldn't they LINK UP with fluent peers elsewhere using technology? Link up with heritage school students in the DC suburbs? Fundraise to get kids to full immersion summer camps?

What good does it do the kids to pretend that that 50% immersion is working if it's....not!?[/quote]

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