Reply to Language Immersion

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Language Immersion"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]My kid's school uses a 50/50 immersion model. No one in our family knows the language. It hasn't been a problem. DS is[b] above grade level[/b] in both English and the [b]immersion language[/b]. [/quote]

I see this remark often on dcum and I wonder what is meant by being at grade level in the immersion language. Does it mean that a child meets the grade expectations of the school for the immersion language (which, in my experience could be low but I accept as better than no second language at all) ? Or that they are just as proficient in both languages  (e.g., that your third grader is at a par in Spanish with third graders of Spanish speaking countries)? This last I certainly don't see happening, our immersion students are at least two grades behind foreign educated students when they finish elementary school here.

[/quote]

I'm not the PP to whom you posed the question, but to me, being at or above grade level in the target language means that I can go to the library/bookstore and get my 8-year-old a book in Spanish, written & published in Spain, and marked for ages 8-10, say, and he can read it easily and discuss it with me. Signifies to me that he is reading at approximately the level he would expected to as a native speaker attending school in Spain.

Our school has more technical ways of assessing language acquisition, but this method works for me.

As for the OP's question, we send our kids to immersion school because 1) we are more-or-less monolingual Americans and regret it; 2) our kids like/benefit from the challenge; and 3) it enlarges their world, enhances their life/career opportunities in the long run, and, to us, seems as important and valuable a life skill as being able to swim, play an instrument, etc.[/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