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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP here. Yes you can become fluent in Spanish without immersion. I am one. I've gotten jobs that require fluent Spanish.

There is also research on how second language fluency improves executive function. Have not read that about Montessori but it makes sense.

So many the LAMB model will be the best? I don't know.

[/quote]

You sound really nice, so I just want to make it clear that I'm not disparaging you.

I am a truly bilingual person having spent my childhood bouncing between the U.S. and my other country. My mom spoke to me in Spanish and my dad in English. I also work in a place that requires true bilingualism.

[b]I have to say that most Americans who tell me they speak fluent Spanish don't.[/b] Not the use of the word "most" not "all". I very much doubt that it is as easy as just moving to Bolivia for 12 weeks. You can get a good grasp, and maybe a solid cultural understanding- but that trip plus some college courses will not make you fluent by any stretch of the definition. Languages are hard work.

I also do not think that Mundo Verde, etc are magical institutions where kids come in clueless and come out fluent. Parents putting in the hard work plus the school's efforts are key. Traveling to Spanish speaking places, hiring a Latina au pair, speaking to your kid in Spanish all the time- that's what makes kids fluent. Even with all this, some kids are not gifted in languages.

I speak three additional languages on top of English and Spanish. I'm close to fluent (by my definition, haha) in one of them, the one I learned when I was young. The other two are a struggle (but most Americans consider me fluent).

My whole point is that languages are hard and there is no easy solution. Even if you're gifted I'm languages like I am, there is no substitute for hard work. Immersion schools totally will give your kid a leg up, but that's not an easy way to teach your kid a language. An immersion school will definitely help, but won't do all the work for you. If you decide not to go the immersion route, that's not to say your kid is monolingual for life. But if you do want another language, you can do it with lots of hard work.

As a final note, there are lots of weekend classes and summer camps in foreign languages around DC. So if you don't make it into LAMB or MV or whatever, you can always drive to a weekend school. [/quote]

+1, from another truly bilingual person. Americans have a very loose definition of "fluent" and even "bilingual". [/quote]

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