My son was getting 2 full days a week of total immersion with a Spanish-speaking nanny for about 6 mos. He absolutely understood all of the directions she gave him-- I heard her ask him what color block he wanted and he answered in Spanish at 2.5 years old. Of course there is a benefit to partial immersion.

Full immersion parent here. Remember that in reality, even full immersion isn't full -- PE, arts and other electives and all the other times in school are all in English.

I don't think it is. I don't doubt that students in partial immersion acquire some language skills, but it is not as effective as full immersion.

http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-full-immersion-versus-half-immersion-language-schools/

http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/met00001.html

http://sau70.org/spotlight/French%20Immersion/20%20questions%20on%20immersion.pdf

Anonymous wrote:New to MD. Is there a list of partial immersion schools for MoCo?

Here's a link to Special Academic Programs in Montgomery County:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/

Of the immersion programs, Chinese and a couple of Spanish programs are partial immersion. There are also full immersion French and Spanish programs in the county. There should be full descriptions through the website link.

New to MD. Is there a list of partial immersion schools for MoCo?

PP, are you concerned that Silver Spring International MS is your DC only MCPS option if you wish for them to continue partial immersion after elementary school?

Depending on your goals, I believe partial immersion is worth it. I can't speak to Burnt Mills, but in our case, DC attends a partial immersion program and learns math and science in Spanish. DC will not be fluent upon leaving elementary school, but DC speaks well, has a great accent and understands the subject matter in Spanish. Nearly half of DC's day is conducted entirely in Spanish. I've visited the classes, and it's pretty impressive to see the teacher and students operating entirely in Spanish. In my opinion, DC is clearly being stretched by this experience. My goal in having DC in this program was not necessarily to achieve complete fluency by the end of elementary school. If that were the case, then I might question the partial immersion approach. If DC continues with Spanish, I know that fluency will come, and DC will probably have a great accent and a great ear for the language. I think it's worth it, but it depends on your goals and your DC. Best of luck with your decision.

I have the same question... my son was accepted to Burnt Mills Immersion Program and I am wondering how fluent he will become with 50% spanish instruction.

Do any parents have positive or negative feedback about the partial immersion program at Burnt Mills, such as fluency level accomplished, instruction in non-spanish clesses, etc.