Dual-Language Immersion Programs: Si or Non? By Vivian Manning-Schaffel for Babble.com.
The truth about dual language programs.
It felt like winning a few grand on Lotto. Before I’d heard about the program, I thought the opportunity to give him the gift of a second language was, like blonde hair, something that just wasn’t in the cards. English was my second language, and although my Armenian is usually reserved for family reunions and screenings of Borat, it occasionally comes in handy in the most unexpected ways. But I never suspected my bilingual upbringing might have helped my synapses fire faster and thus boost my test scores. My mostly monolingual husband did as well – if not better – in school than I did.
Kathryn Lindholm-Leary, Ph.D., professor of Child and Adolescent Development at San Jose State University and author of many books on dual language immersion education, says, aside from the obvious benefit of learning another language, studies show highly bilingual students reach higher levels of academic and cognitive functioning than do monolingual students or students with poor bilingual skills. “With dual language immersion programs, parents are getting far more education for their kids, and they are getting it for free,” she says.
In just one year, the program at our school grew so popular that parents mobilized, and succeeded in adding a second class. “We opted for the dual language program instead of a gifted and talented program at another school,” says Denise Wilson, a Brooklyn, NY, mom whose daughter is in my son’s class. “When we didn’t make it into the lottery, a few of us on the waitlist met with the principal to find out what we could do to get the funding. We were willing to open our checkbooks. Compared to Lyc’e Français at $40,000 a year, whatever it took would likely be a bargain!”
When Aleksandra Kaminski’s husband was transferred to New York from Paris this past July, they decided to move to Brooklyn, just to put her daughter in the program in our school. Kaminski says, “Being bilingual is a luxury. Learning language is good exercise for your brain. It helps you to grow and thrive in everything. And if you travel a lot, there are no borders.”
Fabrice Jaumont, education attach’ to the French Embassy, says parents like Wilson were instrumental in launching five of these dual language programs in the New York City area. “It’s very hard to start anything at an institutional level, but when the desire for these programs comes from the parents, it’s more convincing for city officials than it coming from a foreign government.”
I think it’s a great idea. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to teach my 6 month old baby 4 different languages.No, I’m not trying to make him into a little superboy, but his heritage is a mixture of 3 cultures/languages (only one that my husband & I speak together & we know another one each) & he is being raised so far in France, so I would love him to know the language of the country he was born in.It seems impossible!! Any advice would be appreciated??
Zina–read The Bilingual Edge. It is a great guide to teaching multiple languages to your child.
I went to a Spanish immersion school for grades k-4 and it was seriously one of the best things my parents ever did for me. Learning the language at an early age meant that my brain is now configured to use that language in a way that it wouldn’t be had my first exposure to it come in junior high. When I hear Spanish or read in Spanish, I don’t translate. I have an inherent idea of the meanings of these words, I know what they mean the same way that I know what a word in English means (although I would no longer consider myself anywhere near fluent). While I do have friends that have gone on to cultivate this ability after high school, it is very rare and takes a lot of hard work. I have also noticed that it is easier for me to pick up other related languages, like Italian and French, and retain them. I just hope, now that we’re living in the midwest instead of the west coast, that I will be able to offer my children the same advantage I have had.
Many Canadian children across the country now have greater access to french immersion programs – thanks in great part to one of our former Prime Minister who envisioned a bilingual country where both official languages would be widely spoken (PE Trudeau). If you visit cities like Montreal or Quebec City you will be suitably impressed by the number of people who effortlessly flow from one language to the next, some with 3, 4 or 5 languages. My husband is french and I am English and we just moved back to a primarily french community – both of our young children speak and understand both languages. The beauty of having children learn 2 languages when they are young is that they do not develop the accents that distinguish adult learners – my husband acquired English when he was 19 and he still has a very pronounced accent. The Canadian research has indicated that children for the most part do well in immersion programs, with the exception of their English grammar. The exception being children with speech difficulties or other learning problems – it tends to complicate their situation further. It is also important to note that languages need to be used once the child leaves the school system or, like most things, your brain will weed out those pathways not utilized.
my son is in one of these schools. it is a public school that starts with preschool and goes until 5th grade. i am def scared of helping him with homework but as a monolingual person who has tried time and time again to learn another language, i think he will thank me later.
I am bilingual, more by the grace of God than anything else. I am currently learning Arabic and French.I have found that it is impossible to speak a language you cannot think. American second language cirricula is terrible at instilling this idea, and the resistance of the monolingual at even the idea of hearing a ‘ferin’ language in their presence is not helping. Children do not have this problem. My grandkids are learning moroccan dialect from my mother in law. Why? because they want to talk to her. They want water or a sandwich or a kiss and that’s how to get one.
britti busa, malika!Just a small bit of info: The US does NOT have an official language. feel free to learn any one that your heart desires. 
I am also from Canada (the capital of the country – Ottawa – no less) and I find it ironic that parents in the US are pushing for bilingual programs while some elementary schools here are delaying the beginning of French immersion programs until grade 4 or 5. Seems very foolish to me. Friends in Calgary (over to the west, not considered terribly bilingual) have told me that they have an easier time getting their kids into French schools there than they do here. I was in French immersion (50/50) for all of elementary school and then a slightly lower proportion of French for all of high school. Even with that level of French education it is hard to retain if you don’t find a way to keep it up when you finish school. My spoken French is very good, but I’ve completely lost the ability to write well in French. Living in this city, being fluent in both languages is a HUGE asset and we are doing everything we can to make sure our son (and other siblings that may come) will be 100% bilingual like their Dad. Fortunately he was educated in French which gives us the right to send our kids to the French school system (not just bilingual, full French) and we even lucked into French daycare for before he starts school. He is surrounded by so much English that we are getting as much French into his head that we can to make sure he’ll master both.
I’m from Montreal, Quebec, and I guess I’m a product of what lisaloo and sparkyd are talking about -French as a first language, but completely fluent in English and living in both languages.We’re struggling now though about how to teach English to our nearly-2 son, since we won’t be allowed to send him to English or English immersion school (like the other two Canadian commenters mentioned, there are a lot of legal technicalities here when it comes to schooling language). I’m so adamant about him learning English perfectly and as early as possible. I couldn’t agree more with the article, being bilingual is an incredible gift that has given me a lot of opportunities, and I would even add that it can literally change your life.
I believe in dual language education. My son is halfway through his first year in a German program and it was truly worth everything I had to do to get him into the program – move to another state, camp outside in a line for 2 days… I am so blessed that even in the midwest I can still give my children the opportunity to be exposed to another language – and at a public magnet school too! I wish there were more programs available, or that it was compulsory, like in other countries.
My son spent age 2-5 in Spanish immersion preschool with all native speaking teachers. It was great and he thrived, developing an authentic accent we could never otherwise have taught him. He is now in Mandarin immersion 50/50 kindergarten in a new program at our local public school. I expected resistance at the drastic change but he is unphased by it and just seemed to take for granted that of course he was going to learn a 3rd language. Dad and I both speak only English (me some basic H.S. Spanish) so this is a huge opportunity we would not otherwise have been able to give him.To the parent wanting to teach her child both parents’ languages: Friends of ours speak exclusively each of their native languages to their daughter (Norweigan and Mandarin) and to each other English. Their daughter is 5 and fluent in all 3 languages. My experience is that most children will push for the easy road and as soon as they realize they can get away with only English with the parent they will try it, but if parent is exclusive in their native language from the start, it doesn’t occur to the child as an option. Starting the native language later seems to be the hard part, but if you start from infancy, the child retains the ability to recognize the different sounds and inflections, and has no reason / opportunity to object.Good luck to all – it’s a really great opportunity that U.S. schools are finally starting to recognize.
How did you all find out about your local immersion options? I have a six month old and have no knowledge yet of what schools are available in my area.
I am teaching my son my native language (Spanish) and hope he can learn French in the future but I will go and learn it first so he can practice it because I know he will always use English and Spanish at home but I am afraid that if he is not able to use French on a regular basis, he will end up losing it.
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Great article! You did a thorough job finding examples of language immersion teaching from all over the country; it was interesting to read about the different approaches. Our school is going to implement a partial immersion program in either Spanish or Mandarin starting in pre-school. We recently posted an article about immersion learning on our blog; we’ll add a link to this article in the comments section for readers who want to read more about the subject. – Sarah P., Web Team, Avenues: The World School.