What is Language Immersion?
Language immersion programs began in Canada and the US in the 1960’s. Students in an immersion program are taught in a language they are learning – a target language – for at least half their instructional time. In an immersion program, the target language is not taught as a special subject. Rather, that language is used to teach academic content – math, science, history, social studies – and more. In full immersion programs, all academic content is delivered using the target language. In partial immersion schools, the target language is used as the vehicle of instruction for a portion of a student’s instruction. Tampa Bay International School is a partial immersion school, in which instruction is divided evenly between Spanish and English.
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Immersion does not harm a child’s English. Instead, it enhances English growth.
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Immersion is highly beneficial to ELL students – children who are learning English.
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Immersion is a highly versatile tool that benefits students from multiple backgrounds – including gifted students and children from families of low socioeconomic status.
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Immersion has the power to help close the achievement gap that persists between minority and white students in the US.
Why Language Immersion?
There is a general consensus within the scientific community that the earlier a person begins to learn a new language the better. While it is far from impossible for adults to learn a new language, there is a critical period that lasts from infancy to around the onset of puberty in which learning a new language is far easier, in which it can happen quite naturally with enough exposure to a new language and opportunities to use it. Preschool and elementary school language immersion programs provide these opportunities.
Teaching an additional language through immersion yields amazing results. Decades of research strongly supports language immersion as a best educational practice for diverse groups of learners. Immersion students who begin their programs in kindergarten and regularly attend school throughout their elementary school years typically attain intermediate levels of fluency, reading and writing skills in their new language by middle school.
What does bilingualism bring?
Social Benefits
Social relationships and travel experiences are enriched.
An Open Mind
Bilinguals more deeply appreciate diverse cultures and perspectives.
A Brighter Future
Future academic opportunities and earning potential increase for bilinguals.
Added Intelligence
Advanced bilinguals hold a number of cognitive advantages over people who speak only one language.