Spanish Immersion
Learning a language at a young age seems to be becoming more popular as time goes on. After much research and consulting with other parents, my mother decided to have my sister become a part of this new generation of bilingual children. As skeptical as I was, I became more and more excited as I listened to the idea of Spanish Immersion Education. My sister, Phoebe, would spend the entire day in a classroom speaking, reading and writing entirely in Spanish. With her teachers talking in Spanish she would be fully immersed in the language from kindergarten to 4th grade. Now 3 years into her immersion program, I stand as a critic who can outline all of the positives and negatives of this new idea of a normal education.
I have found many positives in the program. English-wise, we occasionally have to correct her English speaking, but overall her English reading and speaking skills are well-developed. She speaks to us in strictly English and does not try to communicate with us in Spanish. Not only is she proficient in English but her Spanish is absolutely amazing. When she is playing with her dolls she only speaks to them in Spanish. As I listen to her babble in a language I do not understand I realize how amazing the results are. She sings, studies, and plays using a language that she was never exposed to at home. She is knowledgeable in a way that I will never be and I see this as a positive. I truly think that it is amazing how the human brain can work and how young children can absorb aspects of the language to the point of fluency.
Now this program is not in any way faultless. With English class only twice a week it is easy for her spelling of English words and pronunciation to become a bit confused. While this is a problem that we can fix at home, she does require extra attention. We are now responsible for her learning of English vocabulary. We translate her math problems into English and reinforce her confidence in speaking in English. I find that the program is time-consuming and requires families to be fully involved in the process.
Overall, I believe that this program is truly a gift. My little sister has become so well-educated in this process and you can see how her Spanish education really stretches her mind and proves her intelligence. I am proud that she has taken this challenge and succeeded. The goal of the Spanish Immersion program is for her to be as fluent as possible
and I believe that she is well on her way to reaching this goal.
For more reading here is a more scientific study of the positives and negatives of the Spanish Immersion Education program
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| My sister (Phoebe) on her first day of school |
It is absolutely incredible that she has chosen to tackle the challenge of learning a second language from such a young age and is doing so well with it. When I was younger, my parents actually taught me Albanian before I even started to learn English, so I completely understand how she cannot always find the right words. I hope she continues to succeed in this program!
ReplyDeleteI think this program is an amazing opportunity for your younger sister. I completely agree that there are going to be some downsides to this immersion program, but she will be so much more prepared for the real world when she is older. By learning a second language, she will be able to communicate with a larger group of people which will benefit her when she is looking for jobs, possibly in business. Overall, this is an amazing program and I think many more families should consider this option for their children.
ReplyDeleteWow! That is incredible! From what you just told us, I am so impressed with your little sister. Things may be kind of difficult right now with the confusion between the two languages, but I believe you can rest assured she will be thanking your family up and down later in life when she is already equipped with the knowledge of a second language. I'm honestly a bit jealous, I've always resented the fact that my bilingual father never taught me how to speak Spanish. I'm so glad Phoebe is getting this amazing experience, and I'm glad to hear this program is becoming more popular!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that Phoebe gets to have such a worldly education; this will lead her to great things!!! Beginning when I was in preschool, my parents put my sister and I in Spanish classes with hopes that we too would become fluent… I forgot most of it. However, my sister didn't, and this enables her to live and work very comfortably in Los Angeles (an extremely diverse area)! I have no doubt that her complete understanding of the language helps her get jobs within her industry (which is film) due to the high level of spanish speakers/workers within it! I am sure that your sister will do wonderful things with her knowledge and experiences!!! :)
ReplyDeleteReally interesting to hear the experiences of a family atually involved with a program like this!
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