"More parents demand immersion programs to help children thrive in a global society"

San Diego County, like the State of Utah (here), is expanding its foreign language immersion programs. Oregon is being left behind. From the U-T San Diego newspaper article “Learning in multiple languages: More parents demand immersion programs to help children thrive in a global society” by Maureen Magee (here).

…In little over a decade, the number of dual-language programs in the county has skyrocketed from nine in 2000 to 48 today — with 18 of them opening since 2009. This is one of the few areas in public education that is experiencing unprecedented growth amid California’s relentless fiscal crisis, which has forced sweeping cuts in schools throughout the county and state.

The boom in language schools is meeting increasing demands of parents who want their children prepared for top colleges, promising careers and a global society…

And:

The majority of language schools in this border region — and statewide — feature Spanish language instruction in a dual-immersion style that puts English speakers alongside native speakers. Mandarin programs are on the rise, a trend that could prepare a new generation of Americans for a projected shift in the global economy that puts China ahead of U.S. by 2025.

In dual-immersion programs, Spanish speakers benefit from learning the basics in their native language, research shows. At the same time, English speakers get the opportunity to learn another language with help from their teacher and their Spanish-speaking classmates.

Because English speakers generally take a couple of years to acclimate to instruction in a foreign language, test scores for language schools tend to lag in the early years. Nestor’s state test scores fall behind the South Bay Union School District in second and third grades, but students catch up and then outperform their counterparts in the district by the time they reach fourth grade.

For example, last year 50 percent of Nestor’s second-graders scored proficient or advanced on state math tests, compared to 60 percent of students in the district. In third grade, 59 percent of Nestor’s students reached that mark compared to 63 percent districtwide. In fourth-grade, 73 percent of Nestor’s students scored proficient or better, compared to 64 percent districtwide. By fifth grade, 70 percent of Nestor’s students scored proficient or better, compared to 56 percent of students districtwide.

Single-immersion language schools in the county schools target only English-speaking students. In addition to Spanish, San Diego has French and German immersion schools. Two public Mandarin Chinese schools opened in 2010. Plans for new language schools are in the works, including one that would teach Hebrew…

Comments

[Mitch Weinzetl]

Although it is true that the economy has gone global, is it really prudent to divert valuable educational hours for our youngest children to secondary language instruction at an immersion school to prepare for this? Those within the local school systems in our area (which are very good) already cite time constraints as a significant prohibitive factor in education today. Language immersion schools absorb valuable educational hours during the most formative years of these young children’s lives, taking precious time away from other instructional areas.

While all this time is being spent on the secondary language, who is teaching these students about their primary language? The world is full of college graduates whose English writing skills are poor, even though English is their primary language. There are also schools all across the U.S. in which students cannot pass standard tests, which while they have their limits and detractions, provide some measure of competency. There is no doubt that language is, and will be an important factor in the lives of our children. Knowing and becoming proficient in a second language, however, is of little value if the individual is not proficient in their primary language.

Mitch Weinzetl

[Dave Porter]

Mitch, I think you are overlooking a main point: Students in foreign language immersion programs, on average and over the longer haul, do as well or better than English-only students on all the normal English language tests, plus they learn a second language. Research shows that learning two languages is good for the brain. A second language does not take "precious time away from other instructional areas," but makes instructional time more efficient.

[Mitch Weinzetl]

Dave, you make a very good point. The research you cite is intriguing. It makes me wonder, however, whether those who are in immersion schools or who learn a second language, have a greater aptitude, greater motivation, or perhaps a social environment that is more conducive to learning. Or, perhaps the educational institution they attend is of a greater quality than other non-immersion schools. It seems counter-intuitive to me that the introduction of a second language into an educational curriculum would produce these types of results without some other factor impacting these outcomes. If it could, I would expect that this would be a mandate for every school.

Mitch Weinzetl