Language Children Programs Immersion Day School Students Spent

In the United States, many children learn only English in school, possibly with two to four years of Spanish, French, German or another language in high school to meet a "foreign language requirement." However, some parents recognize the disadvantage of "monolingualism" (ability to speak only one language) by placing children in language "immersion" (completely surrounded by something) programs. In an "immersion program," students spend part or all of the day speaking and learning in another language. Rather than taking a Spanish class, for example, some or all of their classes are taught in Spanish.

Some of the immersion programs are "public" (paid for by the government), and others are "private" (paid for by the individual). Parents are attracted to the programs for many reasons. Sometimes the children are "heritage speakers," who speak some of the "target language" (the language being taught in the program) because earlier generations of their family immigrated from parts of the world where that language is spoken. Other families have adopted their children from other parts of the world, and want those children to learn the language of that country. "Still" (Additionally) other families simply want their children to be able to communicate and do business with a larger population, and they believe that being bilingual will "open doors" (present opportunities) for doing so.

The exact language "division" (splitting into parts) of a student's day is different from school to school. Some of the programs offer a "50/50" immersion experience, where half of the day is spent in English and the other half is spent in the target language. Other programs start with a "90/10" model where the percentage of time spent in the target language gradually decreases until it reaches 50/50. In other programs, the immersion percentage decreases significantly when the students begin "middle school" (grade 6). At that point, the students may have only one or two courses per day in the target language.