A report from my grandson's Italian Immersion Kindergarten class.

[CTyankee]

He is in a Glendale, CA public school that has language immersion in 3 foreign languages: Italian, German and Spanish. There is a mixture of children who speak Italian at home and those, like my grandson, who is of Italian heritage but do not know Italian (nor do his parents). Here is an interesting link: http://www.greatschools.net/school/parentReviews.page?id=1778&state=CA

I have enough Italian to understand what the Maestra is saying (which means my Italian is pretty basic!). I visited class and was impressed at how truly unfazed my grandson was to being in a class conducted entirely in a language he didn't know. Everything was taught in Italian: they learned measurement in the math portion, they sounded vowels (ah, eh, ee, oh, oo), sang and chanted, wrote their letters, counted, drew and colored (rosso, giallo, verde...). Homework assignments are all in Italian so my daughter is taking lessons at the Fondazione Italia nearby.

I have learned about the beneficial effects of such language immersion programs on young children's brain development and I now regard this program as a precious gift. That it is being done in a public school just amazes me...we have nothing really comparable in New Haven, altho I think given the large number of Italian Americans in our area it would certainly be popular.

This program will last through the 6th grade and plans are underway to continue it in Middle School and High School. When he finishes school he will have "near native" pronunciation in Italian. I am hoping he will pursue some studies abroad, perhaps at one of the programs for stranieri such as the one in Perugia that has been so infamously in the news lately. Or maybe Florence or Rome.

It's a shame there aren't more of these programs in public schools here in the U.S. I know that some parents fear that their kid's English will suffer if they are introduced to a foreign language in school so early, but the data tells a different story.

If there is one available in your community I highly recommend it...

[cyberswede]

1. I recommend it, too!

Our kids are in a Spanish immersion dual language program. My first grader corrects my sad pronunciation when I try to read to her in Spanish, and my 3rd grader's math homework is hard enough that he has to translate the problems into English for me before I can help him with the math concepts (on the arae occasions he even needs help). It's very cool!

Our program goes through 12th grade and has been accredited by Spain's Education Minister, and the kids will have a special diploma from the Spanish government when they graduate from high school. This will allow them to be eligible for special scholarship opportunities to attend college on Spain, etc.

It's challenging, but such a great opportunity! I wish I could have learned a second language starting in Kindergarten.

[CTyankee]

2. Where is your school located?

Interesting about the accreditation by Spain. Ihope that would be the case with Italy and my grandson's program.

When I was visiting his classroom there was a fire drill, attended by 3 members of the Glendale Fire Department. They all trooped in to observe the Italian class because the whole idea of it just blew them away and they wanted to see how it operated!

I cannot tell you how many of my friends say they wish their kids had had this opportunity...too bad there aren't more of these programs around...

[cyberswede]

8. ...check your PM n/t

[mzteris]

18. Spanish govt accreditation

Hey- could you send me some info on that?

We're meeting next week for the first time to talk about continuing the dual language program on to Highschool. Development of the middleschool program is well underway already.

My son is in 5th grade Spanish immersion. It's really amazing how advanced he is in his language skills.

I really believe that the overall brain development is one of the "best" perks - but add in being able to actually converse in a different language (and a major one at that!) - and I really don't understand why nearly ALL elementary schools AREN'T immersion.

My older son would have killed to have had Chinese Immersion. Though he's done well enough with saturday school, tutors, and Concordia Language Village.

[cyberswede]

25. Check your PM n/t

[LWolf]

3. Is it a dual immersion program,

or just immersion in Italian?

Dual immersion programs, which teach in both english and a 2nd language, are great programs. My former district in CA had a dual immersion spanish/english school.

The drawback is that they have less time to cover the contents-wide required curriculum, since they are doubling up in 2 languages. It's the most effective way I know to make sure that our students will be bilingual as adults, thougn, and well worth it.

[CTyankee]

5. In kindergarten and 1st grade, my grandson will have 90:10 of his school day

in Italian and English. The English portion will increase gradually throughout grade school. I don't know what the mix will be when they get to Middle/High school. I did observe their math section and everything was in Italian (altho they did not include inches vs. meters).

A few of the kids in my grandson's class have TWO other languages...Italian is their THIRD! It seems that once you open up those brain pathways with one different language, it's easy for them to learn other languages...interesting...

[LWolf]

15. The brain is wired for language learning

at an early age. Those connections are gradually pruned off as we age, and if we aren't using them, we lose them.

Which is why it is so much harder to learn a second language in adulthood.

I'm excited to hear that some schools are beginning 2nd language learning right away.

It would be great for ALL students to have that opportunity, but we don't have the bilingual teaching staff needed.

In the monolingual U.S., there aren't enough multi-lingual teachers. I wish, every day, that the spanish, french, and american sign language classes I took in high school and college left me with enough of the language to use effectively in my classroom. :(

Perhaps those students coming out of immersion programs will help fill that gap.

[cyberswede]

6. covering curriculum

Interesting... our program doesn't get behind on the required curriculum. They don't repeat the material once in each language, they follow the curriculum and just teach it in whatever language the kids are "in" that week. One week, the kids have English in the mornings and Spanish in the afternoons, then they switch. So, they have one unit in math in English, and then they might continue with the next math unit in Spanish, etc, depending on which classroom they are in that week.

My 3rd grader's reading level in Spanish is the same as his reading level in English (far above grade level in both). I've heard that in the upper grades, sometimes the kids slip in English performance temporarily when the work gets particularly challenging, but this is common and expected, and they work through it and finish at or above the level of their non-dual language peers.

Incidentally, our district is over 50% Latino, and the English language learners in the dual-language program benefit from being immersed in English half the time, as well. :)

[LWolf]

14. So...dual immersion, but not repeated.

That's a structure I haven't heard about. I'm wondering if they teach in 2 week blocks; one to introduce, one to review? That way, while they are not repeating, they are still working on the same concepts/skills in both languages?

I'm assuming they use all of those strategies we're taught to use with our ELL population in english-only classrooms.

I'm intrigued.

Of course, dual immersion programs would have been smarter, and more effective, than the english immersion CA chose to mandate for the large ELL population.

ALL of our students should be learning other languages from an early age, when their brains are wired for it.

[CTyankee]

24. My daughter feels that this program would not have come into existence had it NOT

been for the decision by CA voters to get rid of bilingual ed. I guess it did clear the way for an immersion program to blossom as people looked for alternatives. It's an interesting political question, that's for sure...

[LWolf]

26. Maybe.

This kind of immersion program is simply another kind of bilingual ed. I think it could just as easily evolved out of other bilingual ed programs.

Meanwhile, though, how many students have been under-served by the English-only immersion?

Too many.

[CTyankee]

27. At the risk of committing liberal heresy, I must say that I just don't know.

Oh, the knuckledraggers will always be around, spouting their crap about English only, as if speaking another language is some kind of Commie plot. But I am not so sure students are that under served by English only in the classroom. Judging by my grandson's completely unfazed attitude towards his kinder class being taught entirely in Italian, when he speaks only English at home and with other kids, he appears to be blossoming! And I have noticed that when I tutor adults in ESL, their kids can easily shift from the parent's language to English. I have seen this with Afghan kids of political refugees, Chinese, Korean and Hispanic kids.

But I have to admit I have no further experience on this matter, so ask me again in 10 years and we'll see how things turn out... :shrug:

[LWolf]

28. I hope they turn out well for you.

What do they do to make sure that students are understanding enough to move forward, outside of math?

I'd be a little concerned with BICS & CALPS unless there is some academic work in the primary language as well as the new.

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/easl.htm

[CTyankee]

29. Well, they have a 90:10 ratio of the target language to English in the classroom in kinder and 1st

grade. The English classes increase incrementally as they go through school up to the sixth grade. And they have just gotten clearance to continue in middle school and will be working on the high school level. Here is a bit of information about this program:http://www.spanglishbaby.com/2009/10/foreign-language-academies-of-glendale-a-dual-immersion-case-study/

It sounds like you are an educator and I would be very interested in your views after reading more about this. I admit I don't know much about the academics here, but I have seen some very convincing data. One of the parents at my grandson's school is a Ph.D linguist at Cal State and she has her child in the Italian class...she gave a very interesting lecture with charts and data to prospective parents, which I attended when I was in CA. I was impressed...

[LWolf]

30. I am an educator.

I read your link, and had to do a little digging to get more info on the 90:10 model. It looks like they begin with that ratio and increase instructional time in the primary language until it reaches a balance around 4th grade. I think that can probably be effective, since they don't allow the primary language to disappear; by the time the students are moving from the primary to the intermediate elementary grades, they are learning in both languages.

It's developmentally appropriate, in other words.

I also read about the commitment to stick with the program all the way through. That would be crucial to success, as well. I'm assuming that parents who make a choice like this for their kids will be parents who are actively involved with their child's education and development, and that's another factor in favor.

I'd like to read some more about what their planning for middle and high school, and about how this might work with more than one extra language. It's an exciting prospect.

[CTyankee]

31. I'm so grateful for your comments! Thank you!

As an educator, you have knowledge that I do not have and your input is valuable.

My guess is that we in America are so solidified in our thinking about English language lessons that we have not considered other ideas. WE think English or nothing and it's not that way.

I don't have a link to the planning stuff for middle and high school. It will come I am sure.I agree that it is an exciting prospect.

Thank you again for your helpful information. I do apprecitate it...

[JuniperLea]

4. My daughter is often asked if she is a native Spanish speaker...

And we credit her years of immersion in elementary and middle school. She continued in HS, and passed her AP with flying colors.

[CTyankee]

7. Where was her school? nt

[JuniperLea]

10. The Jackie Robinson Academy

A public Montessori style school in Long Beach, CA.

[driver8]

12. My daughter is in her 3rd year of Spanish immersion. A few weeks

ago we were at my son's baseball game and my daughter had one of her Spanish school books with her. A woman sitting behind us was asking about our daughter and we told her about the program. The woman was from Argentina, and started speaking to my daughter in Spanish. My daughter carried on a conversation with the woman and the woman said to us, "Wow -- your daughter speaks Spanish very well!"

I was so proud of her!

[JuniperLea]

20. Awesome!

That's how I feel when my daughter speaks to a native speaker too... it really is amazing. Even if she doesn't immediately recognize a word or phrase, she knows enough to ask good questions, and learns more in the process.

Europeans have known the importance of being multi-lingual for centuries... we really do need to catch up!

[Captain Hilts]

9. We should make programs like this summer school. Thanks for this!

[driver8]

11. CTYankee, check your inbox! My kids are in the Spanish Immersion

program in Glendale. It is amazing!

[CTyankee]

13. Franklin school? That's my grandson's.

Will check out right now and thanks!

[driver8]

19. Our kids are at Edison -- they only have Spanish Immersion. n/t

[murray hill farm]

16. Gosh!

What a wonderful, wonderful thing this is!!!! I am just amazed by it. What a very lucky boy is your grandson.

[CTyankee]

22. Thanks. It was an initial afterthought when several other schools didn't work out.

I thought it was a pipedream but when my daughter did some research she found that it was a gold mine. I predict this school is going to attract some very great new students...it really is a private school education for a public school cost...what a deal!

[driver8]

23. That is exactly how we look at it.

The kids and parents that this program attracts "pulls" these schools up. We have got to know quite a few of the parents in the program and they feel the same way.

Glad to hear that things are working out in the Italian Immersion!

[moc]

17. One of my nieces was able to participate in a Spanish immersion program in a public school

This was in Irving Texas. It was wonderful. By second grade, she was completely bilingual. My sister was a third grade teacher in that school, so she was able to keep her daughter in the program even though they didn't live in that school's catchment area. The problem was my sister and her family moved further away, and although she stayed at that school for a couple of more years, the commute was killing them.

I wish they were offered in more schools. I think they're great opportunities to develop a second language and make a lot more sense than how we teach second language now (starting in middle school).

[KatyaR]

21. I have a friend who lived in San Antonio until recently,

and his grade-school son was taking Mandarin. It wasn't immersion, but he absolutely loved it. They recently moved to Nashville, and they were hoping to find something similar there. My friend was so proud of his son.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. These programs are great IF the teachers are either native speakers or proficient

and there are a few native or proficient speakers of the target language in the class.

Portland implemented a Japanese program with very little thought. They didn't have enough teachers who spoke native-level or even highly proficient Japanese, and there were no appropriate textbooks for elementary school learners. Because Japanese is a high-context language with levels of politeness and intimacy, it was hard to find books that would teach language that was 1) natural for children, and 2) culturally appropriate for Japanese society. (Books written for Japanese elementary schools would assume that the children knew all this stuff already.)

I met some of the kids who had gone through the program for six to ten years, and the results were not pretty. The kids had good pronunciation, but their vocabularies were small and their grammar was terrible. When I spoke to a member of the first Japanese immersion class to reach high school, I asked her what they were doing in class. Her response was, "Grammar. The teacher thought our grammar was bad." (And she said this using very bad grammar.)

None of the parents spoke Japanese, so as far as they were concerned, their children were "fluent." (Fluency merely means the ability to talk fast. Proficiency is the proper term for the ability to function in the language.)

Spanish is a different story. There are plenty of heritage speakers in nearly every community in the U.S., making it easy for the children to receive native-level input. They can watch Univision and Telemundo and travel to Mexico. Their parents may have studied Spanish in high school, so they can tell if their children are more proficient than they are.

It would be wise for anyone considering an immersion program to study the St. Lambert program, the first French immersion program in Canada. They learned that they had to do some explicit language teaching when all the children were English-speaking, because otherwise, they developed a "classroom dialect" that contained expressions and grammatical errors unknown among real French speakers.

[CTyankee]

33. Both the teacher and her assistant are native speaking Italians.

There are 4 bilingual students in a class of 18 students. Ideally, they would want half and half. So far, the only parents who have bailed have been the English only ones (who got cold feet). The bilingual parents have a real stake in it and are very active as are the dedicated parents such as my daughter and SIL. In fact, my daughter has started a foundation to support the language immersion program in the school...I'm really proud of her accomplishment!

The school also has the cultural support of the Fondazione Italia in the community. And there is some support from the Italian government (why that is I don't know...).

[Lydia Leftcoast]

34. That's excellent

The support from the Italian government is probably because countries whose languages are not widely known like to support programs that teach their language.

As far as I know, the Japanese government didn't support the Portland program, but through the Japan Foundation, they do support teacher training programs in Japan and creation of Japanese-language textbooks for speakers of languages other than English, along with providing supplementary materials, such as simple Japanese-language videos and books about customs and culture.

[CTyankee]

35. I think there is a real difference between countries that share our script (alphabet)

and those with other scripts. I know there are differences with the Korean language program in Glendale, in terms of how it is taught. I know from teaching ESL that it is easier to teach English to those with our alphabet (assuming they are literate in their own language which is not always the case) than those with another alphabet entirely. In our ESL program we have some refugees from African nations that have no written language at all...they learn through memorization but they do it so well they learn to speak English very rapidly, when they memorize off of flash cards pictorializing a subject (book, bus, building, etc). Reading is another matter, however.

[elleng]

36. Italian!!!! Wonderful!!!!