A digital space for graduate students in UC Santa Cruz's Education Masters and Credential program to post their vision of an ideal school. Please note that this is a collaborative work in progress.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Dual Immersion
Xavier Rubio
8/17/2009
Gordon Wells
Education 205
Dual Immersion Program
I’m part of the Diversity/Multicultural group and we decided our IdealSchool is going to be Dual Immersion with English and Spanish to represent the population in this area.We also want to integrate a celebration of all cultures represented at our school.Dual Immersion means that the children will learn to speak, read and write at grade level proficiency in both languages.I interviewed a Dual Immersion Kindergarten teacher at DeLaveaga Elementary so we had a model for our Dual Immersion program.The children start off in kindergarten and first grade with instruction 90% in Spanish and 10% in English.In second grade it’s 80% Spanish 20% English, in third grade it’s 70/30, fourth grade is 60/40 and fifth grade is 50/50.The children have two teachers: English and Spanish.The teachers are only allowed to speak the language they instruct in to the children (Their English Teacher will only speak English to them and their Spanish teacher will only speak Spanish to them).The teachers switch classes for the part of the day that is English. The children get to come into the program based on a lottery system and are chosen so that 1/3 of them are Spanish only, 1/3 English only, and 1/3 Bilingual.They are given an English and Spanish test to determine their level.The DeLaveaga website says: Two Way Immersion Programs offer benefits to students that English-only instruction cannot match. Students develop bilingualism and biculturalism as each gains academic skills in both languages. Students also develop cognitive flexibility as they transfer language and academic skill between languages. There are many advantages to this program; the obvious one is that children are fluent in both English and Spanish by the time they are in fourth or fifth grade!Another advantage is that the Spanish speaker’s cultural knowledge is valued; this is not true in a normal English only class.The children who speak Spanish understand the teacher and translate for the teacher when needed.I’ve been in these classrooms before and it’s amazing how much the children help each other.Whenever an English only child looks confused a Spanish speaker naturally chimes in with, “she wants you to put your backpack away.”This boosts their confidence in the languages.Another advantage is that their English skills end up becoming better as well as their Spanish.The teacher I interviewed explained that the children in the regular classes develop their English skills at a faster rate; however they hit a plateau.The children in Dual Immersion develop their English skills slower but end up passing the level the children in English only classes. The teachers in Dual Immersion have a stronger emphasis on the cultures of their students.For example Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated in the Dual Immersion classes and not the other classes at DeLaveaga.The website lists its goals for the children as language proficiency, academic excellence, positive self esteem, cultural awareness, and cultural sensitivity.
I think our IdealSchool should model the Dual Immersion program at DeLaveaga Elementary; however, I feel an effort should be made to learn and celebrate every culture that is represented at our school.I ran an after school program for children in Kindergarten and first grade.Each week we made a flag of a different country and planned our art and cooking projects around whatever country we were in.I made sure that if a student was not from the U.S. that their country was included.I took advantage of their cultural knowledge by having the students and their parents come and teach the children about their countries.The mom from Brazil came in with Carnival costumes for the children to try on and taught them how to samba.My family from El Salvador came in and made papusas. I had a British boy who brought his Cricket set in and attempted to teach us the game (a little complicated for a K-1 group).I think in our IdealSchool we should implement a Dual Immersion program but also make sure that everyone’s cultural knowledge is valued.
In an immersion program, the second language is not the subject matter, but only a tool used to teach students how to become proficient in another language other than their own.Online is a good way to learn the basics of the Spanish immersion, but immersing yourself in the language is the best way to become fluent. By traveling to a Spanish speaking country, you can not only practice speaking and understanding the language but you can also experience the culture, food, traditions and history of the area.
Prompted by our professor, Gordon Wells, as part of our Learning, Teaching, and Schooling in a Diverse Society, this exercise has enabled each of us to pursue an area of interest and research and develop ideas for moving forward with the creation of a hypothetical school. Our location is that of La Selva, CA and our model is a start-up public charter. We hope that our ideas, drawings, and questions here will help synthesize our work and spark greater dialogue and reflection among our class and our readers.
In an immersion program, the second language is not the subject matter, but only a tool used to teach students how to become proficient in another language other than their own.Online is a good way to learn the basics of the Spanish immersion, but immersing yourself in the language is the best way to become fluent. By traveling to a Spanish speaking country, you can not only practice speaking and understanding the language but you can also experience the culture, food, traditions and history of the area.
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