Language Immersion:
Comprehension | Some benefits | F.A.Q.s

The model for foreign language immersion programs in the United States originated in Canada during the 1960s with French immersion programs. Students are "immersed" in a second language, by receiving academic instruction in the target language, rather than studying the language itself. Acquisition of the language is a natural outcome of hearing and using the language while gaining academic skills in the content curriculum areas.

In full immersion programs, teachers present the regular curriculum nearly 100% in the immersion language in the early years. Usually in second and/or third grades, English language arts are gradually introduced. English instruction increases incrementally as students progress through the grades.

Comprehension:
Teachers use a variety of teaching strategies to make the second language comprehensible and engaging to students at the early levels, such as:

• body language
• intonation
• visuals
• manipulatives
• songs
• chants and rhymes
• simple, familiar stories
• predictable routines
  

Some benefits:
Students in Immersion programs generally:

• achieve high levels of second language proficiency
• gain communicative skills and cultural understanding
• achieve as well or better than non-immersion peers on standardized assessments

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