Language Immersion is defined as a method of foreign language instruction in which the regular elementary curriculum is taught through the medium of the language. The guiding principle of language immersion is that students learn the second language in the same way they learned the first language; that is in the environment where they experience it in its natural form. The second language is not the focus of instruction, but the medium of instruction. The students in Spanish Immersion learn the same curriculum as they would in an English speaking classroom throughout the district, except they learn entirely in Spanish.
Students at the Kindergarten level do use English, however, teachers instruct and respond in Spanish. This offers the children the security of having their needs, and feelings understood, yet provides them with constant opportunity to hear the sounds, and patterns of the target language. As their ears become more accustomed to Spanish, they are increasingly encouraged to express themselves in Spanish. During kindergarten, and grade one, Spanish is the only language of the classroom. Formal training in reading English begins in grade two, and the time allocated for English instruction increases as students move into the higher elementary grade levels.
Research has clearly shown that second language proficiency in an immersion program does not come at the expense of achievement in English or other curriculum areas. Intense exposure to a foreign language at an early age assures that students will have the necessary language skills to deal with curriculum in the upper grade levels. Studies have also shown that on standardized tests, immersion students consistently score at the same or higher levels as non-immersion students. Further, immersion students also develop improved listening skills, greater divergent-thinking skills, and they acquire a global perspective of the world.
