It's finally paying off - language immersion school

[velochic]

We have dd in a private language immersion school (French track or Spanish track). It's from 3yo to 12th grade. She's in the pre-k program and it's her second year. I have to admit that I did not want to send her to this school (which is full-time) last year because I was so attached to her. I wasn't ready to send her off to school. She loved it from day 1 and has thrived there.

Well, after a year and a half in this school, we're finally seeing the fruits of her labors. We went to a Mexican restaurant last night and she was able to talk to the waiter in Spanish! She was a little shy about it, and kind of hid under my arm at first, but then she started spontaneously speaking with him. It was so cool!

So, those of you who are considering a language immersion school... they REALLY work!

[zo's ma]

Very cool!

[Mirzam]

Awesome!

[talk de jour]

That's fabulous!

[Music-mommy]

Was your daughter very attached to you? How did she react the first few days of full time?

I am considering this exact scenario with a french school. It's full day kindergarten and they say they'll take her mid-year. I'm trying to decide whether to do it now or wait till Sept.

I"m scared she won't deal with the full days.

[Ragana]

That's great! I can only second your experience. Our daughter is in her second year of a Spanish two-way immersion program, and she is getting really good at Spanish. It does work!

[velochic]

Originally Posted by Music-mommy

Was your daughter very attached to you? How did she react the first few days of full time?

I am considering this exact scenario with a french school. It's full day kindergarten and they say they'll take her mid-year. I'm trying to decide whether to do it now or wait till Sept.

I"m scared she won't deal with the full days.

My dd is STILL like velcro when she's home. She still sleeps with us and she sits on my lap a lot when she's home. We're still very attached, both emotionally and physically. Dh often says to her, "As much as you want to crawl back into mommy's womb, you're never going to fit in there again." because she curls up in a fetal position on my belly to snuggle.

But she loves going to school everyday and has from day 1. We went to "meet the teacher" last year before school started and she cried that she couldn't stay. She separates from me with no problem, but she's glad to be back home when she's home.

I really feel that AP has paid off in dozens of different ways when it comes to school.

We originally applied for her to be in the French track. But they take only 12 for French and 12 for Spanish and they give preference to kids with older siblings in the school. They had 70 applicants that year. 11 of the spots for French were given to siblings and the only other open slot was given to a little boy whose parents spoke only French at home. So, they offered us a spot in the Spanish track and we took it because the school itself is a really good school. She'll start learning French in 2nd grade. But from now until 5th everything is taught in Spanish except for English grammar and French grammar. She'll be completely fluent by the end of Kindergarten, they tell us... and it looks like they're right.

[Just_Isabel]

That's great. I know a guy who went to a French immersion school and he talks fluently.
And I'd like to add that knowing Spanish will make your daughter learn French more easily.

Just a question though, if you don't talk Spanish yourself, how will you help her with homework later on if she needs help?

[velochic]

Originally Posted by Just_Isabel

That's great. I know a guy who went to a French immersion school and he talks fluently.
And I'd like to add that knowing Spanish will make your daughter learn French more easily.

Just a question though, if you don't talk Spanish yourself, how will you help her with homework later on if she needs help?

That's a good question. The school's philosophy is that parents should not help their kids with homework. Most parents do not know the language their children are being taught in.

That being said, dh and I do know enough Spanish to help her if it really comes down to that. We're both multi-lingual and we've taken some Spanish classes.

[MountainLaurel]

That is so awesome.You are doing so much for your child by making sure she knows another language. The U.S. is pitiful compared to other nations in that regard. I would really love an immersion school for any offspring: DH is fluent in German and knows a couple others, and I hate that I dropped off my Spanish in college. (Am thinking about going back to the local university to get a bachelor's in it, if my prior undergrad degree will count.)

[velochic]

Originally Posted by MountainLaurel

That is so awesome.You are doing so much for your child by making sure she knows another language. The U.S. is pitiful compared to other nations in that regard.

Very true. We travel a lot and I'm embarrassed sometimes when American tourists assume everyone everywhere speaks English. Many don't even bother learning "please" and "thank you" in the language.

Dh is from Turkey. He is fluent in 5 languages, including two native languages. Dd is actually learning her 4th language now, although her German must be near non-existent now, as we've been gone from Germany for 2 years (she does still watch a couple of videos in German and seems to enjoy them). I think that the mental workout of acquiring a new language is beneficial no matter what. I was a linguistics major in college and studied (in addition to 3 foreign languages) the theory of second language acquisition... I have to say that, imho, learning a second language is one of the most important things to include in early education. But in the US, that doesn't really exist like it does in the rest of the world.

[Just_Isabel]

:
I read a really interesting article in a magazine about neurology/psychiatry about this, and it's fascinating. Although learning a second language later is also really good, the advantages of learning more than one mother tongue as a young child are just amazing. Things I can remember right now without thinking much: bilingual people are better at multi-tasking (because they're brains can switch from one task/stimulus to another more easily), they learn new languages more easily when they're older, and they have a smaller risk of getting Alzheimer's.

Multi-linguism rocks.