Tell me about language immersion preschools/kindergartens...

[mimie]

My husband and I are moving to a new city. I've been looking into some of the resources available there and found a Japanese language preschool. It is a total immersion program (the teachers and assistants speak only in Japanese). It begins at age two and goes through kindergarten. It is three days a week, either half or full days. My daughter would most likely start when she is almost three (her birthday is Oct. 30).

I have always wanted to give my DD a chance to become fluent in another language. She is half Japanese, but neither DH nor I speak it. Anyway, I'm really excited and intrigued about this program.

I would be really interested in hearing others' experiences with language immersion preschools/kindergartens. Do children really gain usable skills in the second language? Is it frightening/upsetting for them at first? Will she be behind when she enters 1st grade in an English-language school? Is there any way to maintain the 2nd language if there is no language immersion school for elementary school?

[RomanGoddess]

Hi Michelle,

I recently wrote about this very topic on my blog. You can read about it here. The short answer is that virtually all immersion success stories that I have witnessed have invoved a child who gets extra support in the language at home, either through a family member, an au pair, nanny, babysitter or tutor. Hope this helps and good luck with your decision! It would be great for your daughter to learn the language of part of her heritage!

Caroline

[Justmee]

I don't know how much she would retain long term if she wasn't exposed to the language any more starting in kindergarten, but she will probably learn it well. We live in Israel and I don't speak any Hebrew (well not much) and my twins started preschool this year (all Hebrew). Both are pretty fluent, they speak it in the home, etc. It took a few months before they were really understanding, and a bit more before they were speaking a lot, but they are also langugae delayed and I'm not sure how much that factored into it. I would say they are still stronger in English, but their Hebrew is coming up. It's a language they are exposed to at home though (ie: I can read them a story, if we go to the store teh people are speaking Hebrew, if they watch kids TV locally it's in Hebrew). I'm not sure they would be speaking so much if it was *only* at school kwim? Are there Japaneese elementary programs in your area or is it only for preschool?

[kmeyrick]

Well, preschoolers pick up new languages better than any other age group, but I don't think your dd would carry it long term. Is there a charter school with a Japanese language program in your area? It wouldn't surprise me, since these kinds of preschool are usually reflecting an elementary or K-8 school.

[mimie]

Thank you for the feedback about these types of schools...

As fas as I can tell, there is no language immersion elementary school option in the area. There may be by the time DD is ready for first grade, though. It's a really rapidly growing area, and lots of the elem schools are set up as magnet schools with special programs.

The preschool is part of a larger organization called the Language Institute that offers language classes for children and adults, so I would imagine that DD could continue in weekly or twice a week Japanese language classes once she is done with kindergarten.

I guess I'm willing to give the language immersion a try on the theory that even if she doesn't develop fluency, it will give her a leg up in learning Japanese in the future. My main concern, though, is that it would impede her learning English, and that she would start first grade behind in reading/writing.

I've got some time to explore, maybe I can find parents whose kids went through the whole program and talk to them about how the transition to first grade was. Or I can send her to the Japanese school for three years of preschool, but then send her to a traditional kindergarten (which would be tempting since the public elementary school near our new house is wonderful, and of course, free).

[velochic]

It sounds like you have kind of come to a decision already, but I will still give you our experience.

Dd is in immersion school in the US. We do not speak the language she is taught in at school, but we are all multi-lingual. Dh is not American and a product of immersion education. His sister and his two nieces are as well. There has never been a need to supplement at home. We have 5 success stories that required no native speakers at home. Anything you can do is a wonderful gift.

(P.S. when dd plays... she's 6... she mostly speaks her target language to her dolls. She also co-sleeps and when she talks in her sleep, it's in Spanish.)

[swampangel]

My son is in an immersion program and we don't speak the language at home. It is K-8, however, and the research supports that it is highly valuable to children to learn multiple languages in the primary years. Most kids in his school are bilingual and biliterate by 5th grade. He's been in it for PreK this year and his Spanish is quite impressive...he has a terrific accent and his receptive language is quite developed already. It's amazing how quickly they pick it up and the immersion programs are usually very skilled and creative in the way they communicate with the kids so that they catch on quickly.

Good luck with it...I think it's a huge gift you can give your child but it would probably be most beneficial if you could find a way to continue it on throughout his primary education.

[Belleweather]

Originally Posted by mimie

My husband and I are moving to a new city. I've been looking into some of the resources available there and found a Japanese language preschool. It is a total immersion program (the teachers and assistants speak only in Japanese). It begins at age two and goes through kindergarten. It is three days a week, either half or full days. My daughter would most likely start when she is almost three (her birthday is Oct. 30).

I have always wanted to give my DD a chance to become fluent in another language. She is half Japanese, but neither DH nor I speak it. Anyway, I'm really excited and intrigued about this program.

I would be really interested in hearing others' experiences with language immersion preschools/kindergartens. Do children really gain usable skills in the second language? Is it frightening/upsetting for them at first? Will she be behind when she enters 1st grade in an English-language school? Is there any way to maintain the 2nd language if there is no language immersion school for elementary school?

What an awesome opportunity for your DD! I would absolutely do it. First because kids DO gain usable skills in the second language, and retain those skills even if they're not using them later so if she were to have a chance to take Japanese later in her life, she'd have a huge head start.

Second, because exposure to a second language at a young age makes learning ALL languages later in life much, much easier. It sort of primes young children's brains to retain the linguistic ability that they have as toddlers for a longer period of time, and lets them retain the ability to make certian kinds of sounds that aren't present in their first language with a native prounciation, which means that even if she never learns another language until she's in her fifties her pronunciation will be better no matter what that other language is.

Early language training is SO valuable! Your daughter is a very lucky girl.