Multilingual Education: Language Immersion Schools Growing Nationwide

The start of another school year is just around the corner.  And there is an exciting scholastic trend that more and more schools across the country are adopting; “dual language immersion” or “two-way immersion” educational programs. According to the Center for Applied Linguistics, these programs have education schedules where two languages are used for basic educational instruction (usually English in addition to a partner language). The partner languages include French, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Mandarin, Italian and others, depending on the states and school districts within them. This trend is also a reflection of the basic understanding that the younger students learn languages, the easier it is for them to adopt, absorb, and retain them for life. Dual language immersion programs create more well rounded, globally-minded youth who will turn into educated and conscious adults. This language foundation is hopefully the beginning of a promising global future for these children.

Currently in the U.S. there are over 2,000 dual language immersion programs in public and charter schools and those numbers are steadily rising. The debate concerning the “right” age for students to learn a second language is ongoing, but it has led parents to consider alternative solutions to introducing their children to bilingualism. In addition to considering the benefits of bilingualism, immersion schools are opening the minds and interest of students at an early age to the advantages of different cultures in the hopes of preparing them to be competitive forces in their future journeys into college and ultimately the global job market.

At Paragon, our mission is to successfully break down language barriers through tailored translation that meets the unique standards of diverse cultures and customs. As the popularity of immersion programs continues to grow, we look forward to a future where multilingualism becomes the new normal. Infusing this type of learning into the school system is a great start.

Click here for more information on immersion schools in your state and check out our previous post on the Benefits of Bilingualism.

Source:

http://hepg.org/hel-home/issues/27_2/helarticle/dual-language-programs-on-the-rise   

https://www.noodle.com/articles/your-guide-to-understanding-dual-language-immersion-schools

http://www.early-childhood-education-degrees.com/immersion-programs/

Photo Source:

Flickr-Majestic Harbor- https://www.flickr.com/photos/38882278@N04/