What the Research Says About Immersion?
In this 2019 review of language immersion research, Tara Williams Fortune from the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition University of Minnesota (CARLA) points out several benefits of language immersion as well as the challenges immersion programs face. Here are some key takeaways:
“English proficient immersion students are capable of achieving as well as, and in some cases better than, non-immersion peers on standardized measures of reading and math.”
At LPE, we work individually with each student on math and literacy in both the target language (French) and in English. From toddler years through fifth grade, we provide multi-levelled curricular options so that even in the same classroom, at the same table, in the same activity, individual students are receiving work that will provide the appropriate level of challenge to build skills and encourage full participation. We share detail about our unique curriculum at our Family Curriculum Night each fall, when our teachers bring families into the classrooms and provide hands-on experience with their children’s curriculum.In programs that introduce English instruction later on, students may experience a lag in specific English skills, but the lag disappears when English instruction begins (there are no long-term repercussions to immersion-only instruction prior to English dual-language instruction).
In our beginning years, we offered only French Immersion programs for young children. Over the years, we have expanded our programs to be as supportive of students’ progress as possible. We now have English lessons integrated into our Toddlers program, Afternoon English programs for our preschoolers, and Dual Language immersion for our Elementary students. In our experience, which is backed by the research, Preschoolers who do not enroll in Afternoon English will not experience long-term deficits in their English literacy.https://carla.umn.edu/immersion/documents/ImmersionResearch_TaraFortune.html
