What is a Dual Language Immersion Program?
• Dual Language is an instructional program in which students learn to read, write, listen and speak two languages through content subjects and direct language instruction.
• 50% of instruction is in English, and 50% of instruction is in Spanish.
• Time spent in each language is adjusted at each grade level to be developmentally appropriate.
• Students receive daily instruction and support in their new language, whether their first language is English or Spanish.
• Teachers differentiate at all times, using visuals, first language support, vocabulary instruction, graphs and diagrams to ensure that students understand ALL content, whether it is in their first language or their second.
What are the benefits of a Dual Language Immersion Program?
• Learning bilingually helps children learn vocabulary faster; and allows them to use information in new ways, develop good listening skills, and increase problem solving and categorizing skills.
• Bilingual children have been proven to be better with cognitive tasks, and have better memory skills that last until much later in life than monolingual children.
• Studies show that students who learn to speak read and write two languages at an early age have greater success in high school, and have no additional difficulties in language.
• Dual Language prepares them for foreign language requirements in high school and college.
• With a global economy, English is no longer the primary language in the world; 64% percent of the highest paid business executives in the United States speak more than one language.
• Speaking two languages can give students advantages in employment later in life, and employees who speak two languages typically make between $1 and $2 dollars more an hour than those who do not.
• Students get to experience different cultures, customs and dialects that give them a worldly base they can draw upon later in their academic careers.
• Speaking two languages opens doors of community, opportunity and success.