Spanish immersion elementary school

we have french immersion schools here in Canada and because you need to speak french to work in a government job, these schools are usefull. my daughter however goes to a non immersion school but has taken french since grade 4 (which is manditory); took it in grade 9 (which is also manditory) but plans to take it throughout the rest of highschool (whicis not) so i think she will know enough french to take it in college if she so desires.

I think it is great that he learns Spanish because it may give him more of a chance ot find work when he gets much older. With Paul being young it is easier for a young child to learn Spanish or any language as opposed to an adult learning a language. That is great that you want Paul to be challenegd in school to keep him from being bored at school.

I think it is always a good idea for kids to learn more than one language. Not only are they less likely to be bored because of lack of challenge, but with the economy going global it is important to be able to communicate in another language. On the same note, kids that don't yet speak English in our schools should be allowed to keep using their home language and learn English along with it. That way all students could have the chance to learn multiple languages. Thanks for sharing this!

I think it is a wonderful idea to have the opportunity to learn another language at a small age when it is easier. My native language is Spanish but we lived in the US for a year and a half in the US when I was 11. My parents bought a TV set immediatly and we learned more English watching TV than in books. Knowing another language is wonderful.

Out here in So CA, Spanish is a practical language. It's a definite plus to know Spanish, though I don't know how I feel about it as a "half day" lesson in school. I believe in our "big" school district, the languages that are offered in such schools are Spanish, Korean, and Mandarin. If those were my choices, I'd definitely pick Spanish for my children. What's interesting is the next elementary school over from us has Korean immersion. They have the best rating and test scores locally. I just read a review for that school and that person made some interesting points. For one, many Koreans live in this area, and many of them are enrolled in that school . . . so are they really "learning" Korean - when they already know the language. Second, they are saying it is the Koreans that raised the math API scores (that I don't know if it's true) - but many Koreans that I do know personally are having their children go to after school math programs that go beyond what is taught in school. Apparently the principal is at conflict with that program too, so I don't know what's happening there. I know some parents at our Y were not too sure about their kids going to a Korean immersion school (that was the first time I had heard of it). Out here, there are other opportunities to learn a language. I went to Japanese school every Saturday as a kid. I also learned Spanish in third grade - not Spanish immersion - but just part of the class afternoon lesson. Then again all throughout middle school - and I learned enough to get by (and I still remember a lot of it). I also picked up Mandarin in college. It's hard for me to teach my kids Japanese, so I would actually love it if there were a Japanese immersion program - but - that's not in our district apparently. Anyway, like I said, I don't know exactly how I feel about it (thus far we haven't had that option yet - whether it's my daughter's current school or the ones in the neighborhoods I've been researching on as we may move). The birthday issue has changed here too - my son will end up going to kingergarten a year later too.

I would most certainly enroll my children (hypothetical, of course at the moment) in any sort of advanced or extended learning environment. I dislike the spanish language because of personal experiences with instructors and class plans, but that wouldn't stop me from enrolling them. I would prefer French, but any language that is not English will be beneficial. Being bi-lingual by the time you graduate elementary school will help a lot in learning other languages as you grow older (if he decides to do that), and already knowing languages will give him an edge for college and future employers. I'm glad to see I'm not the only person who would think into the future with these kind of decisions.

I also think it is a very good thing for the child.....learning another language at his age will be helpful all his life...and they learn so much quicker when they are young. Exposing them to all these different cultures can only be good.

It's probably not a bad idea really...

i guess you are right. its almost like our whole darn language is changing. my son way back in 80s was not going to let his wife, that was mexican speak spanish in their house in front of their child and i convinced him that was crazy. if she knew 2 languages she would be better off in this world. i did win out and now my gran daughter knows/speaks both fluently

The more languages that your children are able to speak, the better. Starting early helps to ensure that the child will become fluent in the language, and this fluency does open more doors to them in the future. I plan to home school my future children, and studying several languages will be part of their education from an early age. There are classes and tutors available in this region for a variety of languages, so, despite my own lack of fluency in a second language, my kids should have a fairly firm foundation in a few other languages.

I think that immersion into foreign language is very good where the kids are young because their brains are not yet hard wired and they can absorb and assimilate material much easier. I would definitely take advantage of a program like that.

I think that's a great idea! I think that as long as kids show signs of interest, or seem to be bright for their age, it would be great to give them more. If they can cope with it then I think that their future looks bright already. I'm sure that'll be an important tool for him when he grows up.

hi dear dorannmwin would do that in a heartbeat too if I had kids and they would be interested in learning languages. Wish I myself could have learned the English language much much earlier than I actually did with 10 years old already.

Me no I wouldn't do. Yeah I'm half Hispanic but I don't know how to speak Spanish and my husband he can speak a bit more then I can but that is about it. I rather leave that up to my child when they are old enough to choice weather they want to learn another language or not. I really don't see when a little kid besides if there family is from that culture would be using Spanish outside of the class room. I know the early a kid learns it the better. Even when I was working I never had to use Spanish at all. Most all Spanish people that I ran into spoke perfect English its just that most of the time they where stubborn and didn't want to speak English out in public because well they just don't want use English.

I think that it is really neat that your school has that kind of program available. I had a friend who worked at a french immersion school. They did everything all day in french. I think that would be a little harder for the child I like how your school has a program they can do so that way they are learning both english and spanish. The kids who are smart and up to a challenge this would be very good for them. Its good to start them early they learn a second language easier that way.

Learning other language is fun. I think if I was given a choice again at age 5, I would love to learn Spanish, French, Japanese or any other things. Children now a day are very brilliant and this is the best time for them to learn :)