The Most Appealing Ideas
Dual language immersion is significant for the academic and cultural development of children. Therefore, many schools are starting to integrate this concept into their curriculums. The idea is that the most common subjects, such as science and math, are taught in a second language so that children both develop their language skills and acquire knowledge. This way, children become more sensitive to other cultures and minorities. Also, gaining expertise in one field in a foreign language often encourages further research in related fields. This theory is foundational in Carrera-Carrillo’s and Smith’s seven steps. Their idea to base their methods on sound theoretical principles is attractive. The authors acknowledge that dual language immersion and cultural learning are related concepts, and therefore, base their techniques not only on the theory behind language acquisition but also on the sociocultural approach (Carrera-Carrillo & Smith, 2006). Notably, the authors emphasize the importance of equality between minority groups and the encouragement of inter-student communication.
The other idea that is appealing is related to classroom methods. The authors suggest that learning by interaction is the most effective way of acquiring knowledge, and thus propose process-based centers (Carrera-Carrillo & Smith, 2006). The primary objective of such centers is the development of higher-level thinking in students. As part of their assignment, students will be required to research a topic and engage in constructive debates defending their opinions. Because research will be conducted in a second language, students will be exposed to a much broader world of that language. In contrast, when students do not engage in exploratory activities, they are limited to materials that are provided by teachers in classrooms. This limitation will pose a hindrance to successful second language development and cultural progress.
Implications for Educators
The most significant difference between traditional second-language programs and dual language immersion paradigm is the instruction of some of the subjects in a target foreign language. Therefore, educators should have the necessary tools and lesson plans to deliver the material in a second language while acknowledging the fact that the listeners are not native speakers. The quality of the provided content should also be consistently high. In other words, when learning a foreign language, children’s science education should not struggle. That is why dual language immersion programs are challenging to implement. The authors state that it will require a significant paradigm shift and careful planning and preparation prior to integrating the program into a curriculum.
Organizing a classroom and ensuring that all children receive a sufficient amount of attention from a teacher are critical. To address these challenges, the authors provide readers with best-practice approaches to classroom organization and instruction planning (Carrera-Carrillo & Smith, 2006). For instance, the authors suggest hands-on activities for facilitating children’s development in math and science (Carrera-Carrillo & Smith, 2006). This idea can be contrasted to process-based centers – unlike exercises where children are instructed to explore on their own, hands-on activities will allow students to solve problems while being guided by a teacher or classmates. The authors label this approach as content-based centers and propose shelf activities when implementing.
It is challenging to prepare such activities for all subjects. However, the authors provide examples of what activities an educator may use in his or her classroom. Samples include activities in Spanish for science classes and mathematics. It should be noted that it is the educator’s responsibility to prepare exercises and assignments in a target second language.
The Ideas to Challenge
The examples of activities given by the authors provide an overall picture of what exercises should be used during the dual language immersion program. While many of the materials needed to conduct such activities are cheap and common, such an approach is not scalable because, in a classroom setting, each child should receive them. For instance, if there are 20 students in a group and a shelf activity requires six materials, a total of 120 elements will be needed to conduct this lesson. Not all schools are able to afford these items, which makes the dual language immersion program described by the authors an infeasible option. Besides, there will be a need to clean those materials regularly to avoid bacterial contamination, which will incur further costs.
To make the proposed program more scalable and affordable, computers may be leveraged. Activities should be adapted to the computer environment so that all children benefit from the program. It is reasonable to believe that not all households own a laptop. In such cases, there should be a way to conduct lessons using a projector – they are available in almost all classrooms across the country.
Traditional teaching practices leverage the possibilities provided by computers and projectors. Dual language immersion programs should be no different – while there should be a paradigm shift, such programs should stay affordable and scalable. Otherwise, there is no real benefit from such programs because not many children are affected. Developing software that all teachers and children may use without requiring anything other than a laptop is the first step in making the dual language immersion program available to all students.
Reference
Carrera-Carrillo, L., & Smith, A. R. (2006). 7 Steps to Success in dual language immersion: A brief guide for teachers & administrators. Heinemann.