Anyone Had Experiences with the Dual Immersion Programs?

My son is in an immersion program right now. He is in kindergarten. For us, it was definitely the right decision. He is advanced in most subject areas, so the challenge of learning a new language is the one thing that is keeping him from being bored at school.

Going into it in 1st grade, unless an adult in the home speaks the second language, it can be pretty hard. You will have to help him with the homework because even the directions will be in the other language. My son and I were both frustrated last year that he was learning new math concepts in Spanish. Since he could barely understand the terms, he struggled to learn the math. He hated it. But this year his math is in English and he is doing great with it. So that bothered me because I felt like he was unnecessarily falling behind on a very important area of study. A neighbor told me that her kids all struggled in the dual immersion at our school until they got into second or third grade. My son is in 3rd and just now liking the Spanish part of his studies. So it has been a tough few years, with him being upset many times about attending during the Spanish portion of the day. If I had been fluent in Spanish and could spend more time tutoring him, it would have been a different story I think. But it is his dad who is fluent and he has spent very little time teaching it to our children. On the other hand, I have a nephew in 1st grade Chinese dual immersion. His parents do not know the language, but he has a stay at home mom and an attentive dad helping him with his studies so he is doing well and loving it. Good luck with your decision.

My nephew was in one (Japanese). He loved it and did very well. He was in it through high school. Keep in mind he was a very high achiever. But I think it's worth a try. I believe that afternoons were for Japanese - so he's have Japanese class, science and math in full immersion.

Even if your son fell behind in other subjects, he will catch up if he sticks with the program, or should be able to catch up if he goes into a regular school program. Electives in the early grades can be repetitive. Reading and math include plenty of review. The opportunity to learn a 2nd language while young is priceless.

My daughter is in a Chinese Immersion program. We love it! It requires more work on our part, but it is wonderful! She is learning how to study and be disciplined, and her other work is not suffering at all. She is in second grade and is reading on a third grade level, and her math skills are good too. It's amazing what those kids can do! The teachers in our program have been great. The English teacher supplements everything, so they are being exposed to math concepts in English. Honestly, I think that if you are around to help and work with him, he will be just fine. Good luck!!

I did a bunch of research on this because I wanted to enroll my son in one of these programs. Every single thing I read was good. My son ultimately didn't go (enrollment was based on a lottery, and he didn't get in), but I wish he had.

My niece (husband's brother's daughter -- does that make her my niece?) attends a language-immersion preschool, and she is doing very well. Her vocabulary is quite advanced for her age, and she knows her letters and numbers (can't yet read but can name letters) in both languages at not-quite-4.

my cousins have been in a chinese immersion program since they were 18 months. They are now 7 and 4 and speak fluent Chinese and love their school. It's not a "dual" program though... it is completely Chinese immersion. They are ridiculously bright kids and love their school. If I had those options available to me locally, I would absolutely do this!

My best friend is sending her daughter to a school where they speak only English in the morning and only Spanish in the afternoon....I'm assuming that's what you mean by dual immersion, and she said it is SO much fun, her daughter loves it. My best friend is studying it so she can understand more of what her daughter is saying, too, so they are kind of learning as a family. She said it was a great decision and she is so happy she chose this school.

Go for it! My son started Spanish Immersion 1st grade this year and he loves it. He isn't falling behind at all and didn't have any trouble getting used to learning in Spanish. He didn't have any Spanish before, so I thought he'd be way behind the kids who were in Immersion in K, but he fits right in. I'm so thrilled I put him in this year. Wish I had put my daughter in when she was little, but they only had Kindergarten Immersion at the time she got started in the district. We don't have any trouble helping him at home, because any Spanish we have to do with him is going over songs they have learned or vocab words.

My kids are in French Immersion, I'm not sure if that is the same thing. They both started in kindergarten. One is in grade 2 and the other in grade 5. They are both doing quite well. My husband and I don't speak French. I have had four nieces and three nephews graduate from French Immersion. I also have a friend whose son chose to drop French and go straight English in middle school and he has done very well.