Do you want your preschooler to learn another language? Whether you speak a particular language at home and want to continue it in school or whether you want your child to be immersed in a new language, preschool immersion schools are a good language-learning option.
Many families have a background in more than one culture and want to expose their children to their cultural heritage. However, the parents may no longer speak that language fluently. Or perhaps parents are simply interested in exposing their young children to a new language. This is where immersion or language-oriented preschools can help.
An immersion school is often conducted completely in the new language, with gestures, lots of contextual clues, and some English during the first few weeks or months. If your child took to his first language easily, enjoys wordplay and is able to concentrate and push through frustration, you might consider a language immersion program. If you want to expose your child to a new language without complete immersion, you can also consider taking a language class. Language classes may be conducted in English, with songs, rhymes, and vocabulary games in the new language.
The purpose of both programs is exposure, not fluency within the preschool years. While your child may not come out of a one or two-year immersion program speaking fluently, he will have some exposure to the sounds of a new language and the culture surrounding it. It also helps if parents participate in language learning. This way, parents can bring the language into the home as well, through songs, stories, and everyday conversation.
Immersion schools tend to be most prevalent in urban areas. What can you do if you want to expose your child to another language and there is no school available? Consider hiring a tutor who specializes in preschool or primary-aged children to come and teach your children and your neighbors’ children. This makes the experience fun and affordable.
Have you and your child taken language classes? How was the experience?
