Language Immersion
Survey Results
for WAFLT Conference
March 20, 2004
Compiled by Michele Anciaux Aoki, Ph.D.
Washington State Coalition for International
Education
http://internationaledwa.org
What I Wish I’d Known (1)
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Immersion teaching strategies that are
different from regular foreign language
teaching.
The average expected language proficiency
of students for each grade level of a halfday immersion program.
How to make immersion work with students
who are not native speakers and still
maintain the high academic achievement
standards expected of them.
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What I Wish I’d Known (2)
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Kinds of materials/textbook I could start
with.
It's OK to teach actual language skills (in
the target language).
That is has proven helpful in our district to
plan the language skills by grade level.
Where to find materials in Spanish.
Exactly what is immersion all about.
Examples of immersion lesson plans and
classes.
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What I Wish I’d Known (3)
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What are the very best activities to use to
make children acquire the language?
Access to various lesson plans on the
language
Any books or research papers about foreign
language instructions based on anti-bias
curriculum
How challenging but rewarding the
immersion experience is
More about teaching Spanish reading as
SSL.
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What I Wish I’d Known (4)
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More about management and primary skills
More teaching ideas, where to find
curriculum (for supplementing what we
already have) i.e. good websites, etc.
What I can expect for my students
First year at Sheridan as principal.
Everything is new in terms of language
immersion. Every day is a learning day and
I'm loving it.
I wish I'd known more about classroom
management; known more about the
curriculum
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What I Wish I’d Known (5)
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Hiragana VS. Katakana issue
The role of the I.A. in order to build a
successful team
Useful technology available for free
What kids like, what kids don't like in terms
of the activities
Which parts of the function of the language
teachers should emphasize
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What Makes My Immersion
Class Successful (1)
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Having lots of supports.
A combination of instructional strategies
(direct instruction, cooperative learning
groups, etc.).
The support of an IA.
Parent and community support.
Combining content area, e.g., using
language arts activities to support math
and science.
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What Makes My Immersion
Class Successful (2)
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Repetition, modeling for students,
consistency with the use of language,
speaking slowly, visuals, using TPR and
creating a community where students feel
safe and not intimidated with the language
The willingness of native speakers to serve
as translators and to model behaviors or to
respond in order to demonstrate the
meaning of what I ask of them
A well-planned day.
A variety of learning techniques
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What Makes My Immersion
Class Successful (3)
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Having materials available to use; having
students interested in learning the new
language, and showing them that they can
be successful repetition & hands-on
activities help students to learn more.
Students who have bought into the
immersion experience
My commitment to language learning and
my students absolute thrill at performing
well
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What Makes My Immersion
Class Successful (4)
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They have the opportunity to use more
authentic setting and materials.
The language immersion in my classroom is
successful because I am passionate about
language learning and I share that passion
with my students.
We talk a lot about culture using the
language, read books in the target
language, and participate in activities in the
target language.
Understanding of Spanish language
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What Makes My Immersion
Class Successful (5)
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Connecting the language to the students'
lives.
Having the students use the language in
authentic, real life scenarios.
Varying the lesson types. Some involve
songs, repeating new words, games, body
movements, playing bingo with new
vocabulary...
Ongoing support from colleagues,
administrators and parents including
financial support
The love and dedication my students put
into the program; parent support,
appropriate materials for teaching
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What Makes My Immersion
Class Successful (6)
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Working with a great first grade team.
Good games
Having materials/resources
I do a lot of hands-on teaching and I do a
lot of singing as well. I've made up songs
for all of our science units, and that helps
the students learn a lot of vocab, and
remember main ideas of the unit.
For our school, wonderful dedication from
staff, strong parent support, and FLAP
Grant, parent involvement, interest and
cooperation, patience & organization
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Biggest Challenges (1)
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There are lots of non-teaching duties to
make the program work.
Students who are not motivated or
interested in learning the language.
Lack of materials in the target
language/material preparation and/or
translation.
Preparing students for district and state
initiated assessments.
Motivating the students to use the target
language instead of English when they can;
appropriate materials in Spanish sometimes,
appropriate books; but the biggest challenge
is class size.
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Biggest Challenges (2)
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Trying to use district curriculum materials
and schedules to teach content in the target
language; trying to help students achieve
the ability to communicate in the target
language with one another
Finding time to translate assignments and
letters home
Time to teach the concepts and vocabulary
at the expected level.
Not all students are motivated to learn
Japanese. Those students either do not
produce any work or disrupt the class
lesson on a regular basis.
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Biggest Challenges (3)
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Students with learning disabilities;
integrating them into the daily activities
which already require more from the teacher
than a "normal" classroom teacher would
experience. Doing it all in another language
seems to really add another dimension of
difficulty.
Getting kids to use the language more
The biggest challenge as a language
immersion teacher is finding the resources
to teach in the target language. I have to
create almost all of the materials and
activities used in class.
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Biggest Challenges (4)
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Finding, good and authentic material in
Spanish
More support on a district level would be
nice as well. I also feel that language
immersion classes should be very small in
class size.
Knowing exactly what immersion means.
Not being able to cover enough content
Incorporation of the language into the
various subject areas when students do not
have enough of the language to
comprehend the subject material being
taught
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Biggest Challenges (5)
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Thinking of better and more efficient ways of
getting my students to acquire the language.
Finding time to prepare the materials because
I have to translate and make most of them.
Teaching conflict resolution skills because I
don't know how to teach them without
depending on language
Finding appropriate materials to implement
the same curriculum that the children in the
regular programs learn
Lack of Materials and adequate funds.
Time
Resources
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Biggest Challenges (6)
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Making sure the students are really
understanding what I'm teaching.
Knowing what to expect.
Continuing to upgrade the program so that
it meets the needs of kids and helps us to
make AYP.
Receiving new students with no language
experience, large classes
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Biggest Challenges (7)
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Finding materials in Spanish; making the
subjects fun to learn; maintaining Spanish
immersion when the students don't
understand the material.
How to support kids who joined later
How to support kids who have behavior
issues and disabilities
Time & money
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If We Had Extra Dollars… (1)
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Buy more curriculum materials (books,
computers, etc.).
Materials in the target language: math
games, books, software, text books
New books that go with my lessons, and
new computers for my students.
Work with parents to teach parents the
target language so that they could help the
students at home and communicate outside
of school in the target language--perhaps
with special classes after school and/or
weekends; perhaps for computer software.
Field trip to Japan during the summer.
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If We Had Extra Dollars… (2)
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That's too much to even wrap my mind
around at this time! Technology for one.
Sets of appropriate chapter books for
another.
I would buy books in the target language
and computer software. Also lots of
children's movies in Spanish and have
Spanish-speaking classroom aides.
Technology that can be useful for immersion
programs, and good dictionaries
Invite Spanish speakers with different skills
to the classroom to make workshops. I'd
invite scientists, artists, cooks, musicians,
politicians, etc.
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If We Had Extra Dollars… (3)
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It the $50,000 was just for my classroom, I
would love to buy (or pay someone to
translate) our math curriculum in Spanish.
I would also like a classroom library of
Spanish reading materials at a variety of
levels. And I would like laptops for each
student for on-line research and interaction
with other Spanish speaking students. I
would also like to take a small group of
students to a Spanish speaking country for
a week or two in the summer...but that's
just a dream.
Attend summer conferences, seminars,
workshops
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If We Had Extra Dollars… (4)
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Buy books and materials/props that recreate the real world in our classroom.
Buy curriculum for the students, teacher
guides, foreign language learning tools,
including language listen and learn type of
tapes
To purchase materials such as books.
To hire another instructional aide.
To travel to Spain, get materials, take
classes at university level, get myself
immersed in Spanish, bring as many real
materials to teach in my classroom.
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If We Had Extra Dollars… (5)
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Buy books and materials/props that recreate the real world in our classroom.
Buy curriculum for the students, teacher
guides, foreign language learning tools,
including language listen and learn type of
tapes
To purchase materials such as books.
To hire another instructional aide.
To travel to Spain, get materials, take
classes at university level, get myself
immersed in Spanish, bring as many real
materials to teach in my classroom.
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If We Had Extra Dollars… (6)
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Technology-based reading enrichment;
books; story videos.
Send them all to France. OR!!!! French club
after school with lots of help. We would
cook, do Art. I'd have lots of paintings and
HUGE books on artists...Tons more books at
their level...Tons of Science and Art
materials...An aide.
Buy books, computer programs and hire an
extra Spanish speaker!
Have extra help (Spanish-speaking) to work
in small groups with students, to give them
more individualized instruction.
Have another teacher in my room
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If We Had Extra Dollars… (7)
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I would also use money to get subs to visit
other immersion classrooms to get ideas
from them, and also to buy more materials
for class.
Purchase additional materials in target
languages including books, videos, and
software.
BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!!!
Videos, DVDs, CDs, a couple of new
computers, 28 good headsets, 280
Notebooks and 100 ERASERS!
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