Lessons from U.S. immersion programs: Two decades of experience

Abstract

From modest beginnings in the early 1970s, foreign language immersion programs in elementary schools in the United States have grown significantly. Today, there are 187 elementary immersion programs in twentyfive states and the District of Columbia (Center for Applied Linguistics, 1995), and their continued growth is testament to both their effectiveness and the resulting enthusiasm of educators and parents. The growth of immersion has been characterized by America's penchant for diversity. Although most immersion programs involve Spanish, there are programs in French, German, Japanese, and Chinese as well. About 60% of programs are early partial immersion and 40% are early total immersion. Although much has been written about the success of immersion programs both inside and outside the United States, little has been said about the challenges of starting and maintaining successful programs. The purpose of this chapter is to explore these challenges, not from the perspective of any single school or school district, but to provide the cumulative insights gained from our experience across elementary schools and programs in the U.S. context. Rather than an exhaustive treatment of issues in immersion education, we will examine a number of specific issues that have confronted immersion educators. In most instances, we do not intend to promote some solutions over others. We hope instead to describe a few of the problems U.S. immersion programs have encountered, and to explore the advantages and disadvantages of the solutions that have been found.

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