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Mission
Philosophy
Our School
Programs
Admission
What is Spanish
Immersion
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Spanish Immersion
Spanish immersion is a method of foreign language instruction in which the curriculum is taught through the medium of the language. Oak Park Montessori School provides a total language experience in a multicultural setting for children whose parents want the advantage of proficiency in Spanish as a second language.
Children learn the second language in a natural way, through everyday classroom conversational situations and through specially prepared materials focused on written and vocabulary skills.
Benefits of being bilingual
- Positive effect on intellectual growth
- Enrichment and enhancement of a child's mental development
- Leaves students with more flexibility in thinking, greater sensitivity to language and a better ear for listening
- Improves a child's understanding of his/her native language
- Increases job opportunities in many careers where knowing another language is a real asset
Why learn a language at an early age?
Recent developments in language research report that:
- "... The earlier instruction begins in the foreign language, the higher the level of proficiency the child will likely attain in that language." (Krashen, Long and Scarcella, 1979)
- A total immersion program is the most effective way to develop proficiency in a foreign language. It has been shown that foreign language proficiency in a total immersion does not come at the expense of achievement in English or other curriculum areas.
- Studies have consistently shown that immersion students do as well as better than comparable students not in the program on measure of verbal and mathematics skills. (Gennessee, 1976)
- Knowing a second language, according to the latest research on reading, can really help a child comprehend written language faster and possibly learn to read more easily. (Bialystock, 1998)
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