What is Foreign Language Immersion Education?
Children in elementary foreign language immersion programs learn content areas through a second language. Immersion programs typically begin in kindergarten or first grade and continue through sixth grade. In full immersion programs, students learn initial literacy skills and all content subjects through the second language. In partial immersion programs, students typically spend half the day learning selected subjects through the second language, while the other half is spent in native English language classrooms learning other required subject matter (Curtain & Pesola, 1994; Met & Galloway, 1992). According to the Directory of Total and Partial Immersion Language Programs in U.S. Schools, 119 elementary language immersion programs are now established in the United States (Rhodes & Seydel, 1999). The majority of programs are partial immersion programs located in urban or suburban area public schools. Most programs instruct students in grades one through six and teach the target langua
