A Utah immersion classroom in action.
Calibrating Content and Language in the Immersion Classroom
By Heather Clydesdale
Immersion is based upon the premise that learning content through a new language builds proficiency in both the content and language. Yet, whatever the model (ranging from 80 to 50% of instruction in the target language), the reality is that teachers must carefully calibrate what they teach in order to realize these two goals.
“Why? Because we have to teach not just the language, we also have to teach the content,” asserts Pat Wen-Tsui Lo, a Resource Specialist of the New York State Statewide Language Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (Language RBERN) at New York University. “That is our balancing act. Math, social studies, and science on one hand, and Chinese language arts on the other.” Read on!
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