Experience shows immersion works
Joe Navarro’s letter in the Sept. 7 Pinnacle told the pro side
of the argument over bilingual education.
The other side is that young children have an amazing capacity
to learn language that decreases as they get older. A family member
teaches third grade in Modesto. There they place Spanish-speaking
children right into classes taught in English, and most students
learn both their lessons and English fairly well. Teachers do watch
the progress carefully and special teachers help those who fall
behind. This seems to work.
I am aware of two incidents that show how readily young children
can absorb a new language. The first was during WW II in France. A
crew of about 12 of us was sent to a French village to repair a
downed aircraft. We found billets in a vacant cafe whose owner had
been a collaborator. The soldiers fascinated the two children
living next door and they in turn charmed the GI’s. The kids spent
every evening with us. The questions and chatter were continuous
with no language barrier apparent. When we left after about two
weeks, 6 year-old Jaques and Suzanne, 9, understood English
perfectly and were making snappy come-backs in American slang to
our kidding.
The second example was later, when a friend’s job took him to
Holland for a year. His wife and two little girls went along, and
they entered the kids in a Dutch public school. When the kids
rejoined their class back home, they were not only fluent in Dutch,
but significantly ahead in their studies.
English immersion may be messy, but it does seem to work.
John Blake
Hollister
Experience shows immersion works
Joe Navarro’s letter in the Sept. 7 Pinnacle told the pro side of the argument over bilingual education.
The other side is that young children have an amazing capacity to learn language that decreases as they get older. A family member teaches third grade in Modesto. There they place Spanish-speaking children right into classes taught in English, and most students learn both their lessons and English fairly well. Teachers do watch the progress carefully and special teachers help those who fall behind. This seems to work.
I am aware of two incidents that show how readily young children can absorb a new language. The first was during WW II in France. A crew of about 12 of us was sent to a French village to repair a downed aircraft. We found billets in a vacant cafe whose owner had been a collaborator. The soldiers fascinated the two children living next door and they in turn charmed the GI’s. The kids spent every evening with us. The questions and chatter were continuous with no language barrier apparent. When we left after about two weeks, 6 year-old Jaques and Suzanne, 9, understood English perfectly and were making snappy come-backs in American slang to our kidding.
The second example was later, when a friend’s job took him to Holland for a year. His wife and two little girls went along, and they entered the kids in a Dutch public school. When the kids rejoined their class back home, they were not only fluent in Dutch, but significantly ahead in their studies.
English immersion may be messy, but it does seem to work.
John Blake
Hollister
Which ‘Higher Power’?
President Bush has stated that he seeks guidance from a Higher Power. This power seems to value the privatization of Iraqi oil over human life. Is it possible that the higher power is Jesus, who told his disciples that hypocrisy is one of the greatest sins?
Frank Crosby
Morgan Hill
