Teaching methodologies: Immersion approach

Teaching methodologies
Immersion Approach

Immersion Approach has being very popular as a way of teaching, generally this method is used to teach children a second language. Immersion Approach methodology was based on the theory that the target language is best acquired if the learner is placed in the target language environment as much as possible so as to improve the language learning efficiency. Children here are exposed both to new culture and new language as well as gaining a well rounded and thorough academic education. Moreover, immersion has exerted a great influence also on the learner’s attitude toward the culture.
The belief of this kind of methodology is that normal children have inherent capacity o learn a second language.
In this kind of method students are instructed in most part of their course and subjects in the second language (In-class activities, such as math, social studies, and history, and those outside of the class, such as meals or everyday tasks, are conducted in the target language), its purpose is to create a learning environment in which the students acquire a high level proficiency in oral, listening and literacy skills.
This placement can be divided in two types of immersion: partial and total.

Total immersion
It involves the instruction of all subjects (except the L1 subject) in the second second language, it generally begins in the kindergarten with no use of L1 in the classroom and it continuous until second or third year in school, in these years students start to have a subject about L1 and in this classroom than can receive information in native language, they can speak in that language and they do exercises about and using L1, anyway, they have few time of L1 classes, generally it takes about 45 minutes a day in the initiate classes, and about 60-90 minutes a day in the major classes, as the grade levels increases so the degree that native language is used increases too.
Both native and second language skills are carefully monitored during the immersion program, in the beginning levels students can have some problems with their native language, particularly in spelling and reading (for example : kids have some spelling problems in with the letter “k” and “c”, because most of time they have the same sound in English and Portuguese, so they change it all the time in both languages)
Partial immersion
It involves instructions in the second language for a half the school day and the other half of the day in the native language. It also begins in the kindergarten, the language of instruction in the morning or in the afternoon may differ each grade from year to year. But when the L2 skills are compared with those students of total immersion at the same grade level, partial students are less proficient.
Conclusion
Since the immersion programs provide a greater exposure to the l2 than any other type of teaching methodology, it is not surprising that they produce better results. For the same reason early total immersion develop a higher success than early partial programs.
Positive outcomes:
1.Children of today will need to be bilingual to be successful in the global society and economy of their adulthood.
2. Childhood is the best time to develop an appreciation and understanding of diverse cultures,peoples, and perspectives in the world.
3. An optimal time to learn languages is prior to age twelve.
4. Children learn language by listening and repeating, and don’t have any fear of a “foreign”language.
5.Academic skills are actually enhanced.
6. Children are guaranteed to be challenged.
7. Parents will get envolved
Negative outcomes:
1. It has been noticed in Canada that the global comprehension of L2 in written production shown byimmersion students is not always accompanied by an equal degree of oral comprehension. For instance, spelling, verb forms remain problematic to them even after years of immersion schooling.

2. Sometimes the mistakes in L2 language it is not clearly corrected.


Used texts:
http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/rodgers.html
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:TjwZ8_sAj7wJ:www.glocality.net/files/G.art.4-Scatolini_bilingualism_and_immersion.pdf+partial+l2+immersion+methodology&hl=pt-BR&gl=br
More information on:
http://br.guiainfantil.com/bilinguismo/104-vantagens-do-bilinguismo-na-infancia-.html
http://fidusinterpres.com/?p=50