Dual Language program in New Braunfels ISD (roughest, how much) - San Antonio - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

dcharmingone · 04-15-2010, 07:59 AM

My daughter who is 5 will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. I was told about the dual language program from her PreK teacher and I decided to go to a meeting on it. When I first heard about this program I thought this would be awesome for my daughter to learn a second language. When I went to the meeting of course everyone their praised how good it was. As I was being shown how the program works I started having concerns. This is a 90/10 program not a 50/50 which means that they will speak and teach spanish 90% of the time. I guess what I am trying to find out is my family does not speak any spanish at all nor do we know anyone who is close to our family that speaks spanish. If my daughter is bringing homework with instructions in spanish then we can't help her. Also they were saying that when these kids get into middle school they do lag behind in test scores because they learned to read, write, and everything else in Spanish. From what I know English is one of the hardest languages to learn, (It is my only language and I still have a hard time with my grammer) so if my daughter is learning only spanish in school then how will she learn to read, and write in english? Maybe I am not getting how this program works so if anyone knows more about this program or has their children in it will you please let me know how it is working out for you. Like I said I do want my daughter to learn Spanish, but I also don't want her to struggle with english.

1751texan · 04-15-2010, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcharmingone

My daughter who is 5 will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. I was told about the dual language program from her PreK teacher and I decided to go to a meeting on it. When I first heard about this program I thought this would be awesome for my daughter to learn a second language. When I went to the meeting of course everyone their praised how good it was. As I was being shown how the program works I started having concerns. This is a 90/10 program not a 50/50 which means that they will speak and teach spanish 90% of the time. I guess what I am trying to find out is my family does not speak any spanish at all nor do we know anyone who is close to our family that speaks spanish. If my daughter is bringing homework with instructions in spanish then we can't help her. Also they were saying that when these kids get into middle school they do lag behind in test scores because they learned to read, write, and everything else in Spanish. From what I know English is one of the hardest languages to learn, (It is my only language and I still have a hard time with my grammer) so if my daughter is learning only spanish in school then how will she learn to read, and write in english? Maybe I am not getting how this program works so if anyone knows more about this program or has their children in it will you please let me know how it is working out for you. Like I said I do want my daughter to learn Spanish, but I also don't want her to struggle with english.

She not learning sentence structure in preK. Could you ask her what she learned in school that day and ask her to repeat in both languages?

dcharmingone · 04-15-2010, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1751texan

She not learning sentence structure in preK. Could you ask her what she learned in school that day and ask her to repeat in both languages?

Sorry maybe I wasn't clear on what I was saying. My daughter hasn't started the dual language program yet. The program starts in Kindergarten and then ends in fifth grade. If by fifth grade she has only learned spanish then how will her english skills be? I know spanish is important but doesn't she need to learn how to read, and write in english too.

Sweetie Pie · 04-15-2010, 10:05 AM

A friend of mines daughter is in the program at BBES. She is in the first year kinder program, and from what I gather, each language is alternated every other day. I know it was rough at the beginning, but she's settled in to it pretty well. She understands the Spanish better, than speaking it, at this point though.

ciJay · 04-15-2010, 10:10 AM

Typically it starts in Kinder 90/10, and as they progress in grade number it changes to 50/50. So, as the grades get higher, usually they will have an English class where they learn English grammer. My daughter is in a Spanish Immersion school, not dual immersion, but I have done lots of research on both. Also, it is recommended that parents should be more involved with helping there child throughout the years, than would be required if in an english speaking school.

My daughter is in kinder, and her homework is in english. Not sure how it will be in higher grades, but as her spanish improves, if the homework is in spanish she should be able to translate it for me.

I have read that in 6th or 7th grades, their english is usually not as good as children in an english speaking school, but they tend to pick it up quickly and eventually ALL of there test scores are higher than english school children. The theory is: that by learning in a non-native language early on, that they are better at picking up new concepts (in general) - so they become better learners (in english or spanish) of any subject.

Good luck with your choice. The choice for us was easy, since my wife is an elementary teacher - she is absolutely convinced that immersion is the best education option.

dcharmingone · 04-15-2010, 11:19 AM

Thanks for the info everyone. I do see the benifits of knowing more than one language. I guess I was just a little worried how much of a help I would be. I wish I would of learned spanish when I was little, but growing up in Utah there really didn't seemed to be a need for it.

aldmk · 04-15-2010, 12:01 PM

Our daughter is in the immersion program in AHISD. There are times she needs help with her homework, but between google translate and the other immersion parents we're always able to figure out what needs to be done. They will lag behind on their English skills and standardized test scores in elementary, but the research shows they're typically doing at least as good as their peers when they catch up.

It's a great program that we've been really happy with and would gladly do it again. You do have to make a long term commitment but we really think it's worth it. The first semester of immersion is the roughest, more so for the parents than the kids, but things really start to click during the second half of the year -- for both. After that it's no big deal.

flyerNO88 · 04-16-2010, 04:34 AM

This sounds like a great program, I hope they have something similar in whatever district we end up at.

pobre · 04-16-2010, 05:39 AM

NEISD has a dual language program: http://www.neisd.net/curriculum/CurComp/Dual%20Language.html (broken link)

More schools will be added for school year 2010-2011. Children must enter in Kindergarten, or early first grade. Had this been offered when my children were that age, I would have sent them, even if they had to atttend a school other than their neighborhood school!

zhugeliang1 · 04-16-2010, 08:05 PM

I wish there were a Chinese English dual language program around here but that'll never happen in Texas.