Narrative Spanish Mandatory

Running head: Spanish immersion at an early age 1
Spanish Immersion
Tatiana A. Salvo
University of St. Thomas- Houston
COUN 6326
Educational Research and Scholarly Writing
Spring 2015
Spanish immersion at an early age
2
Abstract
Todays children are growing up in a global age of interdependence and an increasingly

multicultural and multiethnic society, early foreign language study gives students unique insight
into other cultures and builds their culture competency skills in a way that no other discipline is
able to do. Although the learning of any language helps children in elementary school, Spanish is
the most widely other language spoken in the United States and should be included as part of
elementary school students curriculum. There must be development and implementation of a
Spanish language immersion program designed to support curriculum and instruction to enhance
effective learning outcomes for students at an early age.
Keywords: multicultural and multiethnic society, early foreign language competency
skills, Spanish, include
3
Spanish Immersion
Gud Bai, my papa (father) said, with a strong Spanish accent, every morning he
dropped me off at my kindergarten classroom. My pale, frail, big blue-eyed face would
take a quick glance at him, then hurry into the classroom, with embarrassment and hope
that nobody heard that I had a father that didnt speak perfect English. Three years later
my father moved to Chile and I would not hear that thick accent or the Spanish language
until I entered my first Spanish class.
Five years later I walked into eighth grade Spanish One at Albright Middle
School, in Houston, Texas. Gud Morneeng, Mr. Acevedo said, with a Spanish accent,
as he welcomed us into the classroom. At the age of fourteen, I struggled to be interested
in Spanish, began thinking back to my father, and wished I had held onto the language as
a child so that it would not be as difficult to learn as a teenager. Determined to be fluent,
I remember wondering why students were not taught Spanish in elementary school. How
can it be that in this multicultural nation with a diverse economy, a student does not learn
another language until he or she is fourteen? Why was it that as a five year old, I found it
embarrassing and different that my father spoke Spanish? From that moment, I would
make it my mission to learn Spanish fluently. My mission then became my passion to
make sure others learn Spanish.
Today I teach high school Spanish in Katy, Texas. Unfortunately, the majority of
my students have not been exposed to another language until my class. It is not fair that
students are not given the opportunity to speak another language until they are in high
school. I believe all children in the United States should be taught Spanish at an early
age through an immersion program. There must be development and implementation of a
Spanish language immersion program designed to support curriculum and instruction to

enhance effective learning outcomes for students at an early age. Spanish immersion at
an early age promotes effective learning for students as they become teenagers. An
article by The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages called Cognitive
Benefits of Learning Language purports that the learning of a second language at an
early age triggers the childs natural curiosity during the learning process. This
heightened engagement helps the student learn the language proficiently and with native
pronunciation and intonation. Spanish is an important language in the United States since
a record of 37.6 million, ages five years and older speak Spanish at home, according to an
analysis of the 2011 American Community Survey by the Pew Research Center
(Gonzalez-Barrera and Hugo Lopez, 2013). Furthermore, language learning is a natural
process when children are young. Not only is language learning a more natural process
as a child, but it will eventually help United States citizens keep up with the global
economy. According to Curtain and Dahlberg (2004), exposure to a foreign language
serves as a means of helping children to intercultural competence. The awareness of a
global community can be through a foreign language. In addition, children learning
Spanish lends itself to cognitive development across other curricula. The cognitive
processes that is used to apply what is learned in another languages, helps with problem
solving in classes like mathematics, logic, and reasoning. Not only in math are the
techniques and development of the brain strategies important, but in other subjects as
well. Kelsey is in my Spanish three class, one day she was studying vocabulary for her
English exam and she told me, Ms. Salvo every time I have a vocabulary test in English,
so many of the words are similar to the Spanish ones that weve learned. Foreign
language learners consistently score higher than their non-language learning peers in
measures of English vocabulary, particularly when the language studied has Latin roots
(Masciantonio, 1977). As a result, why are there not more elementary schools that
implement a Spanish immersion program?
Katy Independent School District in Katy, Texas, has only two elementary schools
implementing a Spanish language immersion program. Through six years, the program
has grown to about 450 students collectively. The majority of the immersion programs
are in private schools, or parents have to seek a program away from the regular school
day and invest time and money for their student to attend. Understandably, there are
some critics of language immersion that are concerned that immersing students at a
young age to another language will affect their ability to perform well academically on
standardized tests administered in English. There is also concern that development of a
language other than English may jeopardize basic schooling goals, high levels of oral and
written communication skills in English, and grade-appropriate academic achievement.
The research response to this question is longstanding and consistent: English-proficient
immersion students are capable of achieving as well as, and in some cases better than,
non-immersion peers on standardized measures of reading and math. Fluency in multiple
languages will give students advantages in their academic, professional, and their
personal lives. Many people around the world are developing skills to speak another
language, students in the United States should have those same benefits and advantages.
It has been over thirty years since I, a shy kindergarten girl, lowered my head with
embarrassment that someone may have heard that my father spoke a language other than
English. I would have never thought that that same girl would grow up to be a woman
adamant about students speaking Spanish. Although I teach high school students, every
day I think about the importance, the necessity and the desire for students to begin taking
Spanish as part of the curriculum in an immersion program in elementary school.
Regardless of the situation, learning to speak Spanish at an early age can help a child
succeed throughout his or her life. As speaking Spanish is growing to be an ever
demanding skill, why not give the child the ability to keep up with the ever growing
society?
References
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language. (2007). Cognitive Benefits of Learning
Language. 8 (1). Retrieved from http://www.actfl.org/advocacy/discover-languages/forparents/cognitive.
Curtain, Helena, & Dahlberg, C. A. (2004). Languages and Children: Making the Match.
New languages for Young Learners, Grades K-8. Third Edition New York:
Longman
Gonzalez-Barrera, A., & Hugo Lopez, M. (2013). Spanish is the most spoken non-English
language in the U.S. homes even among non-Hispanics. Fact Tank: News in the
Numbers. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank
Masciantonio, R. (1977). Tangible Benefits of the study of Latin: A review of Research. Foreign
Language Annals. 10. 375-382.
Rogers, K. (2015, February 12). Personal Interview.

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Running head: Spanish immersion at an early age 1

Spanish immersion at an early age

Todays children are growing up in a global age of interdependence and an increasingly

Spanish immersion at an early age

Spanish immersion at an early age

Spanish language immersion program designed to support curriculum and instruction to

Spanish immersion at an early age

Spanish immersion at an early age

Spanish immersion at an early age

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