Final Project

Course Code: LANED-GE.2005.095

Course Title: Intercultural Perspective in Multicultural Education
Pro. Dr. Shondel Nero
Student Name: Yu Huang
Date: Feb.17th

How Does Language Immersion Work for Foreign Language Learning?

 I bet most of you have already heard that you should go and stay in the target country

where the language is spoken if you want to learn to speak it fluently and quickly. What does this

sentence mean? If you have learned or taught any of one foreign language, then you might know

the immersion or at least the concept of the immersion in language teaching and

learning.  The Language immersion is a technique used in bilingual languages teaching and

learning in which multi-languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math,

reading, or other subjects. The instruction of language immersion is designed for L1 and L2

learners. Some people argued that language immersion is an effective and useful technique used

in language teaching and people are told that “you should go and stay in the target country where

the language is spoken if you want to learn it fluently and quickly”. However, some people

argued that language immersion does not work for those language learners who do not have any

foundation knowledge of the target language. This paper is going to discuss these two different

views of language learning and teaching.

        In the book Immersion Education: Practices, Policies, Possibilities, Donna Christian

and Tara Williams Fortune mentioned that “the multilingual orientation in Swedish immersion is

today well in tune with the Framework strategy for Multilingualism developed by the European

Commission in 2005. The overall emphasis in the strategy is widespread individual

multilingualism among European Union (EU) citizens. The strategy outlines key areas of action

in education systems and practices, including early language learning” (P.17) “In Swedish

immersion language experience, starts at home with Finnish (L1); it expands in preschool with

the other national language, Swedish, and in basic education with other languages. This language

path gives the immersion students early experiences in using their languages in everyday
communication inside the school as well as the linguistic confidence to participate in Swedish

and bilingual activities outside of school (P.17). Sweden is a part of the European Union, and the

European Union is a multilingual land with the multilingual atmosphere. Children who are

growing up there are easily accepting multilingual learning at homes and in schools, unlike

individual language land----the U. S. A and other single language lands.

        This article also showed there are three charts to compare the examination scores of

Swedish immersion students with non-immersion students. “The three highest grades (M, E, and

L) were achieved by 66% of the former immersion students, representing 26 percentage units

higher than the normal distribution for the three highest grades” (P. 21). “Most of the students

(75%) scored the three highest Grade ( L, E, and M), representing 35 percentage units higher

than the normal distribution for the three highest grades on the scale the matriculation

examination board uses”(P21 and Figures 2.6 and 2.7).

 From the figures above, we can absolutely see that immersion development in language

competence in students’ L1, Finnish and in Swedish. What’s more, the former immersion

students’ results on the English tests are also over the average national

results.  additionally, immersion students have experienced the same amount of instructional

time in these languages as non-immersion students.

From the figures and the written descriptions, we know that the immersion helps to

develop in students’ language competences in multi-language speaking countries. The immersion

gives a priority help when students learn second and even third language.

 However, some people argued that the language immersion does not help with language

studying. “when people propose that you surround yourself with the target language in order for

it to slowly seep through and become ‘automatic’, they often have a false idea about how

immersion really works” (My love of Morning). The ‘automatic’ really is a surface saying,

instead, I think language immersion method does not help with language learning, if, you did not

have any knowledge about this target language before you jumped into the language immersion

process.

        The immersion language learning sometimes just like changing the computer’s operating

system language rather than finally internalize the Spanish word for “shut down”

“apagar”. “When learners put themselves in a situation where they need to make sense of a

foreign language environment, the brains start problem-solving. But even for the most intelligent

among human being, the brains are always will try to cheat and get the answers with the easiest

way. Our brains always take the path of least resistance, which actually makes sense, because

people don’t want to waste energy on anything not necessary” (My love of Morning). This is

more or less the reason why immersion is not working for language learners who just “want to

change their computers’ operating system” instead of internalizing the language system. Rather

than learning the language, your brain finds other solutions. So how can people force themselves

to learn the language?  For instance, I have been told that changing my computer’s operating

system language into English would help develop my English and I changed. However, it did not

help at all. Because I recognized the words as pictures or an icon but did not actually learn the

word; I did not know how to use the word; I did not know how to pronounce it; and I did not

know how to spell it; I could only know about the word is clicking the button and direct to the
page I want, however, the word is not a word to me, it is just a function that delivers me to the

place I want to go.  

My personal experience, was a truly personal immersion learning process, happened

weeks ago in the Dominican Republic, which really supports the language immersion does not

help with language study. I have taken a one-semester Spanish course, which was a 15-hour

period Spanish class in college right just I departure. I knew some Spanish routine sentences and

daily regular words. However, since I arrived in the Dominican Republic, the most horrible life

happened. I did not understand the signs at the airport. I did not know how to ask people the way

to the bathroom. We were assigned to stay with a host family- Spanish speaking host family. My

host mother is a Spanish speaker with barely English knowledge. I did not understand things she

told me to do and we could not communicate because I did not understand her and she did not

understand me either. The only way I can use is using Google translate Application to translate

my sentences from English into Spanish and deliver to my host mother as well as the body

language.  Even she understood what I said via the translator, however, I did not understand what

she responded me. But still, language immersion learning has some good sides, which are I could

learn some words and I can guess the meaning from my host mother with her authentic fluent

Spanish with the based situations. “The truth is, that whenever you try to force yourself into such

a target-language environment, instead of learning the language, you learn different ways to

cheat and to avoid having to learn anything! You will find that your post-it notes will become

invisible to your eyes, after a while. They will be a mere distraction that you can easily avoid.

after all, you know that a fridge is, and do not actually need to check the note all the time, so you

do not and eventually, your guests are the only ones you will take notice and wonder if you are

ok” (Immersion in Languages Learning- Mostly a Myth). I forced myself into the Spanish
speaking environment and relied on my host mother’s Spanish, I did not need to learn the

spelling, and the grammar of how a sentence worked I only wanted to learn the most effective

way to say the words that direct to the action I wanted to do. Finally, I believed that I learned

nothing. I have been told that learning a language is a long-term project and there are correct to

exist 3 new words of the sentences, which means, the rest of words you have already mastered or

knew. However, my situation was absolutely I knew zero words in the sentence I was being

taught from a daily conversation I had with my Spanish speaker host mother. I felt it was not an

effective process to learn a foreign language and I learned nothing from her obviously. I rethink

about my English learning process. It took almost six years before I could independently produce

a complete sentence to express my opinion in English. Language learning is actually taking a

long-time project to master because language learning includes speaking, listening, reading,

writing (the basic four skills), plus culture as well as the language grammar knowledge.

In my opinion, learning is a form of creation. And it is based on yourself has already

learned or mastered basic knowledge or at least you are in the intermediate level of the target

language. You already knew how to produce sentences and express your opinions simply, for

example, you knew the essential order of making a sentence is basically subject and verb plus

object, instead of, knowing nothing about the language excepts alphabet.

It’s about creating solutions to non-understanding of the target language. I personally

think one of many effective but boring method is to translate sentences from primary language

into the target language people are learning. Because language learners are creating problems

and finding solutions in the target language. language learners are using the target language to

solve the language problems as they solve the problems in their primary language. it is more
likely to internalize the computer’s operating system systematically and professionally instead of

changing the computer’s operating system superficially.

To work out the problems, I think language learners need to dissect the materials you

hear or read then draw the outcome from what you dissected. However, I personally think

language learners should be able to place themselves with foreign-language material that they

understand pretty well, a little bit harder than their current level is allowed, rather than analyzing

every single point language learners listened with looking up the grammars in dictionaries.

Additionally, language learners have to have foundational knowledge in the target language that

allows them to draw conclusions, instead of “changing the computer’s operating system

language”.

        My another personal experience, was a truly successful immersion learning process,

happened years ago in China (primary school periods) as well as in US (college periods). I had

been studying English for more than four years until I participated into an English immersion

school-class as well as home-study when I was in the fourth grade, which means I was familiar

with communicating with people and expressing my opinions simply within a completed

instruction in English sentences. When I engaged in the English immersion class period in

primary school, I was encouraged to create sentences to express my opinions with topic-oriented.

I had the pretty full knowledge, especially in English words, that permits me to express my

opinions and summarize before I jumped into English immersion training class. At the same

time, my family tried their best to create an English immersion atmosphere for me to practice

English; my parents both spoke English with me and my mother played a myriad of English

stories as well as videos at home. Additionally, in my English immersion training class, all
teachers were native speakers in English. They corrected students’ pronunciation and writing

within English language atmosphere. Furtherly, I got much more improved in English via the

immersion language learning atmosphere at College in the United States of America. When I

entered my college in the University of Wisconsin, I chose Philosophy as my major, emphasizing

on Rhetoric, and Technical Writing as my minor. It was a long-term English immersion practice

process and I was truly experiencing how English immersion studying worked. All courses I

took were taught in advanced English and my assignments were treated as same as American

students’. Also, when I was immersed in an American English culture, my ear got a great of

training and it played a very important role in how language learners are capable to interact with

communicators, which helped with my listening (input knowledge) and speaking (output

knowledge). What is more, I got many opportunities to write critical papers and express opinions

in academic fields with English, as the result, my English got improved in the four skills

(Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing).

        In conclusion, the language immersion method is not suited to beginners to learn a foreign

language because the language immersion method requires language learners to grasp some

foundational knowledge. However, language immersion method is an effective and useful

technique used in language learning and teaching for language learners who are at least

intermediate level in the target language and able to use it properly with mastering enough

knowledge.
 Reference

Tedick, Diane J. (2011). Immersion education: practices, policies, possibilities.

Channel View Publications.

Sindya N. Bhanoo. (2012). How Immersion Helps to Learn a Language.

Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/how-immersion-helps-to-learn-a-

new-language.html.

Fred McConnell. (2015). Why I would choose an immersion course over a language degree.

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/06/arabic-immersion-course-

language-student.

Gene Venable. (2017). What is language learning immersion, and why can’t I make it work?

Retrieved from: https://myloveofmornings.com/language-learning-immersion/