sion schools come in many different languages. For example, a Spanish immersion school in Milwaukee has a staff of a Spanish blend of Hispanic backgrounds… Mexican, Nicaraguan, Puerto Rican, Ecuadorian, and Colombian. This enhances mulitculturism. Their curriculum consists of learning reading, language arts, mathematics, science and social studies through Spanish. They begin at the kindergarten level where vocabulary, short sentences, and passive comprehension of Spanish is stressed. The teacher speaks in Spanish while making use of many visual aids and using a great deal of body language. The children may use English when speaking, but they are encouraged to use Spanish vocabulary and expressions that they are comfortable with. They continue into the first grade where they learn to read in Spanish and are expected to make consistent use of the Spanish expressions, vocabulary and structures. Only the special classes of art, music and physical education are taught in English because these specialists to not speak Spanish. When the children begin to read in English in the second grade, the many skills that transfer from learning Spanish enable the students to catch up in English reading and writing within one to two years. But considering English is encouraged at home, usually the students catch on quickly.Schaffer 4In another immersion school, French is the chosen language. The French language was used to teach language arts, mathematics, and science for half the day; English was used to teach the other subjects during the remainder of the day. The students in this program worked actively at learning centers situated around the classroom. The students were offered a number of different learning activities at each center and were free to choose from among the alternatives. The projects chosen by the students were usually hands-on activities (for example building models, preparing blueprints or gathering objects) along wi...
