Luckily, many schools and programs are available that are specifically designed for students who like to learn a language in addition to their mother tongue. There are various resources available online too, such as Spanish books for beginners.
Immersion schools like The Magellan International School adopt such programs designed for elementary to high school students. They offer a program in Magellan International Spanish immersion along with English and Mandarin instruction.
The advantages of immersion programs many people believe that to excel in any foreign language; one must go through some full immersion program as it is the best way to learn a new language. And there is sufficient scientific and academic research that reveals several neurological and psychological benefits of language immersion that improves planning, analysis and judgment and problem-solving. Besides, there are improvements in empathy and attention, besides delaying the onset of brain disease. The younger the child better it is to send them to immersion programs, which is evident from its popularity in schools right from pre-school and daycare.
Who benefits the most? While the immersion learning process is beneficial for children and adults alike, when it comes to learning a foreign language, it appears that children whose parents cannot speak the foreign language benefit the most from it. The reason is that children learn faster from other kids than from adults. Therefore, a classroom teaching session of foreign language where the teacher is an adult can hinder the learning process of children. Children acquire fluency in a foreign language much quickly when they go through immersion programs.
Steps in the learning process children going through full immersion programs develop primary literacy in the foreign language they learn, and this enables them to understand the language completely in due course of time. Besides acquiring the ability to read a foreign language, children begin to understand the relationship between the written word and spoken language and transfer or translation of one language to another. Besides acquiring proficiency in a foreign language, children develop a strong understanding of the native language too.
Think global, act locally addition to learning the language, students get exposed to cultures that they do not encounter daily, and it helps them to develop the ability to connect with and make friends with a variety of classmates. Children of full immersion schools learn to think global but act locally, which is the type of mindset that is gaining prominence nowadays.
Children of immersion schools perform much better in language skills even if they do not have any prior exposure to the language.
