FAQs
FAQs | Tips for Parents | Language Programs
What is Spanish immersion? Why teach Spanish before my child has mastered English? Young children are enthusiastic language students, who are less self-conscious than older students. Young children focus on immediate communication and do not worry about making mistakes. |
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Can an English-speaking child learn Spanish from DVDs without translation?
Absolutely! In fact, research indicates that total Spanish immersion is the most effective way for young children to learn Spanish, or any other language for that matter.
Children are born without understanding any language, but they have the ability to learn every language. Children can learn new languages incredibly quickly because their brains are designed to absorb and learn language from images and context. If an English-speaking adult sees a Spanish DVD program he doesn’t understand, he might simply turn it off. If a child sees the same Spanish DVD program, she will continue watching and try to figure it out.
An English-speaking two-year old doesn’t understand all of the English words that she hears in her every day life. However, over time she collects different pieces of the language puzzle and begins to piece them together. This same two-year old will approach learning Spanish in exactly the same way. While an adult may be frustrated if he does not understand every word that is being said, a toddler is accustomed to not understanding everything she hears. She tries to figure out the meaning anyway.
Don’t take our word for it – watch the Whistlefritz Spanish DVD Los Animales one time with your child and ask the child to show you where “el perro” is. You will see that your child has already absorbed words from just one viewing in a language that may previously have been completely foreign to her.
Wouldn’t it be easier/better for children if the DVDs were in both Spanish and English?
No. In fact, using English and Spanish is likely to delay a young child’s mastery of Spanish.
The best illustration I can give for this phenomenon is to use the example of my lack of mastery of French. I studied French in junior high and high school. I learned every word in French by translating it from English. Now, when attempting to speak French, I speak extremely slowly. Why? Because I have to first plan out everything that I want to say in English, then translate every word into French. This is not a quick process. This is a tedious process. It’s also why you never hear me speaking French.
In contrast, my children learned Spanish through full immersion in Spanish. They learned words by seeing images and making a direct connection between the images and the Spanish words. They saw a picture of a dog and heard “el perro.” They learned that “el perro” is what you call the thing that they’re seeing. Here’s the crucial part: they skipped the step of thinking “That’s a dog. The word for ‘dog’ in Spanish is ‘perro,’ so that’s a ‘perro.’” My children see a dog and make a direct connection between the image of the dog and the Spanish word “perro.” I see a dog and think “dog”, then I think “What is the French word for ‘dog’?” and finally I think “chien.” By that point, the dog has run away.
Skipping the translation stage is the key to fluency. Being fluent in Spanish doesn’t mean you understand every word. It means you can express yourself in Spanish and understand others who speak Spanish relatively easily. Children can achieve fluency more easily and more permanently through immersion.
Do you have a question for Whistlefritz? We’d love to hear from you.
1 National Network for Early Language Learning (2007, March). Are Children Language Sponges? The Home/School
Connection: Collaborating to Promote Best Practice in World Language Education, 5,1