Quote:
Originally Posted by mrscoach
So, immersion is ok, if you know at least a bit of what is going on. I am totally lost if someone only speaks Spanish, or any other language, around me. Put me in a classroom only with another language and I wouldn't know anything.
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Sorry, I have to disagree. If it is done correctly, it works very well. It's the basis for all the better language schools and programs, Rosetta Stone, Pimsler, DOD Language Center in California, and Vermont's Middleburry College's Language School, considered the finest language learning institution in the world.
Obviously, a teacher can not go in on the first day and ask a student for a synopsis of Canterbury Tales or to explain the relationship of Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine in the DNA helix. But if the teacher extends his/her hand and says in the language "Hello. My name is Mary" and repeats the action and words a couple of times, any student above the age of 6 will realize what is expected and respond correctly. It does require that the teacher knows how to teach in this fashion, and it's easily done incorrectly. Total immersion requires proper teaching, not just speaking in the language.
Having done total immersion study with several different languages, I can assure you that it works. And yes, at the very basic level often a word here and there in the native language can speed up the process, but only a word here and there. If we want to learn a language quickly and correctly, we need to learn it IN the language, not translate.
Stitchawl