While conducting my survey with people, I noticed that the question "Does your child's school offer a partial or total immersion program?" stirred the most amount of questions and curiosity. None of them had heard of an immersion program. They questioned each other about the language programs offered in schools. I shared my personal elementary school experience of attending Immaculate Conception Ukrainian School. We had Ukrainian class every day, attended a mass in Ukrainian every Friday, learned to sing in Ukrainian, and learned about the culture. Immaculate Conception is a private Catholic school with medium tuition. It interests people who want their children to learn the Ukrainian language and culture and/or receive an education that private Catholic schools offer. I also told them about my teaching experience at Oakland Steiner Waldorf School, where the children had German classes three times a week for eight years. Oakland Steiner is a private school based on Rudolf Steiner's Theosophy philosophy with high tuition. It interests people who want their children to experience an education intentionally tailored to child development and the child as a whole. But I had not heard of total immersion programs or schools! I really wish that public schools offered language programs that involved children receiving a free education with a language program that would graduate them being fluent in a language!!!
To gain a deeper understanding of what a partial or total language immersion program is like, I went to visit the French School of Detroit in Bloomfield Hills for a day. It is located in a residential area down the street from Detroit Country Day. I introduced myself to the program director in French, which made her enthusiastically introduce me to the preschool teacher in French. I understood everything she said while we walked to the class but was only able to utter a bit of French. I have taken four years of French in high school and two years at Oakland University but without constant practice, I understand more than I can speak.
The grade school children come to the French School of Detroit for daily lessons in French that last from 8:05-10:35am. After their French immersion classes, the students travel to one of four schools within the Birmingham Public School District: Beverly Elementary, Bingham Farms Elementary, Pierce Elementary, or West Maple Elementary. The tuition rate is $12,500 per year. In the preschool program, 19 children are split into two groups that are grouped by fluency ability of French. The children are four years old :) Preschool is seen as a "real" academic grade, the way Kindergarten is seen in the United States. One group of children spends the morning speaking and being instructed only English while the other group spends their first half of their day speaking and learning only in French.
Most of the families whose children attend the French School of Detroit are from Germany or France working in the United States for a 1-3 year contract with the Ford, GM or Chrysler Companies. Their children must keep up with their fluency level of French in order to be able to re-enter school when they return home.
Bonjour Les Etudiants! Good morning students! I spent the morning in Mrs Kari's English immersion class. I told her that I am here to observe but she made me feel welcome to interact with the children if I wanted to. One little girl came to the school in October speaking only French and now she speaks fluent English! When the teacher speaks to students who only speak French, she repeats it in English too. I heard a couple of children repeat English phrases to themselves while walking around the play area. I walked around the classroom smiling at their colorful artwork that is displayed on every wall. I made quite a few friends being in awe of their work and being able to compliment them using short phrases in French.
I spent the afternoon in Mademoiselle Karine's classroom in which the children are only spoken to in French. There are at least three children who spoke 4 languages fluently-English, French, German, and Italian. Two boys interchanged French and Italian the whole time while they played. The students were very curious about me and wanted to know what I was writing. I was lucky to be able to tell them "J'ecris quelque chose pour Madame Corduries". This was enough for them to decide that I do indeed speak French. I was invited to play and exchanged conversation with them as best as I could. They were patient with me and when I asked them how to say something in French, they were able to tell me. I was also lucky because children speak slowly and enunciate each word much better than French adults who are so difficult to understand!! I also learned that the word for "chocolate" is the same in Italian and Polish, and very similar in German and French!
The activities were center based. Manipulation, exploration, and discovering through games was evident in all the centers. One group of children had a challenging task of cutting out a dismembered leprechaun that had to be carefully cut out, colored, and then glued onto livre vert (green paper). Another group rolled dice and counted out pennies. I spoke to one of the teacher aids for both groups about her experience working at this school. I was surprised when she told me that she had been working there for twelve years but was not able to name the different parts of the human body, only the face.
The French School of Detroit uses the French curriculum called "Maternelle". In France, children spend 2-3 years in Maternelle. The teaching style is more structured to prepare the students for the more systemic education in the elementary years. The curriculum and teachers set the foundation for moving forward into the elementary school. Teaching is not organized by subject but in different areas of activity. This allows for more flexibility in the content and helps to work on the development of competences. It is interesting to read, especially if you're a preschool or Kindergarten teacher!!
I was surprised to see that such young children have to learn how to write their name in cursive. The children learn how to draw curved and straight lines before the learn how to write or draw, letters. I did not see any of the children writing their name in cursive. Although many children come to Kindergarten knowing the name and sound of letters, it is not a requirement for this to be taught in American preschools. It seems like the preschool years invest in making the child confident, independent, and aware of their world. I think that the science "benchmark" Understanding the natural development of animal and vegetable life, and linking these to: growth, nutrition, movement, and reproduction is an interesting foundation to nurture and teach. I wonder how this curriculum could be merged harmoniously with our Michigan teaching standards, for example.
The four key elements of the curriculum are:
Ø Maternelle allows time to each child to become comfortable in her/his environment, to observe, to work, to try, to experiment. It stimulates her/his desire to learn and to understand.
Ø Activities are based on the need to act, the pleasure of play, curiosity and the fact that they enjoy to copy what the adult and the others are doing, the satisfaction to overcome difficulties, and have success.
Ø Time is organized to respect the child's biological rhythm.
Ø A school for all and success for each individual.
These goals or standards are followed to teach the children by the end of their preschool year.
Acquiring Language Skills
1. Understanding a message and answering it in an appropriate manner;
2. Naming an object correctly, a person and an every day action;
3. Telling an event that has really happened or a fictional story and making oneself understood;
4. Asking a question properly;
5. Giving her/his point of view;
6. Articulating and pronouncing sounds correctly.
Discovering Writing
1. Differentiating sounds;
2. Deciphering syllables in a word (how many), recognizing the same syllable in different words;
3. Recognizing the written form of a word that is read;
4. Recognizing most of the letters of the alphabet;
5. Knowing the sound of letters;
6. Identifying different formats;
7. Copying in cursive writing, with a model, small words and short sentences;
8. Writing her/his first name in cursive.
Becoming a Student
1. Respecting others and respecting the rules for community living;
2. Listening, helping, cooperating, asking for help;
3. Showing self-confidence, being able to control her/his emotions;
4. Identifying adults at school and their jobs;
5. Doing simple tasks independently and taking initiative in class life;
6. Expressing what s/he learns.
Physical Skills and Well-Being
1. Being able to move in different ways adapting to her/his environment;
2. Cooperating or competing in group activities;
3. Expressing herself/himself musically with or without an instrument;
4. Expressing her/his feelings through movement;
5. Understanding space and moving in space;
6. Describing and drawing a simple path.
Discovery of the World
1. Recognizing, naming, describing, comparing, ordering, and classifying materials and objects according to quantities and uses;
2. Understanding the natural development of animal and vegetable life, and linking these to: growth, nutrition, movement, and reproduction,
3. Naming the main parts of the human body and their uses, distinguishing the 5 senses and their use;
4. Knowing and applying basic rules of hygiene relating to the body, to the environment, and to food;
5. Identifying danger and taking in into account;
6. Identifying the day, the week, and the year;
7. Sequencing events, accurately in time.
Perceive, Feel, Imagine, and Create
1. First, artistic approach:
2. To increase the sensory potential of a child;
3. To develop imagination and increase the potential and the ability to express oneself.
Visual Arts
1. To experiment with different tools, equipment and styles;
2. To build objects;
3. To express oneself using appropriate vocabulary.
Voice and Listening
1. To use oral and auditory skills to communicate;
2. To learn songs and rhythms.
