Immersion

July 25, 2024

I have tried to learn (and struggled) a number of different languages during my academic career.  It started with German as an undergrad in an attempt to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree.  I took German 101 three times over the next three years and got no higher than a C.  I ended up taking Statistics and settled for a Bachelor of Science.  As a graduate student I took Spanish (several times) to fulfill the language requirement for my Master of Arts.  After getting a D on the mid-term during my second try I threw myself at the mercy of the TA (a fellow grad student) and asked what I had to do to pass.  He saw my pain and suggested if I came to class every day, turned in my homework, and tried to interact as best I could, I “might be able to pass”.  While I will never know how well I actually did, I received the required B to pass my language requirement.  My Doctorate required a second language “proficiency”, and this time I struggle through French.  The only time I did passably well was when I studied Arabic during a semester in the Middle East.  That was when I realized as many do, immersion creates a necessity to survive.   

When I looked online, I found language immersion is a technique used in language education where two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, such as math, science, or social studies.  The languages used are referred to as the L1 and the L2 for each student, with L1 being the student’s native language and L2 being the second language to be acquired through the immersion program.  The type of immersion will depend on the age of the students, the class time spent in L2, the subjects that are taught, and the level of participation by the speakers of L1.  While these programs differ by country and context, most language immersion programs have the goal of promoting bilingualism between the two different sets of language-speakers.  Biculturalism is often another goal for speakers of the majority language (spoken by the surrounding population) and the minority language (not the main language).  Research has shown that bilingual education gives students greater comprehension and teaches the secondary language in a native-like manner.

I still periodically dabble in learning another language, especially when I am considering a trip to another part of the world.  When we went to Europe several years ago, I attempted to learn French (again).  I gave up after a month when I realized my hearing kept me from comprehending what the on-line tutorial was saying.  Now that we are considering a trip to Greece, I was again bitten by the language bug.  Knowing that immersion is the best way for me to learn, I decided to see if I could use my iPhone to help.  I went to Settings and found one of the features would allow me to change the language of the phone.  Without (careful) thought, I changed the phone settings to Greek.  Everything on the phone shifted to Greek as the primary language.  It was not even transliterated but used the Greek alphabet.  I did not know what the settings on the phone were or how to change them back, especially as my phone had Latin alphabet symbols while the instructions were now in the Euclide alphabet.  I was finally able to switch back by comparing Melissa’s settings placement to mine.

THOUGHTS:  Another language course I took was English as a Second language (ESL).  This was offered to teach English speakers how to work with non-English speakers to help them with their language proficiency.  I did complete this course, but it was probably good that I was transferred from California to Kansas.  Who knows what damage I might have done to the students (lol).  It is said once you learn a second language it is easier to learn another.  That is not the case when you fail to learn the first one.  Language is central to understanding the ethos and culture of others.  Without knowing the underlying vocabulary of another, you will never truly communicate with them.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.