Ravensworth is a Spanish Language Partial- Immersion School
What is Partial-Immersion?
Partial
immersion is a means of acquiring a foreign language through content
matter instruction. Students spend half the day studying the regular
grade-level curriculum in classes conducted in the foreign language.
The other half of the day is conducted in English. The school district
determines the subjects to be taught in the foreign language.The
FCPS program model is based on the highly successful immersion programs
that were implemented in many school districts throughout Canada and
the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. The uniqueness of an
immersion program is that the foreign language is not taught as a
subject. Instead, the foreign language becomes the language of
instruction for part of the curriculum. Children then acquire the
foreign language through interesting and meaningful activities in the
language as they learn the concepts of the various subjects included in
the elementary curriculum. Research studies show that learning a second
language at an early age has a positive effect on intellectual growth
and leaves students with more flexibility in thinking, greater
sensitivity to language, and improved listening skills. Program Model In
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), students learn mathematics,
science, and health through the medium of a foreign language (French,
German, Japanese or Spanish). Half the school day is spent learning in
the foreign language. Students receive instruction in English for
language arts and social studies during the other half of the day.
Math, science, and health were chosen for the beginning years of
development of the foreign language because they use manipulatives and
concrete, hand-on activities, both of which help with the natural
second language acquisition process. The foreign language immersion
teacher teams with the grade-level English teachers to integrate the
total FCPS curriculum.
What Are the Goals of Partial-Immersion? The
overall goals of the program are to develop students' communicative and
academic proficiency in the target language and in English and for
students to succeed academically in all subject areas at levels
comparable to those they would have reached if they had been schooled
only in English. Another benefit of the program is that students
develop multicultural awareness and a more global perspective. The
program is aimed at enriching all the students in the school via
special exhibits, outside speakers, and other cultural activities.
For more information on Fairfax County Public Schools
Foreign Language Programs