By Alicia Coffman
When Silvia Barrionuevo moved to Utah from Argentina, transitioning was a challenge. The most difficult part was watching her 9-year-old daughter, terrified to go to school because she couldn''t speak English.
'She felt so lost and confused at school,' Barrionuevo said. 'It was torture for her to be there.'
Seeing her daughter suffer, Barrionuevo knew there must be a less excruciating way to help students learn English and transition into a new culture. Barrionuevo found the solution through a program called dual immersion, which she now teaches under at Timpanogos Elementary in Provo.
Dual immersion is an elementary education program in which teachers teach students in English half the time and the other half in Spanish. Seven of these elementary schools operate in Utah County.
There are 333 of these programs in the nation, said Julie Sugarman, a spokeswoman for the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington D.C.
In Provo School District, the only dual-immersion program is at Timpanogos Elementary. Here, teachers use a 50-50 model, meaning they strive to make up each class with half English-speaking students and half Spanish-speaking students.
Rather than switching between the languages each or every other day like some dual-immersion programs, Timpanogos switches the language taught every other week.
Barrionuevo, who teaches the program, said it is effective because teachers explain concepts differently in each language; therefore, the children have more opportunities to learn in new and different ways.
By the end of sixth-grade, she said, the dual-immersion students are bilingual.
The key to the program, said Timpanogos Elementary principal Diane Bridge, is that the teachers keep everything visual. They use more pictures and movies than traditional teaching methods, and often act out concepts. This way, students who aren''t fluent in Spanish or English can still understand general concepts and make connections between words and their meanings.
'In dual immersion, the students are able to possess a second language. Not to replace their own, but to enrich their lives, their minds and opportunities,' Bridge said.
Timpanogos has both dual-immersion classes and traditional classes, Bridge said.
Research shows that dual-immersion students, grades three and below, test under par because their vocabularies are split between English and Spanish, Bridge said. But, research also shows that dual-immersion students catch up with their peers by third or fourth grade, and eventually will pass their peers in testing.
'Learning at a young age allows the students to learn at a time when their brains are the most receptive to language learning,' she said. 'Also, learning in two languages has proved to produce more highly developed brains in general.'
Bridge said research also shows that continuing to expand a child''s native language doesn''t hinder the learning of English, but actually facilitates the process.
'A child who knows more than one language has personal, educational and social advantages that will continue throughout a lifetime,' she said.
For the English-speaking children, Bridge said, it will allow them to open many doors in the future.
'Our country is changing, and knowing a second language will open so many doors for these children,' Bridge said. 'It is becoming critical to speak two languages and to be able to value and recognize all cultures. Dual immersion brings their opportunities to do this to a new level.'
The dual-immersion program, she said, also allows children to learn and understand each other''s culture, removing cultural barriers. Often in dual-immersion classes, if the students don''t understand something the teacher said, they turn to their peers for further explanation.
'This program allows kids to not be scared or inhibited with learning,' said Greg Hudnall, Provo School District director of human resources. 'Instead of throwing non-English speaking students in one class a day to learn English, they get to teach others to learn Spanish as they learn English.'
Currently, the district is building a new school devoted completely to dual-immersion because the members believe in the program''s effectiveness and importance, he said.
'My students amaze me every day with their talents in both languages at such a young age,' Barrionuevo said. 'It is remarkable. Being part of this program is one of the best things I''ve ever done.'
Bridge said the most difficult thing about having the program at Timpanogos is getting parents and community members to believe in the program and that learning two languages is necessary.
'Any educational philosophy will have those who believe in it and those who don''t,' she said. 'I am a believer in the program. I''ve seen it work miracles.'