Beginning in Pre-Kindergarten, certain subject areas are offered to all students in Spanish, providing a firm foundation for oral fluency and written understanding of South Florida’s “second” language.  The program is offered to students in Pre-Kinder through Fifth Grade (fully completed during the 2008-2009 school year). 

BILINGUAL ( SPANISH/ENGLISH) LANGUAGE PROGRAM

The Bilingual Program (Immersion Program) is an organized curriculum designed to help students develop functional fluency and literacy in English language as well as in Spanish.  Half of the school day is taught in English and the other half in Spanish, allowing students to learn their lessons through priceless multicultural lenses.

Goals of our Bilingual Program: 

• Our two-way Bilingual program gives equal emphasis to instruction given in English and in Spanish.
• Develop communicative fluency and literacy in an internationally significant language (Spanish). 
• Develop and enrich English language skills to meet high expectations.
• Promote academic achievement commensurate with the child’s ability and grade level.
• Encourage understanding and appreciation of another linguistic and cultural identification.
• Utilize the proven benefits that the learning of a second language has shown to provide on student achievement.

 

If you would like to learn more about our language program, please review the following information:

                                                                                          FAQ

 What is immersion education?                                           Other Frequently asked questions      

 •         Immersion education is an organized curriculum designed to help students develop functional fluency and literacy in a second language.  Children learn some of their regular school subjects through a second language.

•         Careful evaluation of immersion education has shown that better than normal cognitive development can take place in classes where a second language is used as the major medium of instruction and learning during the early school years.

History of immersion programs

For over thirty years, research in Canada and the United States has documented the impressive development of second language fluency and academic achievement of children in immersion programs.  At the same time, immersion students have maintained and enriched their native language and literacy skills.  Heritage School is ready to provide children with such an exciting, enriching, multilingual/multicultural educational opportunity

Why would parents select an immersion education for their children?

 •         Our world is rapidly shrinking.  It is increasingly dependent upon communication and understanding among people of diverse beliefs and backgrounds.  Parents select an immersion program to challenge and stimulate their children’s cognitive, social, and linguistic development.  Immersion education can provide children   with a unique linguistic and cultural advantage in today’s world.

What kind of child will succeed in an immersion program?

•         Children who have a positive self-image, normal language development, and enthusiastic encouragement from home will be able to succeed in an immersion program.  Research has shown that the model of immersion education also benefits native speakers of the target language.

What type of immersion program will be offered at the Heritage School?

 •         A partial immersion Spanish language program is offered at Heritage School from Pre-K 3 to Fifth Grade   in the 2008-2009 school year . Students from levels VI  to VIII will benefit from Spanish classes.

•         Half of the school day will be taught in English and the other half in Spanish

•          Some subjects will be  taught in Spanish  and others in English.

Related links:

U. S Department of Education

Center for Applied Linguistic

Forest Glen International Elementary ( Indiana-USA)  (English/Spanish Program)

Bilingual School of Monza ( Europe- Italy )  -(English/Italian Program)

Toronto French School ( Ontario-Canada)-(English/French Program)

CREDE -Center for Research on Education Diversity & Excellence -  University of California

Health Sense; The Evidence Speaks Well of Bilingualism's Effect on Kids