"toypup" wrote in message news:sVsgb.702557$uu5.116149@sccrnsc04...
DS knows Spanish and English. We speak English at home, and the dcp only
speaks Spanish. So, when it comes time for kindy in a few years, DS will
have the opportunity to be in a dual immersion program where 50% of the
classes are in English and 50% are taught entirely in Spanish. I like this
idea, but DH thinks DS will grow up to be only so-so in both languages. I
can see how the written language may suffer some, and it's only a
theoretical risk; but other than that, I don't see a problem. Has anyone
else had their child in a dual immersion program? What did you think? If
we don't do that, DS would still know Spanish, as it's spoken frequently in
this area, and I intend to hold onto the dcp for after school care. Would
it be better to keep him in an English only program until he's older, so
that his English reading and writing skills have more time to be ingrained?
He could always learn to read and write in Spanish in high school, though
maybe he won't do it as well if he learns it so late. This is a few years
down the line, but I'm always one to think ahead.

I'm not familiar with the dual immersion program for school in the US,
but I am around many bilingual families (in some cases trilingual when
the dcp speaks a 3rd language) and grew up with many bilingual
friends. Also, many of these kids are currently in the local
equivalent of a 'dual imersion' program, just not in the US. My
partner and I each have a different native language and intend to
raise our kids bilingual. (Schooling will depend upon what country we
are living in at the time)

Speaking from this experience and observations, your child *will*
likely be a little behind in each language *at first*. Very quickly he
will catch up. To me, that is far better than trying to learn the
second language later. I would do everything possible to continue his
Spanish education throughout. The *best* time to fully learn a
language is when they are young. Yes, it WILL be somewhat confusing
and perhaps take a little extra time to sort out the two, but in time,
if he continues, he'll be fluent in both.

In many countries, a second language (often English) is introduced in
the earliest grades. However, these aren't usually immersion 50/50
programs. If you are at all concerned, I'd consider a school that
taught in English but had Spanish classes from day 1 (as opposed to
waiting until high school).

Your child is fortunate, IMO. Growing up bilingual (with any language)
is a huge advantage.