Language Immersion

• Additive bilingualism with sustained and enriched instruction through the second language and the first language is promoted 
  

• Subject area instruction through the second language occurs for at least 50% of the school day during the elementary school years 
  

• Teachers are fully proficient in the language(s) they use for instruction 
  

• Support for the first language is strong and present in the community at large 
  

• Clear and sustained separation of languages during instructional time
  

• English-dominant children become bilingual in their own language in addition to a second one. 
  

• Second language-dominant children become bilingual in their own language in addition to English. 
  

• Student population consists of first language speakers and second language speakers with dominance in their first language and home language support for this language (e.g., Spanish dominant students whose parents use primarily Spanish in the home and English dominant students from English-speaking homes) 
  

• A 1:1 ratio is ideally maintained for these two language groups, but a minimum of one-third of each language group (i.e., a 2:1 ratio) is essential 
  

• An academically challenging learning environment is provided to bring children from two different language groups together to learn from and with each other in an integrated setting  
  

• Instruction through the second language is viewed as an enrichment experience for all, not as remedial or compensatory education for the language minority students in the program 
  

• ​​The languages of instruction will involve both the first and a second language. The second language may be a more commonly taught language (e.g., Spanish-English), a less commonly taught language (e.g., Korean-English), or an indigenous/heritage language (e.g., Navajo-English)

Current Existing Language Immersion Programs in Kentucky 

• Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) 
  

• FCPS website on World Langua​ges