Immersion Program

The Immersion Continuation Program at Talley Middle School provides continuing Spanish immersion learners with an exciting opportunity to learn and engage in two languages and cultures - English and Spanish - during the school day.  Students who have reached the middle school level of immersion and continue on, have had intensive exposure to Spanish and by the end of middle school will have native-like levels in second-language listening comprehension and reading by the end of elementary school.  High school immersion graduates should be able to work in or pursue post-secondary studies in their second language.  The ability to understand and speak more than one language is not the only benefit of immersion education. Research shows that as a result of immersion, students gain additional cognitive, academic and employment benefits. 

 

At Talley Middle School, students will have Spanish Language Arts and Social Studies taught solely in the Spanish language. Immersion classes follow the Delaware recommended Curriculum in Social Studies and address the Common Core Standards in their Spanish language class, addressing literacy as well as Spanish Language vocabulary, grammar and sentence skills.  In the Spanish-speaking classrooms, the teacher speaks entirely in Spanish and uses a range of strategies including graphic organizers, sentence level strategies, collaborative structures, and more to focus on the content and support the language skills of developing learners.

 

As students progress from grade to grade, they will have a pathway toward advanced-level proficiency in Spanish.  By ninth grade, immersion students will be prepared to take the AP Spanish exam at the conclusion of the Spanish AP course.  Students can then participate in dual-enrollment or dual-credit classes with local universities, possibly earning college credits while still in high school. As a result of the language proficiency achieved through the immersion program, students will have access to a wider range of national and international jobs. Thousands of businesses operate in more than one language – airlines, import-export companies and other international businesses require employees with second-language skills and cultural sensitivity.