Glossary of Terms

In immersion learning, there are a variety of words and phrases that may be new to parents. Not knowing the technical terms can be confusing and frustrating as you begin your immersion journey with your student. Below are some of the most common terms used when discussing immersion education. This is not an exhaustive list, so if you find yourself not understanding something in a conversation about immersion, be sure to ask! It is a great way to model life-long learning for your child.

• Immersion: an education setting in which students acquire a language naturally by being surrounded by it. In immersion learning, the language students learn is the vehicle that brings them their content such as math, social studies, and science.

• Target language: This is the world language which the student is learning. In an immersion classroom, the target language will be used at least 50% of the day.

• One-Way Immersion: an immersion program model in which the population of students speak one native language and all learn a second language.

• Two-Way Immersion: an immersion program model in which half of the population of students speaks one native language and the other half of the population speaks a different native language. Students experience both languages for 50% of their day.

• Monolingual: speaking and understanding only one language.

• Bilingual: speaking and understanding two languages.