Blog#5: Mind and Brain: Early Language Immersion Programs

Southern Lehigh School District was the first district in Pennsylvania to offer a Spanish immersion program to its elementary students in grades 1-5 beginning in 1989. All core subject teachers in math, science, social studies, and language arts instruct students in Spanish. I recall reading in The Morning Call about the immense popularity of the program amongst the parents in the community. The article included pictures of numerous parents camping out in the school’s parking lot prior to the enrollment day in order to guarantee a slot for their children.

As the mother of a seven-year-old, I wish my daughter had the opportunity to experience a Spanish immersion program. If it existed in her school, I would most likely be pitching a tent in the parking lot - just like the parents in Southern Lehigh. Why? Bransford, Brown, and Cocking explain that young children learn new languages faster than older students because their synapses develop at a faster rate. Although most of the brain's cells are formed prior to birth, the majority of connections among cells are made in infancy and early childhood. This is the optimal time for developing and establishing language skills.

Bransford, Brown, and Cocking assert that synapses increase through learning and are shaped by experience. Exposure to new situations allows for the formation of more complex synapse structures, another benefit the children enrolled in the Spanish immersion program receive. Since more complex environments have a greater impact on development of the brain, the brains of the children enrolled in the Spanish immersion program produce an increased number of intricate synapses compared to those in less complex environments, such as traditional English-speaking classrooms.

I wonder why other local districts have not offered similar immersion programs. Has long-term research been conducted on the effects of enrollment in the Spanish immersion program? Since the immersion ceases in sixth grade, do students lose the synapses developed in the earlier grades? Or, is it a simple matter of cost-effectiveness within the district?

I am interested in learning not only how to consistently increase synapses (through learning and experience), but in determining how to prevent deterioration of the brain, such as dementia. I often hear that the elderly people complete crossword or Sudoku puzzles daily to keep their brains active. Does this truly work? The infamous “Nun Study” conducted by Dr. David Snowdon, an epidemiologist at the University of Kentucky, and his colleagues found, among other things, that that early language ability as demonstrated by more detailed early autobiographies written by the nuns, may lead to lower risk of Alzheimer's later in life.

The mind and the brain are truly fascinating topics. The importance of lifelong learning and experience new events amplified upon reading this chapter. Even though my daughter did not have the opportunity to enroll in a language immersion program, I will work with her to stay active – both physically and mentally – to ensure that her brain develops to the fullest extent possible during these critical early years.

References
Brandsford, J.D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R.R., Eds. (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Snowdon, D., Kemper, S., Mortimer, J., Greiner, L,. Wekstein, D., & Markesbery, W. (1996). Linguistic ability in early life and cognitive function and Alzheimer's disease in late life: Findings from the nun study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 275(7), 528-532.