Dual-Language Immersion
At Global Language Academies of Downey (G.L.A.D.), students begin their bilingual journey in Transitional Kindergarten (TK), where language learning is woven naturally into each day through engaging, meaningful experiences.
In TK through 1st grade, students learn primarily in Spanish through a 90/10 model, building a strong foundation in both language and literacy. As they progress, English instruction gradually increases, leading to a balanced 50/50 model by 5th grade.
The result? Students who don’t just learn two languages: they think, communicate, and succeed in them. By the end of the program, they are well on their way to becoming bilingual, biliterate, and ready to thrive in an increasingly connected world.
Schools Offering the G.L.A.D. Program
Differences Between Our Dual Immersion Programs
There are two different Spanish Dual Immersion programs that Downey Unified families can choose from. While the main goal for both is the same (for students to become biliterate), the Dual Language Immersion and the IB Primary Years Programme do differ.
Dual Language IB PYP Program
Location:
Carpenter Elementary
Program Model:
90/10 Dual Language Model
Curriculum:
Transdisciplinary Learning. Rather than focusing on one subject at a time, students learn by making connections between two or more disciplines. Asking questions and exploring curiosity is encouraged.
Educational Goals:
Develop student agency, international mindedness, and biliteracy.
Instructional Approaches:
Inquiry-Based Transdisciplinary Teaching
CGI Math
Balanced Literacy
- Read Aloud
- Shared Reading
- Guided Reading
- Phonics
Dual Language Program
Locations:
Imperial Elementary
Unsworth Elementary
Ward Elementary
Williams Elementary
Program Model:
90/10 Dual Language Model
Curriculum:
Rigorous Instructional units focused on Common Core Standards
Educational Goals:
Develop sociocultural competence, high academic achievement, biliteracy.
Instructional Approaches:
CGI Math
Balanced Literacy
- Read Aloud
- Shared Reading
- Guided Reading
- Phonics
The Benefits of Learning Spanish
Career & Travel Opportunities
- Spanish is one of the most popular languages spoken worldwide
- You will be able to communicate with over 572 million people in the world
- Spanish is the world’s second most spoken language
Boosting Vocabulary
- Learning Spanish will familiarize you with English words that have Latin roots and help you decipher new vocabulary
- Similarities to other languages. Understanding Spanish makes it much easier to pick up on other Romance languages, like Portuguese, Italian, French and Romanian, since they all evolved from Latin and share grammar, syntax, and lots of similar vocabulary
The Five Stages of Second Language Acquisition
As your child embarks on this new journey, keep in mind that this is a marathon, not a sprint. While it may be very exciting to hear your child show off their new skills, it will be some time before they have full conversations. There is a process that occurs with any second language acquisition and it generally follows the following stages:
Silent/Receptive
During this first stage, our young language learners will spend their time learning vocabulary and practicing the pronunciation of new words. They won’t normally speak the language with any fluency or real understanding. In fact, some students may choose not to speak at all. Don’t worry! This is normal. Your child may not want to share their new skills until they feel more comfortable. Our teachers are trained to identify signals of comprehension to make sure your child is understanding.
Early Production
During this stage, many language learners will acquire an understanding of up to 1,000 words and they may start putting words together to form short phrases. Students will be learning by hearing and speaking. While their vocabulary will be expanding, their sentences may be short and not be grammatically correct. That’s OK. Grammar rules come later.
Speech Emergence
During this stage, students will have acquired up to 3,000 words and will be learning to communicate by putting the words in short sentences and even questions. You may notice there are still many errors, in speaking, but during this important stage, learners gain a greater understanding of the language and will begin reading and writing in the second language. Comprehension, speaking and translating are all separate skills gained at different times. As the students begin to read more, they will gain stronger language comprehension skills and a better understanding of grammar.
Intermediate Fluency
At this stage, a student’s vocabulary will become much more robust, with as many as 6,000 words. They will be able to speak in more complex sentences. They will most importantly, start to think in their second language which will help them gain more proficiency in both speaking and writing it.
Continued Language Development/Advanced Fluency
It is essential for second language learners to continue opportunities to continue to engage in the new language. Students will need to continue expressing themselves in the second language consistently to maintain fluency in it.
