The state of Louisiana has a rich cultural history that goes back to the first French explorers who settled the land and spread their language and traditions. A growing offering of French immersion schools is putting young Louisianans in touch with that heritage while teaching them a new language.
Students at one Louisiana elementary school learn science, social studies and math entirely in French. The students say they enjoy learning a new language and parents and teachers say the experience makes the students more aware of the world around them and of their heritage.
Even though Louisiana once banned speaking French in school and saw it as a threat to Americanization, today, the state embraces the new immersion programs in its schools. A new state law passed by the legislature this year requires expansion of French immersion programs into 22 south Louisiana parishes by the fall of 2015.
Quotes
"If you ever have the opportunity to speak French or the chance to, you need to take it." - Rachel Judson, student
"The children that are in immersion programs in immersion settings typically are doing about 10 percent better on standardized tests that children that are in monolingual settings." - Joseph Dunn, director, Codofil
Warm Up Questions
1. Do you speak a language other than English? If so, which one? How did you learn it?
2. What languages did your ancestors speak?
3. What was the Louisiana Purchase? How did it change American history?
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think it's important for young people to learn another language? Why or why not?
2. What is the history of the state you live in? What other language may have been spoken there in the past?
3. Do you think you would like attending a language immersion school? Why or why not? What other language would you like to learn, and why?
Additional Resources
