French / English Dual Immersion School

Offering Children the Gift of a Second Language

Apply NOW! Applications are due for NEXT YEAR's 1st Grade Classes

by the 3rd Friday of February at 4:00 p.m.!

Don't miss out on being able to give your child the GIFT of a second language!

Click HERE for an Application

Why Immersion?

More than forty years of research consistently documents the power of immersion programs to help students attain high levels of second language proficiency. No other type of instruction, short of living in a second-language environment, is as successful.

Young children especially thrive in this type of instructional environment. Happily, language immersion is also the least expensive way to deliver second language instruction.

French Flag (Blue, White, & Red)

Program Objectives

Maximize students’ second language proficiency
Provide a rich academic environment in both first and second language
Develop students’ ability to work successfully in multiple cultural settings
Offer a rich, culturally diverse experience for the entire school community

An optimal window for language acquisition is in the elementary children should be provided with the opportunity and option to advance their academic language proficiency.

We have only one opportunity to educate a child.

Proven Benefits

Second Language Skills

Students achieve high proficiency in immersion language.

Improved Performance on Standardized Tests

Immersion students perform as well as or better than non-immersion students on standardized tests of English and math administered in English

Enhanced Cognitive Skills

Immersion students typically develop greater cognitive flexibility, demonstrating increased attention control, better memory, and superior problem solving skills as well as an enhanced understanding of their primary language.

Increased Cultural Sensitivity

Immersion students are more aware of and show more positive attitudes towards other cultures and an appreciation of other people.

Long Term Benefits

Immersion students are better prepared for global community and job markets were a second language is an asset.

What to Expect in a Dual Immersion Program

Dual language immersion offers a rich bilingual experience for young learners when their minds are developmentally best able to acquire a second language.

Instruction is divided between two high quality, creative classrooms: one English and one French.

Students enjoy the advantage of two caring, qualified teachers. The English-speaking teacher used half of the instruction time to teach English Language Arts (reading, writing, spelling), science, art, P.E. and health. The French-speaking teacher uses the other half of the day to teach math, social studies, and health topics from the grade-appropriate level of the Utah State Elementary Core Curriculum.

The French teacher speaks only in French and communicates using a range of engaging strategies including pictures, songs, games, body language, expressions, pantomime, drama, etc. Children at this age are adept at acquiring language in meaningful contexts. After a brief period at the beginning of the year, students too will speak only in French during French class.

You’ll be delighted at how quickly your child becomes a comfortable and competent French speaker.

Why French?

French opens the doors to many domestic and international career opportunities. Sophisticated professions such as those in medicine, international distribution, the oil and gas industries, power generation, luxury goods, aviation and other transportation technologies encompass extensive French-speaking networks. Knowledge of the French language is also an asset in the fields of literature, the fine arts, gastronomy, cinema, law, and business. Scores of major international businesses and organizations, as well as American companies, regularly recruit candidates who know French.

Students who learn French perform better on standardized tests since more than 50% of modern-day English words trace their origins to French. This means that French has a relatively quick learning curve which boosts a student’s confidence. French also enhances a student’s critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem solving skills, which helps them excel in other subjects, like English, math, and science.

Who Can Participate?

The immersion program seeks to enroll students of varying backgrounds and all abilities. Applications are open to all students entering first grade (students from OTHER districts or schools are welcome and even encouraged to participate); however, the program may not be suitable for children experiencing significant communication delays in their primary language.

Parent Responsibilities

Commit to long-term participation in the immersion program (a 6-year commitment)
Develop understanding of immersion education
Read with your child (in English) 20-30 min. daily
Encourage the use of French outside of school
Provide community support and, when possible, volunteer
Enjoy the challenges; celebrate the results

How to Enroll My Child

Attend a parent information meeting on February 3, 2010 7:00 p.m. at Edgemont Elementary.
Download the application HERE or contact Edgemont Elementary (801-221-9984) for a hard copy.
Submit the application to Edgemont Elementary by 4:00 p.m. February 19, 2010.
Submit and Open Enrollment Form for out-of-boundary students only to the Student Services Office at Provo
School District (280 West 940 North) by February 19, 2010. In addition, please submit an Open Enrollment
Form for each sibling you would like to have attend a traditional class at this school.
Obtain a dated copy of the application in person at the school, or if mailing include a self-addressed stamped
envelope to receive a dated copy of the application. Your dated copy is your confirmation of receipt of your
application. If you fax the application to the school, it must also be received by 4:00 p.m. February 19, 2010.
You should keep a copy of the pages you fax for your records; it is your responsibility to confirm with the
school that the application was received.

“We must prepare our children for more than how the world is today, but for how the world will be tomorrow.”

–Parent of a Dual Immersion Student

“Americans fluent in other languages improve global communication, enhance our economic competitiveness abroad, and maintain our political and security interests.”

–Center for Applied Linguistics

“The power to learn a language is so great in the young child that it doesn’t seem to matter how many languages you seem to throw their way . . . They can learn as many spoken languages as you can allow them to hear systematically and regularly.”

–Dr. Susan Curtiss, Linguistics Professor, UCLA

Travel Far and Wide

There are 55 countries spread across five continents where French is used regularly for business, government and daily life. Thirty-two of those countries recognize French as an official language including Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Monaco and many African nations. As the second most frequently taught foreign language in the world (English is the first), French is a passport to communicate globally.