by MaryAnne Block
They say the best, fastest way to learn a new language is to immerse oneself in it, to surround oneself with it. And that is now an option for students in the St. Cloud School District, which is offering Chinese or Spanish immersion classes and now a new, first-ever-in-the-nation “pilot” program in Somali.
Educational experts indicate bilingual education can enhance overall language comprehension. Like the old admonition of “sink or swim,” language immersion has been proven to be an effective learning method, one that is becoming more available for area school children.
The St. Cloud School District offers dual-language immersion for K-12 students in Chinese and Spanish. Those local programs began in 2006, starting at first in kindergarten and advancing through 12th grade.
Casey Maxwell and his wife YokeFang of St. Joseph have enrolled their daughter, Noelle SuQun, in the Chinese program. Casey grew up near Osakis, and YokeFang grew up in Malaysia, south of Vietnam and Thailand. Many different languages are spoken in Malaysia, but just about everyone knows Chinese. The Maxwells, who met in St. Cloud, speak mostly Chinese in their home.
Their 6-year-old daughter, Noelle SuQun Maxwell, told the Newsleader that the Chinese do not have an alphabet like English. They write in words rather than individual letters. YokeFang has plenty of opportunity to use her multi-lingual skills helping students at St. Cloud State University where she works in records and registration.
“There is quite a group of Chinese living in the area attending St. Cloud State University, St. John’s University, College of St. Benedict’s, and the St. Cloud Technical and Community College,” said YokeFank. “Chinese is learned in all the east Asian countries, besides the official language of the country. That makes it easier to communicate and translate when needed.”
Another St. Joseph couple, Chris Ostendorf and Crystal Siltman, have enrolled their daughter, Kyra Siltman, in the kindergarten Spanish program at Westwood Elementary School in St. Cloud. Their daughter quickly learned bits of other languages from the eight foreign exchange students they have hosted throughout the years.
“Kyra’s pre-school teacher at Kennedy suggested we look into the immersion program since she has such a quick grasp of understanding some languages,” her mother Crystal said. “She especially likes Latin music and enjoys attending her all-day Spanish classes.”
Parents in the District 742 area enroll their children in the Chinese or Spanish Immersion for kindergarten or first grade. There is no additional charge for attending immersion programs. The school district also provides transportation to the appropriate school at no additional cost to the family.
Laura Steabner, director of the immersion program, says the Spanish immersion classes for K-5 are at Clearview Elementary School (between Clear Lake and Clearwater) and at Westwood Elementary School in St. Cloud. The Spanish and Chinese classes are both taught 80 to 90 percent of the time. Schools follow Minnesota’s standard curriculum.
In middle school and high school, children in the Spanish program attend public school, such as Apollo High School in St. Cloud. There, education is in English and Spanish, depending on the course and also depending on which teachers are available for that particular class. Students in the Chinese program take the course at Madison Elementary School where they attend their entire K-12th years.
“The immersion schools all follow the Minnesota school curriculum,” Steabner said, “but (they) have the additional benefit of exposure to various cultural activities such as music, art, holidays, travel and dress. ‘Capstone events’ take place in eighth-grade or ninth-grade, where students experience Chinese or Spanish in actual community travel.
The St. Cloud School District website states “The last time (Capstone events occur every other year) Spanish students visited Ecuador. In June 2024 about two dozen eight- and ninth-grade Chinese immersion students will travel to China for 15 days.”
In 2023, the immersion program expanded to include Somali immersion. For Somali classes, kindergarten is 50 percent Somali and 50 percent English. Somali immersion is only offered in kindergarten this first year at both Talahi Community and Discovery Community elementary schools. Next year, Somali immersion will be added to first grade and continued through grade 12 as the children progress.
The District 742 Welcome Center for Language Immersion website lists the following as benefits of learning a second language:
- Enhances a child’s brain development and intellectual growth.
- Develops flexibility in thinking, sensitivity to languages and a better ear for listening.
- Improves a child’s understanding of that child’s native language.
- Gives a child the ability to communicate with people they would otherwise not have the chance to know.
- Opens the door to other cultures and helps a child understand and appreciate people from other countries.
- Increases career opportunities.
Interested parents can learn more on the “Welcome Center” page of the St. Cloud Area District 742 Schools online at www.isd742.org/immersion. For more information, call Jourdan Coliman at 320-370-8067. The district does offer interpreters to help translate if necessary.
Yoke Fang Maxwell and daughter Noelle SuQun Maxwell of St. Joseph enjoyed talking recently about the Chinese Immersion program. Noelle is in her second year, attending Madison Elementary School where immersion classes are taught.
