Sixth International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education: Connecting Research and Practice Across Contexts

Paper/Best Practice Session (1 hour)

Not language specific, although Cherokee will be used as the demo language

One-Way Second/Foreign Language Immersion
Indigenous Language Immersion

Elementary (K-5)
Middle School/Junior High
High School
Post-Secondary

This session showcases, with demonstrations in Cherokee, an immersion planning approach we call “Language Looping.” Through “looping” planning, meaningful practice is structured sequentially so that learners are able to activate their short-term memory for immediate classroom practice and then, eventually, move newly learned material into their long-term memory.

This Best Practice presentation showcases and demonstrates an immersion planning model that has proven successful with learners of Cherokee.  It is based on two primary premises; first, that second language learning, especially in the early stages, relies greatly on memory and repetition for intake of vocabulary, structures, and phrases; and second, that success at this stage depends on the teacher’s ability to provide ample, meaningful practice so that learners are able to activate their short-term memory for immediate classroom practice and then, eventually, move newly learned material into their long-term memory. Enter “language looping”.

Language looping is a planning approach in which teachers plan manageable chunks, or “sequences,” of new material to present to students over a short period of time.  During a sequence, teachers build knowledge by first providing comprehensible input.  During this phase, they build up to communicative practice between students and their instructors.  Once a sequence is mastered, the teacher moves to the next sequence.  Then, after two or maybe three sequences, the teacher “loops” back to the earlier sequences to incorporate all the material learned into one “recombination”.  This recombination is not simply a repeat of the previous lessons; rather, it is an opportunity for students to expand and enrich their language use in fun and engaging ways, thereby helping them to store that material into long-term memory.

Looping requires careful planning on the part of the teacher to create sequences that naturally fit together in recombination.  This detailed planning will pay off in students feeling less overwhelmed by the immersion experience and more confident in their use of newly acquired language.  And, students will come out of their immersion experience with more than just lists of memorized words, but actual understanding of how to put those words together for authentic communication.