Au Pairs Are Another Option as More Parents Look to Bilingual Schools
December 21, 2011
Bilingual education has long been a popular way for non-English speakers to better learn the language and integrate with American culture. Since its rise into prominence, however, a growing number of American parents have seen value in just the opposite. More and more children in the U.S. are attending bilingual schools, not because they need to learn English, but because they want to learn about other languages and cultures.
St. Louis CBS affiliate KMOX reports that two public charter schools have cropped up in Missouri offering just this kind of experience. The St. Louis Language Immersion School and the Academie Lafayette in Kansas City were both founded in 2007 as more parents began to look for options other than those cities' unaccredited public schools. The schools are taught entirely in Spanish and French, respectively.
Interest in the schools is strong as well, with more than 1,200 students in both schools combined. The course of study varies somewhat, with the Academie Lafayette sticking closer to Missouri's base curriculum and the St. Louis Language Immersion School emphasizing a somewhat broader perspective, but in either case the emphasis resides largely on opening up students opportunities for understanding different cultures.
"French unlocks so many new doors," seventh-grader Joshua O’Dell told KMOX about his school. "It unlocks Spanish and Italian, and after the second language you can just learn more and more and more."
Special charter schools are not always an option for parents interested in bilingualism, however, since many states are far more restrictive in their charter programs. However, cultural exchange organizations offer other means of introducing children to different languages and different cultures from a young age.
Prime among these options is the growing field of international au pairs. These young men and women will move into a family's home, usually for around one year, though sometimes longer, and help a family take care of their young children. But aside from helping ease the strain on parents, these au pairs will often interact with children in their native tongues, giving them the kind of immersive experience that even schools can sometimes struggle to create.
Au pairs can even serve to supplement immersion programs like the two Missouri schools, helping expose children to another language around the clock.
