An immersion language fair in Utah

Students practice language skills at fair
Dual language immersion brings students to UVU 0 Dual language immersion brings students to UVU 0 Dual language immersion brings students to UVU 0 Dual language immersion brings students to UVU 0 Dual language immersion brings students to UVU 0
Dual language immersion brings students to UVU 0
Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
March 24, 2015. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald

OREM — College students aren’t really getting a lot younger. It just looked that way this week as nearly 2,000 fourth, fifth- and sixth-graders from across the state came to Utah Valley University’s campus. They were attending a world language farm for dual immersion language students.

Most days, those students attend classes in their schools, taught half a day in English and half a day in the language they choose to learn.

On two days this week, they participated in the fair, the first for those grade levels. Brigham Young University has hosted events for junior high and high school students.

“Dual language immersion has been going on about eight or 10 years now,” said Baldomero Lago, senior director of UVU’s International & Multicultural Studies department. “Some of the students wanted to participate at BYU, but that would make it way too large.”

Because of the age range, two approaches would be needed to provide the activities for all the students.

“I proposed that we do two programs to the state and the state assigned us to be the host institution for the dual language fair,” he said.

The State Board of Education invited UVU to host the fair more than a year ago, he said. Teams for several university departments have been planning and organizing the event since then.

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