One of the most important things we experience as parents in immersion is the feeling that we can't help our child through their experience because we speak little or no Spanish. It is difficult to trust a process that we can't connect to because of the barrier in language. There are several, very important ways in which you can help your child succeed in immersion.

#1 Read TO your child in English but PLEASE do not have your child read to you in English. Students need to become very secure in their ability to form letter sounds in Spanish, read syllables in Spanish, and increasing their vocabulary. Immersion research has shown that if they read in English too soon it will negatively impact their progress in reading . So yes, PLEASE read to them in English, but don't follow along with your finger or encourage them to read with you in English.

#2 Encourage your child to talk about what they are reading but please don't ask them to do a direct translation of what they are reading. These are not the skills we are teaching. It is best to focus on comprehension questions, plot points, problems/conflicts, what you like best about the book, etc.

#3 Listen to music in Spanish.

#4 Watch a movie with the Spanish track playing, especially a favorite of theirs. They will know the plot and will be engaged even if they don't understand everything that is said.