aokoye wrote:LesRonces wrote:The other thing you said was not true though - you wouldn't need medical attention. FSI and DLI students, not to mention kids plunged straight into a foreign school, do just fine.
FSI/DIL students are very different from children going into schools which the language of instruction isn't their L1(s). Said children do not always do "just fine". In fact they often don't do just fine without a lot of extra support in regards to language learning. Some of them do, but they aren't the norm.
I would like to agree with aokoye here.
I know several former children, who went to foreign schools. Their experience tends to agree on various points. Yes, the results are great, they speak the language very well, in some cases like the natives, they even got to prestigious universities in their new countries. But no, they didn't do just fine. It was harsh. From a good student, they became a really bad one overnight. Sometimes, they were placed one grade under their actual one. They had to get used to it and to working harder than their classmates, and often unlearn habits from their previous education. Yes, they made friends, but it took a lot of time and stress. Going to a new class can be stressful even if you move just to another town. And don't forget these kids, aged 6-18, do not have many of the support mechanisms adults do, including their inner ones. It was not their choice usually, in some cases they didn't agree and just had to obey. Their friendships from home are unlikely to last due to the distance (we, adults, are used to not seeing friends every day even if we live two streets afar). They cannot choose their teachers, unlike adults. If their parents are reasonable, the kids get a lot of extra support. Tutoring, homework with parents, at least some emotional support, fun extracurricular activites (now in the language, of course). This is not "just fine".
It upsets me, when people deliberately dismiss the hardships children and teenagers go through, when it comes to language learning in general and especially immersion. Children and teenagers are not those lucky language sponges who happily and extremely fast learn the language like a native without ever losing smile. Noone is. Some learn better, some learn worse, some take it with optimism, others struggle, some have a learning disability, some are introverts, some are extremely gifted, some are simply not. And experienced langauge learners should know better than perpetuating the idealistic and harmful image of very young learners.
And when it comes to the FSI and DLI students, we shouldn't forget they are not some lucky people, who got very good conditions for their learning. Those are, as far as I understood, employees of the US government or army, who get chosen based on some criteria, while above average ability to learn is likely to be one of them. I believe they do just fine. Because those who wouldn't, don't participate. No matter how well we understand the importance of hard work and various conditions for learning, certain talent or intelligence simply plays a role too, and we shouldn't forget it while comparing various types of learners.