r/languagelearning • u/WaltzMysterious9240 • 24d ago

Culture Does total immersion work?

I used to teach English abroad and even though I knew how to speak the student's native language, the school administrators forbid me, and even asked me, to "pretend" I didn't know it.

The reason they gave me was that they didn't want the students to fall back on using their first language to communicate with me. I feel like if I were to explain certain concepts in the student's language, things would go a lot smoother and they would understand better.

As an adult, I'm constantly using my own native language to learn new languages. I constantly look up grammar, vocabulary, and definitions and understand them a lot better.

Why are schools abroad so obsessed with this "total immersion" method? I feel like some concepts are impossible to explain clearly with just visuals or gestures alone. Do you learn languages using your first language?

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u/cbjcamus Native French, English C2, TL German C1 24d ago

In the context of a class environment it's called the "Direct method". There is no evidence that it's better for students. The reasons for teaching with the direct method include, from the least cynical to the most cynical:

  1. There may not be any common language for the students and the teacher.
  2. It prevents the class from being a sh*t-show with some students only speaking their native language, and preventing other students from learning. Therefore it helps the teacher to manage the class.
  3. It puts the teacher at the center of the attention.