Why+Immersion?

What are the benefits and disadvantages of this bilingual/Spanish immersion program? (a teacher's reponse from Alaska)
 The fundamental and huge benefits of this 2-way, dual language program are as follows:
 *  Instead of losing a lot of their first language, the child continues to develop that language so that it will transfer to the second language and aid in the acquisition of that second language.
 * Instead of missing a lot of the content because of lack of understanding in the second language, the child is taught content in his/her first language while developing the second language.
 * The child develops not just oral proficiency, but literacy in both languages.
 * Many students maintain their heritage language because the parents continue to speak it at home, but never develop literacy in that language, which is crucial to truly being fluent in the language.
 * The literacy component is also crucial because the level of language required to read and comprehend a textbook, particularly in the content areas, takes 7-10 years to develop. After third grade, the majority of what is taught is through reading/writing.
 * There really are no disadvantages to dual language learning, other than for a very small minority of students with language-specific learning disabilities.

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In English： =__What is Dual Immersion?__=
 * [|Why, How and When Should my Child Learn a Second Language].
 * [|Two Way Immersion: The Basic]
 * [|What Parents Want to Know About Foreign Language Immersion Programs - a report by Center for Applied LInguisitcs]
 * [|Wikipedia: Dual Language]
 * [|The Two-Way Immersion Tool Kit]
 * [|Guiding_Principles of Dual Language Immersion]
 * [|Dual Language: Basic Feature]

=__Benefits:__=
 * [|BiliteracyForAGlobalSociety]
 * [|Why you should learn Chinese? An Interview with Deborah Fallows, Time Magazine, Sept. 15, 2010]
 * [|Trends in Two Way Immersion Education: A Review of the Research, a report by Center for Applied Linguistics]
 * [|The Multiple Benefits of Dual Language Program]
 * Parents' Testimonies from Amigos School on why dual-language education is important media type="file" key="Interviews on Dual Language Programs.mov" width="300" height="300"
 * [|A parent's view from Babble about dual-language education]

In Chinese： [|中英雙語教育對在美國生活的中國孩子的重要性] [|美国语言学家：“这一代美国孩子学中文是明智的. ”] [|認識幼兒雙語教育]