saturs - rpiva

total immersion is the program in which curriculum is realized through the foreign language.
In early partial immersion program both foreign and mother languages are used for realization
of the curriculum (Olpińska, 2004, 117–120).
Early immersion programs, both total and partial, can be implemented in the
preschools with different educational approaches. The researcher Olpińska in her book
Bilingual Education promotes the early immersion program in Poland as the one that is
effective and “does not need any new methods of teaching, which could mean higher
expenses”. Basically any approach could be taught in foreign, to majority of learners,
language. No less though the bilingual education should be organized and held in the
professional way (Olpińska, 2004, 131).
The following research has chosen the preschools with Montessori educational
approach for the analysis. This is the student-centered approach, created and described by the
Italian doctor and pedagogue Maria Montessori. The information revealed by the Education
Informational Centre, on September 30, 2009 showed that there were 43 Montessori preschool
educational establishments registered in Poland. Out of them, there are six Montessori
bilingual kindergartens (Centrum Informatyczne Edukacji, 2009).
The survey was made on the peculiarities of the early total immersion program in
Polish Montessori preschool. The purpose of the research was reached through comparative
analysis of main assumptions and aims of immersion program with Montessori approach;
correlation of core features of prototypical immersion program and practice of its
implementation in Polish preschool setting; analysis of materials and techniques used in
practice of preschool. The following case study examines the context of immersion in the
Montessori preschool with the 11 year practice of teaching, Casa dei Bambini Warsaw
Montessori School. It was also one of the first experimental immersion Montessori preschools
in Poland.
Early Total Immersion Program in Poland (case study of Casa dei Bambini
Warsaw Montessori School)
The Early Total Immersion (hereafter ETI) is the program of foreign language
teaching in which language is taught through the context of activities, which acquire language
comprehension and eventually language production. It is based on certain assumptions about
second language acquisition. The supporters of ETI in Poland assume that young humans are
naturally equipped to acquire the language knowledge incidentally through the participation
in daily activities, but that ability diminishes gradually as children grow (Olpińska, 2004;
Wode, 2002). This idea is also supported by Maria Montessori, which stated in her work
Absorbent Mind (Montessori, 1949) that every child possesses the unique ability of absorbing
the information and his intelligence progresses through spontaneous interaction with the
prepared environment.
The great attention in immersion program, as well as in Montessori educational
approach is put to the meaningful input. However, at the first glance “count of words” in
presentation of the new material in Montessori classrooms can be perceived as the
controversy with the demand of frequent and extended in duration exposure to the second
language, supported by immersion model. The main idea is, though, not “the more – the
better”. The Montessori approach of “small steps” and “isolation of difficulty” makes
language a comprehensive input for a young learner. The frequent contact with the language
expressions already learnt and slow building on gained knowledge are crucial in Montessori
approach (Montessori, 1949).
The aims of education in Casa dei Bambini Warsaw Montessori School are
concordant with the overall purposes of immersion model presented by Richards and Rodgers
(Richards, Rodgers, 1985) as well as the objectives of the preschool education developed by
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