Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Assessment of Professional Knowledge Practice Exam

What does the Immersion Model of bilingual education involve?

1. Only using the student’s native language in lessons

2. Teaching students in English with a teacher who speaks their language

3. Transitioning from the native tongue to English-only instruction

4. Integrating multiple languages in every lesson

The correct answer is: Teaching students in English with a teacher who speaks their language

The Immersion Model of bilingual education is centered on immersing students in a new language while still providing necessary support in their native language. This approach allows students to learn English (or another target language) through content instruction, where the lessons are primarily conducted in English, but the teacher is also capable of speaking the student’s native language. This dynamic helps students understand complex content and facilitates their gradual acquisition of English, ensuring they are not left behind in learning essential concepts while they build their language skills. While the other options describe different educational approaches, they do not accurately reflect the essence of the Immersion Model. For example, some models focus solely on the native language or on a complete transition to English, which does not incorporate the support mechanism that the immersion model employs by involving a teacher who speaks both languages. Additionally, the aspect of integrating multiple languages in every lesson is more characteristic of dual language immersion or multilingual education, rather than the immersion model that emphasizes primarily one target language for instruction.