What evidence supports immersion versus structured study in language learning

There is substantial evidence supporting both immersion and structured study methods in language learning, each with unique benefits.

Evidence Supporting Immersion

• Immersion programs, including dual-language immersion in schools, show that learners develop positive linear growth in oral language skills and perform better in various language competency areas (listening, reading, writing, speaking) compared to traditional learners in elective language classes. Immersion learners can reach intermediate proficiency levels by upper elementary grades, outperforming peers in structured study only. ^{1, 2}
• Immersion in naturalistic environments or virtual reality (VR) settings can enhance language use through active and continuous exposure, leading to more native-like processing and improvement in language skills. ^{3, 4, 5, 6, 7}
• Early immersion experiences have cognitive advantages such as improved attentional and executive functions, which can positively affect language acquisition. ⁸
• Immersive VR environments replicate real-life language use and provide high engagement and immersion, which benefit vocabulary acquisition and learning motivation. ^{9, 10, 11, 12}

Evidence Supporting Structured Study

• Structured study with well-designed curricula can produce significant learning gains even without full immersion. For example, language learning games with structured interactive content showed substantial gains in beginner-level learners independent of immersion level. ¹³
• Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and blended learning approaches that combine language instruction with subject content improve language acquisition by providing context and motivation within a structured framework. ^{14, 15}

Comparative Insights

• Immersion tends to provide more naturalistic and intensive exposure, fostering better oral proficiency and cognitive engagement.
• Structured study offers scaffolding and targeted instruction that benefits beginners and learners who might not have access to immersion environments.
• Virtual reality and technology-enhanced immersion are promising but need more research for long-term impact compared to conventional immersive or structured methods. ^{16, 17}
• Some research suggests combinations of immersion and structured methods may yield optimal language learning outcomes by balancing natural use and explicit instruction.

In summary, immersion supports stronger oral and cognitive gains through extensive exposure and use, while structured study provides necessary foundation and focused skill development, especially at beginner stages. Employing blended approaches may harness the advantages of both. ^{2, 4, 1, 8, 13}

References

• Bilingual oral language development among dual language immersion students: Use of a Bayesian approach with language learning progressions

• Partner‐Language Learning Trajectories in Dual‐Language Immersion: Evidence From an Urban District

• Sequential language learning and language immersion in bilingualism: diffusion MRI connectometry reveals microstructural evidence

• Virtual Reality-Integrated Immersion-Based Teaching to English Language Learning Outcome

• Virtual Reality-Integrated Immersion-Based Teaching to English Language Learning Outcome

• Editorial: Learning a non-native language in a naturalistic environment: insights from behavioral and neuroimaging research

• Losing Access to the Native Language While Immersed in a Second Language: Evidence for the Role of Inhibition in Second-Language Learning

• Cognitive Advantage in Children Enrolled in a Second-Language Immersion Elementary School Program for One Year

• Students’ attitudes toward high-immersion virtual reality assisted language learning

• Comparing immersive Virtual Reality to mobile applications in foreign language learning in higher education: a quasi-experiment

• Immersive Virtual Reality: A Novel Approach to Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition in K-12 Education

• Exploring EFL learners’ acceptance and cognitive absorption at VR-Based language learning: A survey and experimental study

• Delivery Ghost: Effects of Language Immersion and Interactivity in a Language Learning Game

• Blended Learning Immersion Teacher Education: Evidence-Based Practices and Data-Driven Instruction

• Content and language integrated learning: enhancing language acquisition and content understanding

• The Effects of Virtual Reality-Assisted Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis

• A systematic review of foreign language learning with immersive technologies (2001-2020)

• Structural representation in the native language after extended second-language immersion: Evidence from acceptability judgment and memory-recall

• Bilingual advantage in L3 vocabulary acquisition: evidence of a generalized learning benefit among classroom-immersion children

• Is early second language learning really better ? Evidence from research on students in CLIL programs

• Assessing the Effects of Short-Term Culture and Language Immersion Program: A Hong Kong Case

• Linguistic and metalinguistic outcomes of intense immersion education: how bilingual?

• Enhancing speech learning by combining task practice with periods of stimulus exposure without practice.

• English Language Teaching Methods: Exploring the Impact of Various Approaches on Students’ Language Learning Outcomes

• A Study on the Application of the Immersion Teaching Model to EFL Learners in Institutions of Higher Learning

• Multimodal immersion in English language learning in higher education: A systematic review