Skip to main content
Cambridge
  • Products and Services

    Products and Services

    • Products and Services

      Our innovative products and services for learners, authors and customers are based on world-class research and are relevant, exciting and inspiring.

    • Academic Research
    • English Language Learning
    • English Language Assessment
    • Educational resources for schools
    • Bibles
    • Educational Research & Network
    • Assessment Research
    • Cambridge Assessment International Education
    • OCR
    • Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing
    • Cambridge Assessment Network
    • Cambridge CEM
    • Cambridge Partnership for Education
    • Cambridge Dictionary
    • The Cambridge Mathematics Project
    • CogBooks
    • Bookshop
  • About Us

    About Us

    • About Us

      We unlock the potential of millions of people worldwide. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world.

    • What we do
    • Our story
    • People and planet
    • Governance
    • News and insights
    • Legal
    • Accessibility
    • Rights and permissions
    • Annual Report
    • Contact us
  • Careers

    Careers

    • Careers

      No matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, you’ll feel proud to work here.

    • Careers
    • Jobs
    • Benefits
Change Language

Cambridge English Language Assessment

Main navigation

  • Products and Services

    Products and Services

    • Products and Services

      Our innovative products and services for learners, authors and customers are based on world-class research and are relevant, exciting and inspiring.

    • Academic Research
    • English Language Learning
    • English Language Assessment
    • Educational resources for schools
    • Bibles
    • Educational Research & Network
    • Assessment Research
    • Cambridge Assessment International Education
    • OCR
    • Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing
    • Cambridge Assessment Network
    • Cambridge CEM
    • Cambridge Partnership for Education
    • Cambridge Dictionary
    • The Cambridge Mathematics Project
    • CogBooks
    • Bookshop
  • About Us

    About Us

    • About Us

      We unlock the potential of millions of people worldwide. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world.

    • What we do
    • Our story
    • People and planet
    • Governance
    • News and insights
    • Legal
    • Accessibility
    • Rights and permissions
    • Annual Report
    • Contact us
  • Careers

    Careers

    • Careers

      No matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, you’ll feel proud to work here.

    • Careers
    • Jobs
    • Benefits
Change Language
English Language Assessment
  • Home
  • Why choose us?

    Why choose us?

    • Learners

    • Who accepts our exams?
    • Visas and immigration
    • Study abroad
    • Cambridge English journeys
    • Organisations

    • English for higher education institutions
    • Our exams and tests
    • Verify results online
    • Setting your requirements
    • Exam security and quality
    • Employers
    • Research and Consultancy

    • English Research Group
    • English language consultancy
    • Impact monitoring and evaluation
  • Exams and tests

    Exams and tests

    • Cambridge English Qualifications Cambridge English Qualifications
    • Schools
    • General and higher education
    • Business
    • Pre A1 Starters (YLE Starters)
    • A1 Movers (YLE Movers)
    • A2 Flyers (YLE Flyers)
    • A2 Key for Schools (KET)
    • B1 Preliminary for Schools (PET)
    • B2 First for Schools (FCE)
    • A2 Key (KET)
    • B1 Preliminary (PET)
    • B2 First (FCE)
    • C1 Advanced (CAE)
    • C2 Proficiency (CPE)
    • B1 Business Preliminary (BEC Preliminary)
    • B2 Business Vantage (BEC Vantage)
    • C1 Business Higher (BEC Higher)
    • Linguaskill Linguaskill
    • IELTS IELTS
    • OET OET
    • Useful links

    • Test your English
    • Cambridge English Placement Test
    • How to register
    • Find an exam centre
    • What to expect on exam day
    • Study English in the UK
    • See exam results online
    • Cambridge English Scale
    • International language standards explained
    • Information for preparation centres
  • Learning English

    Learning English

    • Free activities
    • Exam preparation
    • Test your English
    • Parents and children
    • Games and social media
    • More resources
  • Teaching English

    Teaching English

    • Teaching qualifications
    • CELTA
    • DELTA
    • TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test)
    • Professional development
    • Cambridge English Teaching Framework
    • Cambridge English Trainer Framework
    • Become a Cambridge English Assessment Specialist
    • Resources for teachers
    • Webinars for teachers
    • Information for preparation centres
  • Blog
  • News
  • Events
  • Help

    Help

    • Lost certificates
    • Enquiries and appeals
    • Special requirements
    • Special considerations
    • Malpractice
    • Complaints
    • Corporate social responsibility
  • Test your English
  • Find an exam centre
  • Who accepts our exams?
English Language Assessment
Back to Blog page

You are here:

  1. Cambridge English
  2. Blog
  3. The benefit of immersive language-learning experiences and how to create them

The benefit of immersive language-learning experiences and how to create them

Share

Categories

  • Assessment
  • Cambridge English Qualifications
  • Teaching
  • Technology
  • Young learners

View all categories

The benefit of immersive language-learning experiences and how to create them

by Maija Kozlova, 19/05/2021
Research , Language , Technology
Three children sitting on a sofa watching a tablet that is in the hands of the child in the middle

The magic method?

‘What’s the best way to learn English, teacher?’ This was probably one of the most frequently asked questions I was asked as an English teacher.

All students wanted to know the answer, regardless of their ability or context, from busy bankers in Santiago, Chile, to teenagers in the language centres in Bogotá and Phnom Penh, to kids in the summer language schools in the UK. They all wanted to know if there is a particularly effective method that would magically speed up the process of learning.

The answer was not always what the students were prepared to hear: it wasn’t a set of prescribed grammar exercises they could complete, a clever mobile app they could use, or a pedagogically exceptional textbook they could work through. The answer was often met with disappointment as it was easier said than done: ‘If you want to learn a language, you have to surround yourself with it and use it,’ I’d often say. ‘Speak, listen, respond – communicate!’

I was not recommending immersive communication as a method of learning just because I was trained in it during my CELTA or researched it for my MA in Applied Linguistics. I firmly stood behind this approach because I’ve lived through it. Growing up, my first two ‘foreign’ languages were learned in the countries where they were spoken and it was not until I went to an international university where English was unavoidable that I truly mastered that language as well.

What does the research tell us?

There are numerous studies that show that students who are exposed to the language they’re learning in an immersive way, be it through a bilingual immersion programme at their school or a study-abroad experience, exhibit higher levels of fluency (e.g. Cummins 2009, Kinginger 2011, Wilkinson 1998), particularly when motivation to learn and absorb the language is high. The high motivation, in turn, is fostered by the desire to belong to or approximate the culture of the target language.

We are wired to desire emotional and social connection, and when placed in contexts where such connection is only available through a foreign language, our motivation to acquire it increases. This is why learning a language in the country where it is spoken is so effective – it offers an opportunity for complete language immersion. Lots of communicative language lessons aim to mimic such immersion through meaningful context, extensive second language (L2) input and emotional engagement.

While immersive language experiences are effective in students of all ages, they can bear remarkable results in children. In second language acquisition research, there is something called ‘the critical period hypothesis’ (CPH). It holds that all humans have a period (usually at a young age) during which it is possible to achieve full native competence when learning a language in a linguistically rich, immersive environment – something that has not been observed with adults.

CPH is not universally accepted and has been contested (e.g. Vanhove 2013). There are numerous studies that support the notion that children are known to be more open to learning a language intuitively, through communication, rather than through learning a set of strict rules, and that early language exposure sets learners up for success and confidence later in life (e.g. Abrahamsson and Hyltenstam 2009, Birdsong 2009, DeKeyser 2012).

How can we create immersive experiences?

Not everyone has the opportunity to travel or study abroad for extensive periods of time in order to brush up on their English. Luckily, we live in a world where the merge of globalisation and digitalisation has produced many opportunities for learners to be exposed to English in a variety of contexts. These include, but are not limited to:

  • watching films and videos
  • listening to songs
  • commenting on online videos
  • engaging in online discussions
  • attending webinars and online courses in English
  • playing video games!

This last point is something that we are exploring with English Adventures with Cambridge – our new Minecraft world. Designed specifically with young learners in mind (ages 8–11), it boasts a linguistically rich environment built using the vocabulary and structures accessible for learners at A1–A2 levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

It provides learners with an opportunity to interact with the language that is accessible at their level in an authentic way. Misunderstood or missed something? Not a problem! Just like in real life, a misunderstanding will lead to opportunities for clarification in context, which, coupled with the emotional engagement fostered by the narrative, creates authentic learning experiences.

Immerse your child in our Minecraft world!

English Adventures with Cambridge is our exciting new world created by world-leading English assessment experts in collaboration with Minecraft. Inspire your young learners to develop their English skills beyond the classroom in a way they will never forget.

Play now

References

Abrahamsson, N and Hyltenstam, K (2009) Age of onset and nativelikeness in a second language: Listener perception versus linguistic scrutiny, Language Learning 59, 249–306.

Birdsong, D (2009) Age and the end state of second language acquisition, in Ritchie, W C and Bhatia, T K (Eds) The new handbook of second language acquisition, Bingley: Emerald, 401–424.

Cummins, J (2009) Bilingual and Immersion Programs, in Long, M and Doughty, C (Eds) The Handbook of Language Teaching, Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

DeKeyser, R (2012) Age effects in second language learning, in Gass, S M and Mackey, A (Eds) The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition, London: Routledge, 442–460.

Kinginger, C (2011) Enhancing Language Learning in Study Abroad, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 31, 58–73, doi: 10.1017/S0267190511000031.

Robson, A L (2002) Critical/Sensitive Periods, in Salkind, N J (Ed.) Child Development, Gale Virtual Reference Library, New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 101–3.

Vanhove, J (2013) The critical period hypothesis in second language acquisition: a statistical critique and a reanalysis, PLOS ONE 8 (7): e69172, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069172.

Wilkinson S (1998) On the Nature of Immersion During Study Abroad: Some Participant Perspectives, Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 4 (2), 121–138, doi: 10.36366/frontiers.v4i1.65.

Related Articles

Mediation skills in the English language classroom

by Cambridge English, 29/09/2022
Students

Taking information, summarising it, and passing it on is an example of what linguists call mediation, and it is a key skill for language learners at all levels. It’s the subject of the latest Cambridge Paper in ELT which looks at some of the best strategies teachers can use to teach and assess mediation skills.

Classroom , Teaching , Research

Read more

Discover our improved Results Service

by Cambridge English, 13/06/2022
Laptop

Millions of learners and global Recognising Organisations are using our online Results Services.

Cambridge English Qualifications , Technology

Read more

What’s next for admissions in the North America higher education sector?

by Cambridge English, 30/03/2022
Student

Cambridge English has set up a new expert Admissions Council with the higher education sector in the US and Canada. Our aim is simple: to listen, learn, and develop our support for institutions in the sector.

Research , Admissions , Higher education

Read more

Graduate employability in a changing world

by Cambridge English, 31/08/2021
three

As Covid-19 restrictions ease in many parts of the world, we are seeing clear evidence that students are picking up their plans for international travel and Higher Education. Prospective students need to know that their education will give them the skills they need for success.

Teaching , Language

Read more

On this site

  • Home
  • Why Cambridge English?
  • Exams and tests
  • Learning English
  • Teaching English
  • News
  • Events
  • Help
  • About us
  • Who accepts our exams?
  • Agents
  • Consultancy
  • Research
  • Contact us
  • ALTE logo
  • English Profile logo
  • Cambridge University Press & Assessment
  • BSI Logo

View Related Sites

  • Cambridge English main site
  • Cambridge English helpdesk
  • Cambridge English Schools
  • Cambridge English Online
  • Cambridge English for Centres
  • Preparation Centres Online
  • Results Verification Service
  • Occupational English Test
  • ALTE
  • English Profile
  • Cambridge University Press & Assessment
  • Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing
  • Michigan Language Assessment
  • Cambridge Assessment Japan Foundation


© Cambridge University Press & Assessment

  • Terms & conditions
  • Data protection
  • Accessibility statement
  • Statement on modern slavery
  • Safeguarding policy
  • Sitemap
Back to top
We use cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving your consent for us to set cookies Dismiss