Educators say Jewish state and immigrants themselves make language immersion work for students.
She was given Hebrew lessons for part of the day but was left in the third-grade classroom the rest of the time to follow along as best she could with the help of other Russian students who could translate for her. Now, I usually understand everything. If I don't understand, the teacher explains after class. Mazon's experience is typical in Israel, where for 50 years Jewish immigrants have been quickly immersed in Hebrew and told that they must learn the language if they are to become good Israelis and prosper in their new land. By many measures, this approach has worked well.