STANSBURY PARK, Utah — Summer break isn’t quite over yet, but some first graders at Rose Springs Elementary are already back in the classroom, getting a head start on the school year — in Portuguese.
The school is hosting a week-long Portuguese Dual Language Immersion camp for incoming first graders. It’s only day three of the camp, and Natalia, who’s 6 years old, has already learned some things. "For dad it’s ‘papai’ and for mom it's ‘mãe,’” she said.
Cristina Merlin, who’s taught in the program for nine years, says the camp helps students build confidence, meet their teachers, and begin to understand what it means to learn in a second language.
“What I love the most is seeing that they see the world as one,” Merlin said. "They can see that, “Oh, that’s so cool that I can speak another language and communicate in another language. They learn not only language, they learn culture, they learn traditions.”
In the program, students learn core subjects like math, science, literacy, and social studies — all in Portuguese.
Pediatrician Dr. Ellie Brownstein says early exposure to new languages can be great for brain development, as young children are naturally more adaptable. But she notes it’s not always one-size-fits-all. “If you take a kid with a reading disability and now, they’re reading into two languages instead of working on one, does that make it harder for them?” she explained. "Those are things I worry could be an issue.”
She encourages parents to consider how their child learns best before committing to an immersion program.
Breken Findlay, who’s a Stansbury High School freshman, has already been through the program and is volunteering for the camp this summer. In June, he got to use his skills in Portugal. "It’s a new way to engage with other people, when you speak the language, you can get better jobs and there’s a lot of people who move from Brazil to here, so you can speak their native language,” he said.
For Natalia and her classmates, this week-long camp is more than just learning words — it’s about seeing how big the world can be.
Tooele County School District currently offers DLI programs in Portuguese, Spanish, French, Russian, German, and Chinese, with more options planned for the 2025–2026 school year.
If you want to check out DLI programs across school districts statewide, visit Utahdli.org
