Vietnamese immersion

The DeMille Elementary kindergartners participating in the state’s first Vietnamese/English dual-immersion program get half of their instruction in Vietnamese and half in English.

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Sep. 27, 2015 5:54 PM PT

A third of the program’s students are native English speakers, a third native Vietnamese speakers and the rest use both languages at home.

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Huong Dang teaches the kindergartners at DeMille Elementary, near Little Saigon, who are enrolled in the program.

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The banner on the wall in teacher Huong Dang’s classroom reads in Vietnamese: “Welcome Visitors, Parents and Students.” Every item in the classroom is labeled with its Vietnamese name.

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)