Editor, Times-Dispatch: In a recent Travel section appeared the article, "Students Learn Fast by Taking Plunge." The story focused on students who traveled to Mexico to participate in a three-week total-immersion program to learn Spanish. As a former Spanish teacher, I recognize the immeasurable benefits of total immersion when learning another language. However, your newspaper did not have to look so far away to find an outstanding program.

Each summer the Virginia Department of Education sponsors the Governor's Foreign Language Academies. Three of these (French, German, and Spanish) are total-immersion programs in which the participants commit to speak only the target language throughout their three-week stay. In addition to academic courses, they receive instruction in dance, sports, and music, among myriad other activities - all in the foreign language. They speak the language during meals, in their dorms, and during their free time. Furthermore, they learn a third language, which is also taught in the target language. Besides the immersion academies, three additional academies offer studies in Japanese, Latin, and Russian. The academies are staffed by some of Virginia's most knowledgeable, creative, and enthusiastic teachers.