Meaning & use
total immersion
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
A way of learning a language by living and communicating only in that language, with no translation into your own.
Grammar: Uncountable; often followed by 'in' plus a language or place: total immersion in French.
Patterns
- total immersion in a language
- learn something by total immersion
- a total immersion course
She learned Spanish by total immersion during a year in Madrid.
The school offers total immersion in English from the first day.
Total immersion forces you to think in the new language.
noununcountable
A state of being completely involved in an activity so that you notice nothing else.
Grammar: Uncountable; usually followed by 'in': total immersion in your work.
Patterns
- total immersion in something
- achieve total immersion
His total immersion in the project meant he often forgot to eat.
The game creates a feeling of total immersion in another world.
Common combinations
- total immersion course
- They signed up for a total immersion course in Italian.
- total immersion in a language
- Total immersion in a language speeds up learning.
- total immersion program
- The university runs a total immersion program for beginners.
- learn by total immersion
- Children often learn by total immersion without noticing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- immersion
- Shorter and more general; 'total immersion' emphasizes that no other language or activity is used at all.
- absorption
- Focuses on being mentally absorbed in something, not on language teaching.
Word family
Commonly confused: total immersion or immersion?
total immersion vs immersion
The general noun; 'total immersion' adds the idea of complete, uninterrupted involvement.
Practice
The best way to learn a language quickly is total immersion ___ it.
Choose one answer.
'Total immersion in something' is the fixed pattern. 'On', 'at' and 'with' do not collocate with 'immersion' in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “total immersion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.