Comments on: Ask an Expert: How can I make dual language education a more positive experience for my child? http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-make-dual-language-education-a-more-positive-experience-for-my-child/ Raising bilingual and bicultural kids Thu, 26 Jul 2018 07:12:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2 By: Casey http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-make-dual-language-education-a-more-positive-experience-for-my-child/#comment-414804 Casey Mon, 16 Sep 2013 02:25:48 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=9267#comment-414804 I sincerely appreciate this article, although I realize that my comment is quite behind the publication of it. My son has just begun a dual language program (Spanish/English) in Kindergarten. He’s doing very well in his English class and his work in his Spanish class is looking good, as far as I can tell. However, I am also detecting impatience from his Spanish teacher. I know that she only speaks Spanish in the classroom and the students are expected to, as well. My son is well-behaved and is getting great feedback from his English teacher. His Spanish teacher’s communication is not very good, in my opinion. I might see a red pen note on one of his assignments that just says, “Please talk to [son], he is not following instructions.” This is not very helpful and when I ask in a curious manner (not accusatory) her response is, “I tried to tell you what is wrong in the note.” So, perhaps she is an all-around impatient person. My concern is that she is not demonstrating the empathy and patience with the children whose native tongue is not Spanish. He does not like the Spanish part of his day and has been clear about this, and only this, when he talks to me about school. I’m frustrated, because I know my son was so excited to start real school, but now he hates it because he says his Spanish teacher is mean. I’m sure he feels she’s mean because he can’t understand her, but my concern is that instead of finding out why he’s not understanding the instructions and what she can to do facilitate that, she’s just sending home a single sentence that doesn’t really describe the issue and expecting me to remedy the problem. I do speak Spanish, one upon a time I spoke it fluently as my high school sweetheart was a Mexican immigrant, so I have attempted since he was born to speak to him in Spanish. He knows when I or someone else is speaking in that language, but he doesn’t necessarily understand. Academically, he is advanced. He is far beyond the content which they are currently teaching – he can read pretty well and has known his alphabet and numbers in English, Spanish, and ASL since he was 18 months old and can perform simple addition. I know he can learn Spanish if given the chance.

Is there anything I can do for him at home to help him with this? His father is not bilingual, so we can’t just make it “Spanish Day” at the house a few times a week. I don’t want to teacher to treat him differently because she feels I’m being a pest or pushy, so I’m avoiding pressing the issue too much at one time. I have learned very quickly that at schools parents are instantly judged as high-maintenance/my-child-is-perfect parents and the last thing I need to do is promote that image. I want him to be confident and it’s clear he isn’t. Any advice would be excellent. I feel so bad for my little guy.

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]]> By: Melanie http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-make-dual-language-education-a-more-positive-experience-for-my-child/#comment-12958 Melanie Fri, 29 Oct 2010 03:33:55 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=9267#comment-12958 Hi Laura, thanks for your comments and question. Let me think on this a little bit and I will get back to you with some suggestions and resources soon!

]]> By: Laura http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-make-dual-language-education-a-more-positive-experience-for-my-child/#comment-12815 Laura Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:42:57 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=9267#comment-12815 I do not know much about the formal teaching of foreign language to children. I only know what I have seen work firsthand with my 2 1/2 year old son. Where can I find out about the different strategies to help children understand what is being taught when it is not in their native tongue? I also would love to learn how to create a “climate… that motivates language learners to take risks with practicing language” as you mentioned in this blog. I am teaching a preschool/playgroup that is made up of speakers ranging from native spanish speakers to non-native speakers with very little exposure to the language. I would love to do my playgroup as completely in spanish as possible but I need to know more tactics for helping everyone understand. Thanks in advance for any info you can pass along…

]]> By: Melanie http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-make-dual-language-education-a-more-positive-experience-for-my-child/#comment-11485 Melanie Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:26:39 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=9267#comment-11485 Great to hear that you modify the assignments!! There have been times that I am in a classroom and I see that the assignments and instruction aren’t modified to the best extent that they could be, and it creates all around frustration! Next week on my blog Multilingual Mania, we’ll be covering this topic about differentiating for late entries into the program and what type of progress is to be expected per year in the child’s second language!

]]> By: Arlette Leyva http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-make-dual-language-education-a-more-positive-experience-for-my-child/#comment-11443 Arlette Leyva Thu, 07 Oct 2010 03:50:25 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=9267#comment-11443 I have been a Dual Language teacher for 10 years, and completely agree with Ms. McGrath. Collaboration is key in a Dual Language program, especially when the child enters in first grade. I teach second grade and have experience working with students who have entered the program a year after everyone else. I use differential teaching strategies and modified assignments in my class, in order to meet the needs of these students. It may be frustrating for everyone involved. Believe me, teacher’s get frustrated too! Not with the actual students but trying the get them “caught up” with everybody else. It’s truly heartbreaking to us, as teachers, to see that a student wants to give up because he doesn’t like the Spanish. Hang in there and be patient! The results are well worth it!

]]> By: Melanie http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-make-dual-language-education-a-more-positive-experience-for-my-child/#comment-11423 Melanie Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:06:43 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=9267#comment-11423 Thanks for the resource Deonne! It sounds like a good deal! I will have to check it out myself!!

]]> By: Deonne Knill http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-make-dual-language-education-a-more-positive-experience-for-my-child/#comment-11402 Deonne Knill Wed, 06 Oct 2010 20:24:03 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=9267#comment-11402 Thank you for this post! I am sharing with our first grade families at our school!

Thanks to this site, we have also discovered the Mindsnacks game for iPod. It is FUN for my son (a first grader) and we do it together and both learn. I also do not speak Spanish, either so it was good for me as well. It’s amazing how much he picked up in just a few short plays with this game. We love it and for us it was totally worth the $5.

Hang in there!

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