Last week, I gave Spanglishbaby readers the opportunity to take a special peek into a kindergarten classroom at a dual-language school. I received many great emails from parent to teachers – THANK YOU for all your questions and comments. I also got quite a few requests asking me about dual-language in the upper grades (not just 4^th or 5^th grade, but beyond). I am excited to be able to share with all of you great insights as well as amazing images about the work that takes place in this middle school with a dual language program (6^th, 7^th, and 8^th).

First, and as it happened in the kinder classroom, images were everywhere. These images support the more sophisticated vocabulary work that takes place in the upper grades. I was pleased to see how illustrations were present in science, literature, math, as well as social studies. There is great emphasis on vocabulary instruction and this was reflected on the work that I saw posted on many of the walls.

Second, one has to remember that students are not only speaking and reading in another language but they are also writing. This is no small task as both oral and written fluency are clear expectations. As a Spanish native speaker myself, I can recall how difficult it was to write in both languages at the beginning, but these young adults do it marvelously. I captured a couple of images of a sixth grade class that had just published personal narratives (narrativas personales en español). I was really moved by many of the topics several students selected and how well developed their stories were.

Third, and as I had mentioned on previous posts, children would rather read and write in English than in any other language (here in the U.S). Here comes the balancing act that teachers educating in these types of programs have to do: How much reading and how much writing will be done in each language since resources are very hard to come by? (Spanish resources that are well-written that is).

It really takes commitment from both family members and teachers to help children continue developing their academic skills in more than one language. I am content to see that there is an increasing trend when it comes to speaking more than one language. Therefore readers: Do you have an older child attending a dual language program? Do you teach your older child/children to be biliterate/bilingual? How do you do it and what resources do you use? I love to hear from you and the great things you do.

Abrazos,

Kelly

{Photos courtesy of MLC Middle School}

This week, I had the rare opportunity to visit a kindergarten classroom at my school and I was fascinated with what I saw…I just had to share the wonders that take place inside a dual-language classroom – especially kinder.

First, and contrary to what several people I have met thought, many students at dual-language schools do not come from houses where the target language is spoken. In fact many kinder students come from English-Only households (or EO’s).

So imagine this: A child comes to a classroom where his/her language is NOT spoken (in a 90/10 program which is more 100/0 at the beginning of the year). This student is spoken in the target language all the time from numbers, letters, to directions. Therefore I wondered: How do they do it (teachers)? How do children survive? I can only think of myself being thrown in a foreign country. What would I do?

It is here that the wonders of a well-designed dual language classroom start to work. Children survive…they just do. They learn fairly rapid commands and key words. It starts slow, but in a few weeks they take off (even their writing).

When I visited the classroom, what caught my attention were the amazing charts: plenty of charts with rich vocabulary and eye-catching illustrations. In fact, these charts become a crucial part in a child’s journey through kinder. EO’s rely on them especially for writing. The kindergarten teacher mentioned how children not only look for them but also request them.

The charts below are a small sample of what I was able to capture (I wish I were more artistic!).

So my question to you SpanglishBaby moms, dads, and other family members is: How many visuals are there at your home that support your child’s language acquisition? Is there a visual schedule, an area where you cut/paste/draw illustrations? I would love to read and see what amazing things you do at home.

Much love,

Kelly

Photos thanks to MLC’s Kinder Classroom

A few weeks ago I received an email from a ‘Spanglish mami’ asking me a great question I thought I would address on a specific post. The question had to do with Spanish ‘outside’ school hours – specifically playgroups designed to help children continue developing their Spanish-speaking skills. She was wondering if I knew of any particular playgroups she could reach out to.

At the time I not only thought it was a great question, but it also sparked my curiosity. I went online and decided to do some research. In the past, I had used and met great people using a website designed to ‘put together’ people with similar interests from cooking, road biking, knitting, to girl friends just trying to come together to watch a movie or grab a quick bite – meetup.com. I quickly searched for children playgroups whose purpose was to spark foreign language interaction. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

There were children’s groups everywhere in the United States. My search was focused in an area in Southern California, yet I was really excited to see groups in New York, New Jersey and everywhere else in between.

I gave the suggestion to the mom who had contacted me and asked her to reach a couple of groups I had found. I also asked her to please let me know how things went, as I was curious to see where her quest would take her. I heard from her a few days later, and while the groups were a bit too far from what she was looking for, she had been talking to one of the group’s organizers who gave her ideas to get started on her own group if she wanted to.

Playgroups are a great way to let children experience the language in a much less structured environment. From my own experience, I know that as soon as students go to recess or lunch the language of choice is English, regardless of them being in a dual language program or not.

Have you been successful at setting/joining playgroups for children? If so, many other Spanglishbaby readers and I would love to know. Of course, we also invite you to visit SpanglishBaby Playground, where so many of you have already started forming local groups!

Much love and happy talking,

Kelly

Photos by National Assembly for Wales

You are probably wondering what happens inside a dual-language classroom and how similar or different it is from an all-English classroom.

In every school that I have had the pleasure of working at, the first few days go in a predictable manner: excited and nervous students walking through the doors of new classrooms, parents worried about what the new school year may bring, and teachers wondering what his/her new class will be like. Teachers prepare for weeks by brainstorming ways to present new material and writing lesson plans. As a matter of fact, I spent countless hours trying to cover all areas before diving into my dual-language adventure. I survived my first week and I am both happy and excited for the days to come.

While many of my posts have been geared towards what parents can do at home to support their children in their bilingual and bicultural adventure, I thought it would be interesting to share something that happened in my classroom this week. I call it confirmation of an “a-ha moment.”

Coming back from lunch on Wednesday last week, my class was getting ready to work on science. Since I am a fourth grade teacher, I teach 60% of the day in Spanish and the remaining 40% in English. I have divided my schedule so that English instruction takes place after lunch.

After all my students settled in, I told them in English what our next hour would look like. All of a sudden, one of my students raised her hand and shared how relieved she felt about switching to English. While I did not ask my student to elaborate, her comment was definitely something that stuck in my head. Once school was over, and my students were getting ready to go home, I chatted with my student and asked what she meant by being relieved of receiving instruction in English. She did not hesitate for a second and replied, “Well, when we are learning in Spanish I just feel that my brain needs to work twice as hard… it is hard to explain, but I just feel like I am working really, really hard.” I asked a few more questions and our conversation ended.

However, I could not stop thinking about the way she felt and how she described her ‘brain’ being in overdrive. Honestly — I loved it. If learning in two languages means her brain is working harder than it would just learning in one, then I have confirmed once again that dual-language is the way to go. Which takes me to my next couple of questions:

Have you thought for a moment what it is like to learn in a two-way immersion program?

Has your child shared with you how she/he feels about learning in this type of environment?

I would love to hear from parents/guardians/other family members about this. I am really curious about your experiences and conversations with your child.

Much love,

Kelly

{Photo by departmentofed}

I could not be any happier to join the SpanglishBaby community. Actually I am ecstatic to share my new journey with all of you. My name is Kelly Serrano. I was born and raised in Ecuador, South America and moved to the United States when I was 18 years old. I am also a classroom teacher. While I have taught in the general education classroom setting for seven years including 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grade, this year I made a big move as I will be teaching 4^th grade at a Dual Language Immersion School.

Teaching has taken me many places and with it I have explored unknown territories. This time the ‘territory’ will be the Dual Language Classroom. As soon as I knew that I would be in a bilingual classroom, I started to gather information and materials to better prepare for the upcoming school year. Unfortunately, I did not find many reliable resources. They were either written in Spanish with an awful translation or were too high of a reading level. The solution? If I wanted high quality materials, I had to create them.

That is how my blog got started. I wanted to reach, talk, and share with other teachers involved in the dual language setting. I was sure I was not the only one out there trying to better reach students and their families. My weekly contributions to La Maestra’s Corner will offer readers an insider look at the bilingual classroom. I will cover topics ranging from educational strategies with proven success in the dual language classroom, what teachers do to make bilingual content come to life, what it is really like to be a student in a two-way immersion classroom, to answering parents’ questions/concerns about this schooling method.

As a lifelong learner, I always welcome your suggestions/questions/comments/concerns. Again, I am excited and honored to be part of this amazing community.

Much love,

Kelly

The Latino Children’s Summer Reading Program from Latinas for Latino Literature — I am so happy that our friend over at L4LL have put together this program and I can’t wait to get started with my two kids. Besides summer reading lists divided by age groups, there are also several useful resources and printables. The challenge is for your kids to read at least eight books from now to Aug. 12. To reward them, L4LL will be giving away prizes such as picture books and tablets. So get on over there and register!

Arne Duncan Touts Advantages of Bilingualism from Education Week — U.S. Secretary of Education makes very clear comments about the importance of bilingualism and why educators should not forget that English learners “come to school with a major asset” — their native language, which needs to be maintained so they can become bilingual.

North Carolina school a standout for bilingual education from La Prensa — I love reading about successful DL programs. In this case,  it’s a North Carolina school which has become a national model for its bilingual program and curriculum. Bravo!

The Questions People Get Asked About Race from NPR’s Code Switch — Funny, ridiculous, surprising, ignorant, frustrating, insulting… just some of the adjectives that come to mind when reading about the questions people get ask about their race, culture, ethnicity, etc.

When should academic centered schooling begin? This has been the question I have been grappling with for weeks. My daughter is not quite 3 and was accepted to a private dual language school for this coming fall where academics and inquiry-based learning is at the heart of what they do. This past January is also when we switched her to an “English school” where a play curriculum is at the heart of how children’s curiosity is nurtured. She is emotionally and socially thriving there and learning English fast, hence our interest to switch her to a Spanish school as soon as possible.

As I have gone to several observations at the dual language school I cannot help but compare the difference in the ways children are taught to think and socialize between the two schools. At the dual language school children are definitely being asked and taught how to be free thinkers, but at my daughters current child development center she gets to do what 2+ year olds love to do: get their hands dirty and have options of when and how they want to play no matter what time of day it is. In other words, if they want to paint all day, painting all day it is whether they are inside or out on the playground. I am not sure I am willing to give that playful and creative atmosphere up, yet. I am not sure she is either.

One of the struggles I have had on my search for the ideal foreign language school is finding one where there is both a strong foreign language program, yet flexibility in the options children have to learn. A trend I started to notice, at least in my city, was that the foreign language schools were stricter with children’s behavior. For example, it was impossible to find a Spanish immersion or dual language Montessori-based school. One has recently opened up, and I have yet to visit, although it is far from our home. In other words, the options are definitely limited.

I also started to notice how many parents seemed sold on a school based on the reputation it has and are willing to leave a hefty deposit not having visited a single classroom! Maybe I am over analyzing our school options, but what I have concluded that a parents main concern should be, how will the current school meet the needs of my child from an academic perspective, socially and emotionally?

For example, I have learned that my child learns best in a setting that offers lots of socialization and options. It is in those settings where she seems to be developing her intellectual curiosity and emotional well. That is to say, as parents we should be concerned about our children’s overall academic, social, emotional, linguistic and psychological development and in which context those elements are likely to prosper.  A challenging task but one I have decided to continue to try and fulfill even if it means deferring our acceptance to a highly sought out school until our daughter is a little older.

Have you grappled with a similar decision? If so, how did you decide on what kind of school to choose for your child? In other words, were you willing to give up a certain characteristic of a school for another?

{Image by  woodleywonderworks}

It’s time for our fourth SpanglishBaby LIVE Google+ Hangout and we’d love for you to join us tomorrow. This time around we’re discussing bilingualism and children with special needs. For those of you who’ve never joined a Google+ Hangout, you should know that it’s just like hanging out with a bunch of friends, except that you’re not all in the same room.

WHAT: In our fourth Hangout we’ll be discussing the basics of bilingual education and dual language immersion programs as part of Google’s #SpringIntoEducation movement.

WHEN: Thursday, March. 28 at 1 p.m. EST.

WHO: Joining Ana and I will be Liza Sánchez, a bilingual education specialist and founder and board chair of Escuela Bilingüe Internacional (EBI) in Oakland, California. EBI is the first independent school in California to offer a Spanish-English dual language program, extending from pre-K through 8th grade.

Melanie McGrath the coordinator of dual immersion and transitional bilingual education programs in Southern California. She provides professional development training and assistance to parents, bilingual teachers and administrators in the areas of biliteracy development, bilingual program design and English language development. She can also be found blogging on Multilingual Mania.

There are many ways for you to be part of this Google Hangout online.

1. First of all, RSVP on the event page.

2. Add the SpanglishBaby Google+ Page to your Circles.

3. On Tuesday, March 12, starting at 1 p.m. EST, the SpanglishBaby Live Hangout will go on air and you’ll be able to watch it on the event page and on our YouTube channel.

4. The hashtag for all our SpanglishBaby Live Hangouts is #BilingualKids and you can use it on Google+, Twitter or Instagram and we’ll find you!

5. Once the Hangout is over, a recording of it will be made available for all to view, share and/or embed on the SpanglishBaby YouTube channel.

If you’d like to have your question related to raising bilingual and/or bicultural kids answered by ourselves or one of our experts, please fill out this form. If you’re interested in participating in one of our SpanglishBaby Live Google+ Hangouts, you’ll be able to let us know in the form too.

If you want to learn more about Google+ Hangouts On Air, check out this page. Feel free to leave us any questions or suggestions in the comments area below, on the event page or our Google+ page and Community!

There are two public dual language immersion elementary schools in my county, and there’s one school that offers everyday foreign language lessons, though it’s not an immersive setting. We applied for two of the three total options for next school year, when my son starts kindergarten, and just received word that he was not selected for either. We could choose to stay on the waiting list and wait for several months to have an official answer about that, but that doesn’t make it too easy to plan where we will send my stepdaughters to school (they are also at the mercy of magnet program decisions and the location of their siblings’ schools).

Of late, I have admitted to feeling that I’m slacking in the bilingual parenting arena because my son gets most of his Spanish input at his father’s house. I was hoping to at least be able to provide more support for his bilingualism by sending him to a school that emphasizes its importance, but it looks like he will have the standard school experience, at least for now.

Honestly, I’m perfectly fine with that, and even a little relieved. The more I step back from my attachment to my son, I see him as a boy that will grow into a capable man who, like all other adults, will ultimately choose if or how he wants Spanish to factor into his life. There is not necessarily a cause-effect relationship between going to a dual language school, or living in a bilingual family for that matter, and becoming a truly bilingual adult. Sure, there is a correlation, but none of us knows if our decisions directly make our kids into who they are.

I look at all my friends who were raised by parents that adamantly focused on one value or endeavor, such as a religion or a culturally derived belief. Those are the same friends who have deviated the most from the way they were raised. The more fanatical the parents were, the more curious the kids became about other ways to live. Granted, I haven’t done any formal experiments, but I have a hunch that this association is not imagined.

While I believe in bilingualism as one of the greatest gifts we can give our children, I think this same relationship may apply. We can promote the second language, model cultural acceptance, and fill their bookshelves with Spanish libros, but we certainly cannot guarantee the outcome. Some of us will be excited to see our kids gladly using Spanish every day in the future, while others may be a bit disappointed if they choose to steer away from it. Our efforts are not in vain, but those efforts need to have limits. For me, the limit is the waiting list.

There is a clear difference between exposing our kids to the things that are important to us and completely hooking our identity to their achievements. As hard as it is, I’m going to give up the fight for now and see where this random school decision will take our family. I need to follow my own instincts and not try to force Spanish into my son’s school life if it will create more stress for everyone. I’d rather stick to our regular goofing off in Spanish and letting his stepsisters read him Spanish stories for now. I never want to lose sight of my favorite parts of bilingualism – like being able to find humor in flawed translations. Little treasures like that are more valuable than any Spanish homework will ever be.

Photo from news.com.au

With the rise of dual language education in the U.S., have bilingual children become a commodity? In other words, are children who walk into the dual language classroom already speaking two languages possessing a highly valued commodity: bilingualism? The question, though, still remains, whose bilingualism is valued? Is it the “middle class” students bilingualism or is it those students who come from “lower class” homes?

To distinguish between “middle” and “lower” I’d like to clarify how I am referring to the two kinds of bilinguals. There are those whose parents have a formal education and belong to a certain (higher) economic bracket and those whose parents have a limited formal education and come from lower economic brackets, generally speaking. Both bilinguals are what we, in academia, call heritage-speakers of a minority language (like Spanish).

This past week my little girl completed her first year at Escuelita del Alma. At the end of each year the escuelita (little school) puts on a recital where each classroom dances to a Spanish song. The theme was “Los Insectos….and Other Little Critters.” One of the many reasons why I love and chose this escuelita for my daughter is because they value linguistic diversity. As you can see in the very title of the production there is a code-switch: Spanish and English are used in a single phrase. I love that because it reflects a common linguistic feature (code-switching) of the bilingual community we live in here in central Texas.

In an earlier post I wrote about my experience while visiting another Spanish immersion school before deciding where my daughter would attend. It was at that other school where I was informed “We don’t use Tex-Mex here.” What they failed to realize is the importance in being able to communicate with members of our local community, in addition to being able to perform linguistically in academic settings, like the classroom. For this reason I decided to enroll my daughter elsewhere, but also because they insulted a key feature of my linguistic repertoire!

My parents were or would be categorized as lower class Mexican immigrants and I was/am a heritage-speaker of Spanish, though when I was in elementary school in the 80’s dual language education was not an option. Now, I am a middle-class and highly educated parent of a daughter I am raising with multiple languages.

I presume her multilingualism will be a highly valued commodity as local schools try to fill dual language classrooms with “native” Spanish-speakers. What I will continue to strive for, as a parent and academic, is placing greater value in the varying ways people use Spanish and English like we do in central Texas!