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}

We all make mistakes, right? Especially along this journey of parenthood, we know that we constantly just don’t know and we try our best every single day. There really isn’t a single parenting manual that is a one-size-fits-all or that’s customized to your particular child and/or parenting journey.

But we do have each other. We have other parents that are open enough to share the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, and do it without giving or receiving judgement. We have our stories to tell so others can be inspired or realize that it’s not part of their own journey.

That’s precisely what we’ve done on SpanglishBaby for almost five years: share stories from many diverse voices on how we’re together creating a collective experience of the how-to and how-not-to raise bilingual and bicultural kids. We all know that we must expose our children to Spanish, or the target language, as young as possible. We know that we can’t force them to learn a language, but we can immerse them in ways that it will become part of their self. We know that we want to take this path for so many reasons, but most that have to do with the heart. Yet, the day-to-day is still full of surprises y curvas inesperadas.

I made one big mistake when raising my now 6-year-old girl as a bilingual child and I’ve been wanting to share this with you ever since I realized it. See, I’ve been obsessed with making sure we never, ever, ever spoke English to her and her exposure to English would be elsewhere and plentiful. I knew English would take over and I even called the stage a bilingual “rebellion,” implying my sort of battle at making sure her Spanish flourished beautifully. And that war is pretty much won.

So which battle did I lose? Where was I not strategic enough?

In her pronunciation in English.

In my obsession to make sure she spoke Spanish perfectly and since I had conditioned myself to never speak English to her, I would never correct her when she would mess up the pronunciation or tense of a word in English. I would just ignore it and repeat it en español. Turns out to not have been a very wise choice and I have no problem admitting it because I might not be the only one that made this decision.

Now that she’s in a dual immersion program and her Spanish skills are flourishing, I’m starting to notice more and more that while she’s completely bilingual (yet still in a really Spanglish/code-switching stage), she has so many more words in English that are used in the wrong tense or mispronounced because there hasn’t been a habit to correct her.

I’m not freaking out about this (yet) because I know she’s still developing her language skills overall and she’s really only in first grade, but I wonder if it would have made a difference if I would have not ignored her English completely.

Would love to know if this has happened to you, or if you also currently “ignore” your child’s mistakes in English or your country’s majority language? Please do share and let’s talk about this in the comments below.

The past couple of summers, my family and I have taken vacations that have enabled us to be immersed in Spanish. Our goals have always been to improve our language skills, to learn about and visit the historical sites throughout the country, and to experience the culture.

My previous SpanglishBaby posts about our travel experiences always included information about our activities, our Spanish classes, and the home-stays. In the comments section, there were often requests for further information and more specific recommendations.  Our trip this summer was truly amazing, and I hope to provide details for other families who would like to take a similar trip.

We chose to visit Peru again this summer since there were so many places we still wanted to see. Peru is an excellent country to visit with children. It has so much to offer from ancient sacred cities to an incomparable cuisine and rich cultural traditions and festivities. We chose to stay in Cusco, the former capital of the Incan empire, since it provided an excellent base for visiting the Incan ruins around the city and throughout the beautiful Sacred Valley.

During our time in Peru, the boys gained a deeper understanding of the history of Peru and were fascinated by the Incan ruins. We spent hours exploring and hiking ancient sites. While we all loved Sacsayhuamán, Piscac and Ollantaytambo, the highlight of our trip was visiting Machu Picchu! Having a Spanish-speaking guide helped the children learn about the history and culture of the Incan civilization while they explored the ancient ruins.

I had planned for our visit to coincide with the Inti Raymi festival. In Cusco, this ancient Incan festival of the sun is reenacted with hundreds of actors in colorful costumes. In the days leading up to the festival there were parades and traditional dances in the plaza. Our family really enjoyed being a part of the festivities and the chance to learn more about the culture of Peru and its history.

As in other years, my boys, my husband and I all took Spanish classes. I specifically searched for a school that gave back to the local community. We ended up attending Amigos Spanish School. We had a wonderful experience at the school and learned a lot! Unlike other schools, the aim of Amigos is to teach Spanish while also providing a future for disadvantaged children and young people in Cusco.

The proceeds from the school run a program that provides invaluable language skills, care and academic support to some of Cusco’s most disadvantaged students.

We all loved our teachers and our classes. Luke and Patrick’s teacher, Ms. Vanessa, did an excellent job! She would have the boys singing songs, telling stories, and playing games in Spanish. She was a creative and energetic teacher who did an amazing job furthering the linguistic abilities of the boys. Since the program for the Peruvian children was at the same school, my sons also had the opportunity to play with and become friends with the local children. We had brought bilingual books to donate to the school, and the kids really bonded over reading together.

My amazing teacher Jesús Napancca is the founder and director of the Amigos Spanish School! He was so helpful and dedicated to helping my family have a good experience while in Peru. I highly recommend this school. The classes are excellent, the program is well run, and the teachers are innovative and creative. Most importantly Jesús is always there to provide advice and help your family.

Immersion travel is a great way to further your kids’ language while also traveling and experiencing the culture of the country you are visiting. As a family, you can learn and have fun all in Spanish, and Peru has adventures for everyone!

Recommendations:

–We booked our trip to Machu Picchu with United Mice. It is important to make reservations in advance since the number of daily visitors to Machu Picchu is limited.

–We visited the other Incan ruins (Sacsayhuamán, Piscac, Ollantaytambo, etc.) by hiring a private taxi. The director of Amigos Spanish school Jesús Napancca helped us make these arrangements.

–We were placed in a homestay by Amigos Spanish School. They made all of the arrangements for us. Our homestay family picked us up at the airport in Cusco.

–We studied at Amigos Spanish School. The director is Jesús Napancca.

–I used the Lonely Planet Peru guidebook for booking our hotels, learning about the ancient sites, and deciding what points of interests and museums to visit.

–I used IB Tours for booking our flights from Lima to Cusco. Ask for Gisela!

{Images courtesy of Susan Stephan}

I’m not a huge breakfast eater — unless I go to the French bakery by my house, which is run by a couple from the south of France who moved to Denver five years ago. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but the bakery is on my way to Santiago’s preschool and so I stop in there regularly to devour freshly-baked croissants and the best baguettes I’ve ever had outside of France.

But one of the other reasons I love going there is that I get to practice my French with the owners. And whenever I go with my kids I get to show them — instead of telling them — how awesome it is that I can communicate with other people in their native language: one of the benefits of speaking more than one language.

Although it sometimes seems like there aren’t enough ways to immerse your children in the minority language outside of your home (especially the older they get), the truth is that sometimes we overlook some options that aren’t as obvious, but are awesome opportunities nonetheless. The best part about these is that they’re pretty simple things you can do on a regular basis which don’t require a lot of effort on your part.

1. Churches/Places of Worship

When I was looking into baptizing Vanessa, I knew I needed to find a church that offered services in Spanish so my  then 92-year-old grandmother, visiting from Perú, wouldn’t be lost during the ceremony. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, but I found one. Now, more than six years after moving to Denver, I’ve found many others. For me, it’s a great way to reconnect with my childhood, but it’s also the only way for me to participate in mass. I know this will sound kind of strange, but praying is one of those things I’d rather do in my native language.

Besides giving you and your kids the opportunity to attend services in the minority language, most churches organize activities and events outside of worship time. So this could be another great place for your children to be brought in contact with the minority language with others who share your beliefs. Due to the growing Latino population, you can probably find a place of worship that offers services in Spanish regardless of denomination.

2. Small, family-owned Latino restaurants

Although Denver is not devoid of Latino restaurants, it’s in its infancy stage when compared to Miami, where I spent the first 20 years of my life in the United States. Nevertheless, we have found a few great spots — some we frequent often because they’re near and some only on special occasions because they require a lot more driving. I’m talking about the kind of family-owned restaurants where Spanish is spoken freely and the menu is often in both languages, kind of like the French bakery I talked about at the top.

If you’re children are already reading, they can choose what they want and ask for it in Spanish! If not, you can introduce new vocabulary by talking about the items on the menu. This is also a great opportunity to talk about the importance of food for Latinos and the never-ending options we’re lucky to have.

3. Bodegas/Mercados/Hispanic Grocery Stores

Again, not a lot of these in my neck-of-the-woods, but enough for me to take my children and allow them to be surrounded by some of the smells and colors of our foods — an integral part of our culture. I’ve taken my daughter to one of this mercados and I’ve introduced her to some of the candy I used to enjoy as a child. Some is from my homeland, Peru, and some is from Mexico where I spent a few years as a child. Not only are these great places to expose our kids to Spanish, but also to our culture.

Keep in mind that these suggestions are universal, so they apply no matter which minority language you’re using. For example, just the other day, I drove by a Korean Methodist Church, which I later found out was started to cater to the Korean population in that area of Denver! The same can be said about ethnic food markets, not to mention restaurants and bakeries where other heritage languages, besides Spanish, is spoken.

{Photo by Big Grey Mare}

Yesterday was the first day of the 2012 “Education Nation” National Summit, taking place from Sept. 23-25 in New York City. The three-day event – which draws more than 300 of the country’s thought leaders in education, government, business, philanthropy and media, is focusing on successful examples of innovation in education, including bilingual education.

Summit sessions, moderated by top NBC News journalists, and NBC’s on-air programming will highlight a series of case studies from communities across the country, providing tools and takeaways for participants and viewers. One of those case studies, is Geddes Elementary in Baldwin Park, California and their dual-language immersion program.

Check out the video below to see how fascinating these programs are and how they truly serve as a model to improve fledgling school systems. Then, visit EducationNation.com for more detailed information and in-depth interviews with Geddes Elementary parents and staff.

The Summit is being live-streamed on EducationNation.com (check out full schedule here), and I suggest you put an alert to watch the panel discussion on child development, literacy, dual language, and minority students on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 8:55 a.m. EST. Panelists include Richard J. Noriega, President and CEO, AVANCE; Virginia Castro, principal, Geddes Elementary School; and Patricia Kuhl, Professor of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington.

{Photo credit: EducationNation.com}

I heard this really interesting story on NPR the other day about Macon, Georgia public schools which are now becoming Mandarin immersion programs. While I thought this was a cool idea, I was shocked by some of the community reactions.

There was anxiety on the part of some parents due to the fact that the Chinese instructors were being funded by local nonprofits backed by the Chinese government. NPR reported that, “Some parents see a Communist regime enacting its geopolitical agenda on their children.”

At this point, I will admit I laughed out loud.

The idea that some political agenda is magically transmitted when a person learns a language is silly. But it’s not actually funny; it’s scary.

It’s unsettling to know that my fellow Americans are threatened by the idea of their children learning a language other than English. The level of xenophobia inherent in this attitude makes me mourn for the children of parents who fear non-English speakers and the cultures we represent.

One mother apparently didn’t see the point in teaching students a second language when the schools overall were struggling to meet standards. She remarked, “Do you want to teach them how to say, ‘Do you want fries with that?’ in Mandarin?”

Nowhere in the article did the writers mention the proven benefits of being bilingual. I can relate to parents who want the best education for their kids. It just so happens that one “best practice” is bilingual education. In fact, in many ways, it’s the gold standard. In many countries around the world, students routinely learn in dual languages. It is in the U.S. with our fear of cultural or political “infiltration” that our students miss out on the important opportunity to be fluent in more than one language.

Towards the end of the report, other parents were cited as expressing a desire for a  Spanish program instead of a Mandarin one, but if people are ruffled by the idea of a Chinese “agenda,” given the level of anti-immigrant sentiment present today, I can only imagine the fear that would be caused by any program funded by a Latin-American country in our schools.

There is an “opt-out” choice for parents in Macon, Georgia. Because it’s a free country, after all, that seems appropriate. I just hope they can explain to their kids why they chose to prevent them from learning one of the most useful languages on the planet.

Here’s hoping that parents in Macon, Georgia will pick up a copy of our own Bilingual is Better, so that they may better appreciate the opportunity being offered to their children.

{Photo via: IvanWalsh.com}

Our family was fortunate to have had the opportunity to once again immerse our children in Spanish by traveling abroad. You may remember that last year we spent the summer in Peru. This summer was spent in Costa Rica. There really is nothing like travel to enhance your child’s language skills and to provide them with global and cultural understanding. Such trips require planning and effort, but the work is well worth it.

Since I do not have family living in a Spanish speaking country, a lot of research is involved with putting together an adventure that will be both fun and educational for the entire family. Months prior to the trip, I am looking at schools, possible homestay arrangements, and tourist destinations that will be interesting. Having now been through the planning, traveling and living abroad experience twice, I feel that there is some advice of value that I can pass on to families that would like to embark upon similar journeys.

Homestays

In both Peru and Costa Rica, we lived with local families. The homestays in both countries were arranged through the schools that we attended while abroad. There is no better way to be immersed in the language and culture of the country than to actually live with a local family.

Be careful! Our experience in Peru was wonderful! We ate with the family daily, and they went out of their way to help us get to know the city where we were living. The family enjoyed having students come to get to know their country and culture.

Unfortunately, we did not have a similar experience this summer. It was obvious that our Costa Rican family had us only to make money. The television was on constantly, and there was very little interaction with the family. The single mother was gone three nights a week, and we were left with the three children and a teenage babysitter. The house was also dirty, and we were often hungry because there was not enough food during the meals. Although my husband complained in writing at the school, nothing changed.

No matter what country you are visiting, homestay experiences will vary enormously based on the family and their motivation for taking in students. Have a back-up plan if the family does not work out. Be sure that you can either change families or living arrangements, if you find yourself in a situation that is just not the right fit. Try to avoid paying for the entire stay so that you have the freedom to make a change if your living arrangements are less than ideal. It is also a good idea to have a back-up plan to avoid being stuck in a home that makes you uncomfortable.

School

In Peru, my children studied Spanish with a Peruvian teacher. They learned songs, read books, played games, and did art projects with their teachers. While in Costa Rica, they attended a Waldorf School.

Working with individual teachers was far more conducive to the language learning of my sons. The teachers were able to specialize their instruction to best meet the needs of my boys. They were also exposed to excellent Spanish and were required to speak with their teachers without using English.

The Waldorf School provided very little teacher directed instruction; rather the kids were encouraged to play. While the boys did use Spanish to play with their peers, since they were only 2 and 4 years of age, the Spanish was limited and not very complex. While peer interaction is important, we were easily able to meet other young children by just taking a soccer ball to the park with us. There is nothing like having a teacher work with your child individually to further their linguistic skills.

Activities

In Peru, I arranged play dates with other Peruvian children, but in Costa Rica, I signed them up for music classes and Tae Kwon Do. The structured martial arts and music classes were so much fun for my children, and they were a great way for the boys to get to really know other Costa Rican children. These enrichment classes enabled the boys to both further their language skills and to experience different activities that they can continue to pursue in the future.

Travel

We did travel while we were in Peru, but I wished that we had done more. This year I scheduled extra travel days into our Costa Rica adventure.  The boys loved exploring the rainforests and beaches, and they were particularly interested in the animals and wildlife. To make our travels even more educational, we would hire guides who would take us on nature walks helping us to spot animals and telling the kids about what we were seeing, all in Spanish. We would have the guides use Spanish with the kids and us. While learning about the animals and nature around them, the kids, my husband and I were also hearing and using our Spanish.

An immersion experience in a Spanish speaking country is a great way to reinforce the Spanish language. Not only will your child gain linguistic skills, but they will also acquire a greater understanding of some of the different customs and cultures of the world. Planning a trip abroad can be challenging, but the efforts are worth the time and research.

I hope that my experience and advice helps with your plans to take your kids to another country to speak Spanish, become familiar with the culture, and to get to know another country and its people.

{photo via marinakvillatoro}

My six week trip home to Chile is coming to an end. This is by far the longest I have spent here in many, many years. In my last post I mentioned how happy I was to have my son hearing Spanish everywhere, improving his vocabulary and really practicing the language. But I also realized, that I a native speaker have also benefited from a complete language immersion. Spanish 100% of the time. No English whatsoever. No Spanglish, no filling in words with English. Nada.

And I tell you, it really does the brain some good. I too improved upon my Spanish, expanded my vocabulary and got up to date on the latest in Chilean Spanish. I say that because in the US I feel I speak a more neutral Spanish in order to accomodate with other variations of the language. I guarantee no one would understand my Chilean slang!

I also talk to myself a lot (I know, weird, but I’ve done this since I was a child). I noticed that I started talking to myself more in Spanish than in English and my dreams are all in Spanish whereas before they were a mix. I believe that a language that is not used, practiced, heard, or experienced culturally gets lost. And this I feel is what will happen with many Spanish speakers in the US because of lack of connection with the culture. Something we (especially as mothers) need to keep alive.

The first week we were here, Matías still spoke half in Spanish and half in English. Five weeks later, he is speaking no English at all to me, not even to fill in words and using Chilean sayings in the right context. He gets it! Even making jokes and developing a very cute Chilean accent “Si po’ mami” (“Po” is used here instead of “pues”). Even his beloved Backyardigans are all in Spanish and he pointed out to me “Mami, ellos dicen español”.

This language transformation, as I like to call it, has just reconfirmed what I felt was right all along and has also been the deciding factor for placing him in a Spanish immersion school. I am very lucky that in the Northern Virginia area, specifically in Fairfax and Arlington County schools there are many immersion programs, although now they seem to be in greater demand and the waiting lists are long.

I know that once we are back in the United States, back in our bilingual household he will slowly fall back on his Spanish and probably not speak it as much, but I will stand my ground. Even in our tiny corner of the world, I want him to hear it, speak it and experience it. I have spoken to him in Spanish since birth and I don’t feel comfortable switching over to English.

Our entire relationship is based in Spanish and that to me is a precious thing, one that I cannot see changing.

>{Image via patrickcoe}

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Daisy Galvis, a Colombian-American actress living in North Hollywood, CA with her husband and two bilingual children. 

I’m still reeling. My son was not chosen to attend the Immersion Spanish Program in Glendale. I toured Franklin Elementary school, which has an Immersion Language Program, back in 2010 and 2011 . The sight of kids speaking German, Italian, and Spanish just melted my heart on the spot. I knew this was where my son, Jones, would be attending kindergarten. There was no doubt in my mind this was the place for him.

My husband was on board. He knew how important it was for me to have our children speak Spanish. After all, I was raised in a Colombian, Spanish-only household and I’ve always felt so grateful to be able to speak, write and read Spanish….and very well, I might add. I know many people who are Latino, but do not speak the language. It’s perplexing to me. I go to auditions as a Latina and many of my fellow actors at the Hispanic auditions do not speak the language. It’s always interesting when a lady named Dolores Rodriguez does not speak a word of Spanish…kinda like when I first heard an Asian speak fluent Spanish in Miami. Who knew there was an influx of Chinese in Cuba? It reminds us that our way is not the only way. That’s the beauty of culture. And I want a lot of it for my children.

Even before I married my husband, I made sure he knew how important it was for my children to speak Spanish. I married a white guy from Michigan. How a Colombian girl from Miami met a guy from Michigan in Las Vegas is beyond me, but it was kismet. We meet wonderfully in the middle and to see him be the most amazing father brings tears to my eyes. The greatest gift I have ever given my kids is to have chosen such a wonderful man as their father. He tries so hard to understand my sadness at my son not being chosen into this school. It’s not enough for my kids to have Colombian blood. I need for them to speak the language, understand all the nuances and magic of the culture. It’s my culture, it’s their culture and I feel it’s my responsibility to pass it on.

It’s been difficult to verbalize my feelings. I’m realizing it’s not just about my son not getting accepted into a school, but also about the lengths that we will go to and how much we will do for our children. Another jolt of reality that I am a mom, like any other mom who would do anything to give her child every opportunity. I always knew I was tenacious for what I wanted. I was clueless as to the emotions that would surface when I wanted something for my child. It’s a new emotion and it surfaces quickly and cuts into my heart.

I’m back in the Boardroom in Glendale and the moderator tells us that if we are not accepted today — that there is still hope. There is a lot of shuffling and a spot might open up for my son in August or even September .  September? That is 7 months away. Do they not know me or understand the anxiety I am feeling? I even went as far as to ask my sister to join me at the lottery. She has always had strange luck when we go to Vegas and since this is a lottery, maybe she’d bring some luck our way. I had two tarot card readers tell me in January that he would be accepted. And now Glendale is telling me I might have to wait in this anxious hell for 7 more months..and maybe not get in at all. Maybe I can get a refund from the tarot readers? Or is there still hope?

Now, I can understand what people mean when they say parenting is exhausting. It’s not just the physical exhaustion, it’s the emotional weight of it all on our shoulders. The fear, the expectation, the feeling that somehow I failed my son, somehow, because his Spanish wasn’t as fluent as I would have hoped. Rationally, I know better. But, sometimes I slip and feel guilty that I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know where he’ll be starting Kindergarten in 7 months.

Aren’t we as parents supposed to know where our children are heading? Isn’t it our job to lay down the groundwork? My husband comforts me by saying, “We are doing everything we can. No matter what, he will go to a good school.” I believe him. I have no other choice. But, I still hold out hope for my phone to ring, my caller i.d. to read, “Glendale Unified”, and for a sweet voice with a smile to tell me, “a space has opened up for your son in Immersion Spanish” All I have is Hope and Faith. Esperanza y Fe.

{Image by Mr. Conguito}