Teaching a second language to children

Por Aurora Fibla

Teaching young children is not an easy task, but it's one of the most rewarding, and that's what I am feeling now, in November, in my Kindergarten classroom where I started teaching Spanish in August 2023 in a dual language immersion program in Las Vegas. 

They ask permission to go to the restroom or get a drink. They greet people who come to the classroom, and they know about animals' habitat, diet, reproduction, numbers, geometry, and all that in Spanish. 

A mix of GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Development) and the ARC Core Curriculum from the American Reading Company are among the main components of our method. A lot of anchor charts and grids help me with the vocabulary. Following the ARC Core Curriculum, they stay spread in the classroom for weeks during the unit, which can be Zoology, Ecology, or Entomology. Songs with content related to the unit are in my toolbox as well. By now, my students ask for their favorites, among them La vaca Lola, la ronda de los conejos, or La rana debajo del agua, available in that excellent collection that is La Granja de Zenón.      

For Math, we use IReady in Spanish and English, and the students are acquiring the vocabulary needed for their operations in both languages.

Like I said, I started in August 2023. We are still halfway through this school year. Let's see what the MAP results say by May 2024.