Bilingual Education
“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.”
Frank Smith
‘The child’s sensibility to absorb language is so great that he can acquire foreign languages at birth to three.”
Maria Montessori
Bilingual Education Benefits
The absorbent mind and the sensitive periods are present in the first plane of development. When the child is immersed in a bilingual/multilingual environment as part of their daily life, they have the potential to acquire and develop these languages as their first language.
When a child is given the opportunity to learn a second language, it is like giving them a key to another world and expanding their horizons. The benefits of bilingualism in the short and long term are well known. Some of the benefits:
Cognitive development
Longer attention periods
Improves attention and concentration
Decision-making (in which language to respond, which word to use)
Helps socio-cultural adaptation
How do we support the development of the bilingual child?
Constant presence, communication, and consistency on the part of the adult.
Name every object, action, and emotion when interacting with the child.
Remember the importance of sensory experiences connected to language.
Keep exposure to linguistic and cultural diversity, especially in the first plane of development.
Importance of repetition, time, and opportunities.
Faith in the child
Remember that each child has his rhythm and process of reception and manifestation.
Create an environment of respect for different forms of expressions.
An Early Start
Dr. Montessori first identified a “sensitive period” for language learning in children from birth to age six, where they can apparently effortlessly absorb language skills from their environment. More recent research has also shown that language learning happens most easily during early childhood & starts to become more difficult around age 12, when the conscious memory system develops more strongly. Therefore, a Montessori bilingual environment which starts as early as infancy or the young toddler years and continues on at least until age six, leverages the child’s “absorbent mind” by surrounding him with Spanish so he can passively absorb his second language just as naturally as his first.
World View & Social Adeptness
One of the benefits of being bilingual can mean that you see the world in different ways. Some even say that speaking two different languages can sometimes feel like having two different personalities.
Bilinguals are used to constant change. This means that they are usually less affected by changes in the environment, and more open minded to new things and new experiences, because they have more than one view of the world already. Children as young as seven months exposed to more than one language tend to adjust better to environmental changes.
Bilinguals can make friends in more than one language meaning more opportunities to meet new people, and enjoy different hobbies and activities. Being able to communicate with people from other cultures is a huge social advantage and can open up so many more doors in life.
Cultural Expansion
Language is inextricably linked to culture. In fact, children often default to speaking the native language of the surrounding culture. At Autana, we provide a rich environment for cultural experiences. Practical life activities can incorporate Spanish customs, from foods we prepare together, to the type of fabrics we use in our materials. Songs and stories from Spanish-speaking areas of the world bring Spanish culture to life in the classroom. We also encourage families in our community to come & share their culture’s events, such as Chinese New Years celebrations, or Hanukkah.
Teaching A Second Language
Most of our classrooms have one English and one Spanish speaker teacher. Two bilingual (Spanish/English) teachers are sometimes in one classroom.
The Spanish-speaking teacher speaks the Spanish language at all times. When a child needs assistance in conflict resolution with a peer or specific instruction, the assistant or teacher will talk to that child in their native language to help him. The academic lessons are given to the child in his native language first and then are taught in the second language. For example, a Spanish-speaking child will learn the sounds of the letters in Spanish, and after he has known them well, he will learn the sounds of the letters in English. If the child is an English native speaker, she will learn the sounds of the letters in English and later in Spanish. The math, geography, and science lessons will be taught similarly.
Group lessons, science experiments, and story time will be offered in both languages at different times. The teachers alternate reading books in Spanish and English during the day.
Circle time is given in Spanish every day in each classroom. The teacher uses corporal language and an appropriate tone to make circle time fun and interactive. During circle time, the children learn lots of new vocabulary and songs, listen to stories, and play games in Spanish.