70 • TELLURIDE TURNS
Language Learning is Elementary TELLURIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT LAUNCHES DUAL IMMERSION PROGRAM
“M
ommy, do you know… pecho?” My kindergartener grins; this game of “guess which Spanish word I know and you don’t” is amusing for both of us. I have to ask for a hint—it has, after all, been over a decade since I received any formal language training, and I can’t remember the Spanish word for “chest.” But now, thanks to the Telluride School’s dual immersion program, I’m getting a little extra Spanish language practice at home, from my five-year-old. The Telluride School District launched its dual immersion program last fall, creating kindergarten classes that spend half the day learning in English, and half the day learning in Spanish. Unlike a traditional Spanish class, Emmeline is fully immersed in Spanish for half of every school day, learning the same curriculum as any kindergartener, except she’s learning it in Spanish. Telluride School District Superintendent Mike Gass notes that contemporary research shows that introducing language to children in the primary grades creates a solid foundation for learning, not just in second language acquisition, but in overall academic success. “When you look at the research, analyzing brain development and academic achievement, multilingual kids have an advantage in learning,” he says. Telluride Elementary School kindergarten teacher Robbin Cooper has seen firsthand how easily young minds can pick up a new language. She has been teaching kindergarten in Telluride for ten years, and is now one of the teachers participating on the English side of the dual immersion program. “It has been so exciting to see. In kindergarten, we’re producing readers, and last year we saw them coming to the end of kindergarten reading in English and in Spanish, which is amazing,” Cooper says. The dual immersion program is slated to continue through fifth
www.TellurideMagazine.com
grade, with students in the program incrementally building on their language skills until they reach high levels of language proficiency and literacy. The simple process of learning in another language trains the brain to maintain focus, notes first-grade teacher Susana García Fernandez. Fernandez, along with her husband
WINTER/SPRING 2015-2016
Vidal Cubero Sobrados, the kindergarten teacher, moved to Telluride last year to help launch the Spanish component of the program. Both are native to Spain and taught at Denver’s International School, a full immersion school. “Being taught in another language forces you to be more attentive and engaged, helping students develop
concentration skills they’ll use for the rest of their lives,” she says. In addition to the academic benefits of a dual immersion education, there are social benefits as well. As previous superintendent of schools in Eagle County, which also offer a dual immersion program, Gass noticed that in addition to providing enrichment for kids who were doing well, it also leveled the academic playing field for that community’s Latino population. Gass expects to see the same thing happen in Telluride. “In my mind, school is the place where we should work to engage all learners, regardless of their background or ethnicity. With Eagle County’s bilingual program you had kids learning from each other and supporting each other and creating lifelong friendships,” he says. Cooper has noticed how her English language learner students have flourished in the dual immersion program, with native Spanish speakers more empowered when they walk into the classroom, and their parents and families more motivated to participate in school activities like volunteering to read to the class. Learning another language helps all students develop an appreciation for different cultures, she says, and can help students from a minority group bridge a sometimes broad cultural divide. That, in turn, can help students become more empathetic citizens of the world. Sobrados agrees: “It’s a global world…when you can speak more than one language, you have an open world for you.” Yet for my daughter, the Spanish portion of her school day isn’t about maximizing her academic potential, or becoming a better citizen of the world through clearer comprehension of a different culture. For Emmeline, her dual immersion kindergarten is about singing songs, playing games, and having fun with new friends—some who speak Spanish, some who don’t (yet). And coming home and teaching her mom a new Spanish word or two. \
Photos by Brenda Colwell
By Martinique Davis