Two Languages at a Time

Summary

In this insightful video, Miss Rose Gonzalez, a second-grade teacher at Webster Elementary in Long Beach, California, demonstrates an innovative bilingual approach to teaching English. Her classroom, where both English and Spanish receive equal focus, is particularly effective in supporting English language learners. Miss Gonzalez uses creative methods to teach vocabulary, such as using real-life examples and cognates, to make learning engaging. The video highlights the importance of fostering bilingualism in young children, showing how shared skills between Spanish and English make the transition easier for her students, many of whom are recent immigrants.

Takeaways

• 😀 Miss Gonzalez teaches second grade at Webster Elementary in Long Beach, California, with a classroom mix of native English and Spanish speakers.
• 😀 Her classroom emphasizes bilingual education, with equal time spent on both English and Spanish, which is shown to be effective for English language learners.
• 😀 The goal in Miss Gonzalez's classroom is for students to become fluent in both English and Spanish.
• 😀 Vocabulary development is a key focus during English lessons, with students working on learning words they encounter in reading.
• 😀 Miss Gonzalez uses real-life examples, like vertical blinds, to explain new vocabulary words, making learning more relatable for students.
• 😀 Cognates (words that are similar in both English and Spanish) are used to help students understand and learn new vocabulary.
• 😀 Students like Cynthia, Pedro, and Jonathan, who are recent immigrants, receive additional support during small group time to help them catch up.
• 😀 For students who speak Spanish, cognates can be a powerful tool, with a significant portion of the English vocabulary having similar words in Spanish.
• 😀 When students already know how to read in Spanish, they can more easily learn to read in English without starting from scratch.
• 😀 Miss Gonzalez focuses on teaching the differences between English and Spanish grammar, such as word order and noun-adjective combinations.
• 😀 Young children can typically become bilingual if they have a skilled teacher like Miss Gonzalez, who provides the right support for language learning.

Q & A

What is unique about Miss Gonzalez's classroom compared to other second grade classrooms?

Miss Gonzalez's classroom is unique because it equally prioritizes both English and Spanish, providing an immersive bilingual learning environment for all students.

Why is equal time given to both English and Spanish in Miss Gonzalez's classroom?

Equal time is given to both languages because research shows it is one of the most effective ways to help English language learners develop reading skills in English, while also supporting their growth in Spanish.

What is Miss Gonzalez's primary goal for her students?

Her primary goal is for all of her students to become fluent in both English and Spanish, ensuring they are bilingual.

How does Miss Gonzalez help her students learn vocabulary?

She uses various techniques, such as using relatable examples, objects like vertical blinds, and even flagpoles to help explain vocabulary words and their meanings.

What role do cognates play in Miss Gonzalez's classroom?

Cognates, which are words that are similar in English and Spanish (e.g., 'museum' and 'museo'), help students, especially those who speak Romance languages, learn English more easily by building on their existing knowledge.

How do cognates benefit students learning English?

Cognates benefit students by allowing them to recognize familiar words in both languages, helping expand their vocabulary more efficiently. English and Spanish share about 10,000 to 15,000 cognates, making up a significant portion of each language's vocabulary.

What special support do Miss Gonzalez's students who are new arrivals receive?

New arrival students, like Cynthia, Pedro, and Jonathan, receive extra help during small group sessions where Miss Gonzalez focuses on their specific needs and uses techniques to bridge the gap between their home language and English.

How does knowing Spanish help students like Jonathan learn English?

For students like Jonathan, knowing Spanish makes it easier to learn English since many of the phonemic and comprehension skills transfer between the two languages, reducing the need to start from scratch.

What are some of the challenges Miss Gonzalez faces when teaching bilingual students?

One of the challenges Miss Gonzalez faces is leveraging the shared knowledge of cognates and helping students differentiate the grammatical and structural differences between English and Spanish, such as word order and noun-adjective combinations.

How do young children handle learning two languages simultaneously in Miss Gonzalez's classroom?

Young children generally handle learning two languages at the same time well, especially with a good teacher like Miss Gonzalez, who carefully designs her lessons to make the learning process smoother and less confusing.