Lesson 2 and the Question of Bilingual Education

In the second lesson with our JA class, we discussed Angie and her trip to the carnival.  This section is mostly about learning about money, the importance of earning and saving money like Angie did, and then using the money to buy something, like Angie did for her Aunt Sarah.  We then did an activity in which we identified different coins--penny, nickle, dime, and quarter--and how much they were worth.

It's interesting the examine how, even though we are teaching this class in Spanish, it has a lot of bilingual elements.  First, obviously, it's a class taught by two people who are native English speakers learning Spanish, so English always manages to slip through now and then.  Furthermore, while our students speak both English and Spanish, most have one language they're stronger and weaker on. So every once in awhile, we'll be using two languages to describe a concept so everyone can understand.

I think bilingual education is important, especially as the world becomes increasingly interconnected.  Furthermore, some studies have shown that learning more than one language can help you become smarter, improving cognitive skills that aren't even related to language learning.  However, in many schools in the US today, language classes don't really start in earnest until high school or (maybe) middle school.  I myself started to learn Spanish in 8th grade, though it wasn't so much an overall bilingual education, but just Spanish classes 5 times a week for about an hour at a time.  And I remember these classes were pretty easy, rarely challenging, and therefore I didn't become as fluent as I could have.

Studies have shown that it's best for a child to learn a language while still pretty young, because it's during this time that a lot of the foundations for thinking, language, attitudes, etc. are solidified.  This is where bilingual education in the United States is lacking.