Kindergarteners perfecting their ABCs in two languages at H. Allen Hight Elementary

--- Published on October 15th 2017 ---
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It’s not only October to kindergarten students at H. Allen Hight Elementary school – it’s also octubre.

They’re not only 5 years old – they’re also cinco años.

While kindergarteners are perfecting their ABCs in English, they’re also learning Spanish at H. Allen Hight as part of an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme in which students at every grade level study Españolfor about 40 minutes each week.

The taste of world language is consistent with preparing kids for college and career in an increasingly global economy. If they opt to take Spanish every year in middle and high school, they will have been exposed to 13 years of instruction before graduation.

¡Fantástico!

“They love it and I love teaching them,” teacher Esther Leyva said of the kindergarten students. “They learn really well if I keep repeating English to Spanish. They get it, they seem to understand what’s going on.”

One recent day, the 5-year-olds spent their time with Leyva practicing:

·         Days of the week: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado y domingo

·         Months of the year: enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre

·         Greetings

o   Good morning — Buenos días

o   Good afternoon — Buenas tardes

o   Good evening – Buenas noches

·         Colors, including:

o   White – blanco

o   Green – verde

o   Blue – azul

·         Classroom objects, including:

o   Pencil – el lápiz

o   Eraser – el borrador

o   Book – el libro

 

Ms. Leyva kept the kids’ attention by varying the type of instruction: At one point, the kids sang a song in Spanish, at another point, the students paired with a partner to practice common phrases, such as, “Me gusta los colores.” Ms. Leyva often does a hand puppets — a fish, elephant and lion – to entertain while teaching.

“They’re willing to do all the silly stuff, which makes it fun,” Ms. Leyva said of the kindergarten class’s reaction to her hand puppets – Señor Pez, Señor León and Señor El (for elefante).

To enhance comprehension, the teacher often blends both English and Spanish into her instructions, such as asking the class to “point to los números” or “gracias for doing an excelente job.”

Ms. Leyva said that kindergarten who continue studying Spanish and become truly bilingual before high school graduation could have an advantage in seeking jobs, particularly those with Spanish-speaking clients or co=workers who struggle with English.

For kindergarteners, the goal is to expose them to Spanish words and their pronunciation, not to make them fluent overnight. To that end, they practice basic phrases, such as, “Me gustan los colores” – I like colors.

 H. Allen Hight’s Spanish program for all grade levels, through 6th grade, is consistent with Natomas Unified’s Board-approved Vision that, “All NUSD students graduate as college and career ready, productive, responsible, and engaged global citizens.”