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Writer's pictureTabitha Miller

Becoming bilingual


The background appears like woven fabric or crinkled paper, with red, green, and yellow vertical stripes

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I immediately think about language. My native language is English; I grew up in southern Virginia and there is simply no diversity in my family tree. But when I started taking Spanish classes in junior high school, my teacher, Mrs. Overby, noticed that I had a talent for language. She nurtured that talent and sent me on to high school to learn from Mrs. Rorrer, another non-native lover of the language, who recommended my best friend and me for a summer program called The Governor's Spanish Academy. 


My friend and I lived for a month in Staunton, Virginia, where sixty students from around the state spoke only in Spanish every day. In fact, we were permitted one hour per night to read and write in English so we could communicate with our families. We sang, danced, learned academics in Spanish, visited a beach and a college, and had a nightly live news performance after dinner. 



A street view of the grounds of the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind. The perspective is from the entrance, continuing with with two pillars and a sign and leading up a hill to the main three-story building.
The Governor's Spanish Academy was housed at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind during the summer.

It was one of the most idyllic times of my life. It was nearly utopic. However, on one excursion to the local Walmart to stock up on personal care essentials and snacks, we strode in, happily chattering away in Spanish. Some folks observed us with curiosity, while a few others made nasty comments about and to us. 


What I learned from that experience has stayed with me: Because I am a white person, I can turn my Spanish on and off at will and it is perhaps easier for me to code switch, in terms of cultural repercussions. For people of color, there is no turning off a part of you. That experience drove me to champion language diversity, promote students' unabashed use of their entire language repertoires, and strive for educators who were overprepared to support their English Learners. 


All of the students are wearing a red shirt. Many are smiling and some are hugging others.
Sixty students from all over the state of Virginia, on a visit to Washington & Lee University in 1995. 

Immersion


My experience at the Academy made me fluent in Spanish. But it also showed me the most effective and efficient way to learn a language: immersion. In my career as a high-school Spanish teacher, I found that even my AP Level V students struggled with the language, likely because ninety minutes every other day was not enough to master the grammar, syntax, idiomatic expressions, and vast vocabulary of a language. I had written a Spanish for Native Speakers course for my district, but I wasn't quite sure how to reach my English speakers within the typical model.


I later taught at a dual-language immersion (DLI) school, where students of all backgrounds learned academic content in two languages. There were English speakers, Spanish speakers, and students who were on a spectrum of bilingualism when they stepped into my all-Spanish Kindergarten classroom. I watched with fascination as my little learners soaked up every word and – starting around January – took those words and made meaning with their classmates, teachers, and families. 


In my early days as a DLI educator, my colleagues and I wrote our curriculum because there was none. I later wrote a K-5 science curriculum in Spanish and taught it in a mobile classroom with no sink. 


Later, as a DLI principal, I learned about curricula that supported this unique type of learning. I reviewed academic studies on the efficacy of different DLI models. I worked to bridge the gap between two sets of families: parents whose English-speaking students already had distinct advantages but wanted to prepare for college and career and immigrant parents who wanted their children to have a chance to succeed in the United States. Our school earned a state award for making gains with all of our students, but our biggest gains were with English Learners and Students with Disabilities. 



Large text reads "Have you ever wondered?" And smaller text below explains that Hispanic refers to those who speak Spanish; Latino(a) refers to someone from the geographic location; Latinx is gender-neutral; and Spanish refers to a language or someone from Spain. The large blue, pink and orange Venn diagram explains the distinction further. In blue, Latino(a) refers to people from latin countries, not Spain. On the right, in orange, "Hispanic" refers to countries that speak Spanish, excluding Spain. In the middle, pink, is the overlap of the two distinctions, listing countries that are both Latin and Hispanic.
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, this graphic will help you know which terms to use!

This isn't pie


What I learned from these experiences is that:


Everyone can learn a language at some level.


Listen to music in another language, watch TV with subtitles, read children's books, or join a local conversation group. JUST SPEAK! Just listen! Just experience it.


Guaranteeing rights for one group of people doesn't mean fewer rights for others.


This isn't pie, after all. The tax dollars Virginia spent on my summer experience may have seemed superfluous to many; to me, it was an opportunity to be immersed in a language. My parents couldn't afford to send me abroad, so my talent might have been wasted without the foresight of educators who made that program happen. Those very tax dollars were invested in a teacher, principal, and curriculum developer, who has influenced lives many times over in the education field. In this vein, dual-language programs serve students who might not have ever been to the beach or the mountains, but can still learn about language, culture, and history.


Progress can seem slow, frustratingly so, but it does happen.


As a teenager in the 1990s, I taught English to migrant workers. Today, the beginnings of a Hispanic community are taking shape in my home city. In 2010, there were roughly 1,000 DLI programs in the United States, compared to 3,600 in 2021. Those programs teach academic concepts in Chinese, French, German, and Vietnamese. 


Education is for everyone. 


The latest data show that 5.3 million students in the U.S. (that's 10.6%) are English Learners. Whether they are part of the 0.8% in West Virginia or the 20.2% in Texas, they all deserve – and are guaranteed – support in learning English and other academic concepts.


Language is for everyone.


Controversy over language learning in American public schools is nothing new. World War I anti-German sentiment led to the arrest of a teacher of German (Meyer v. Nebraska, 1923). The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 enshrined English Learners' rights and Lau v. Nichols (1974) further solidified those rights. In many ways, legally speaking, California led the charge to provide equitable educational opportunities and support for English Learners. Educators continue to strive for excellence in language education.



Bilingualism at ScribeConcepts


As an organization specializing in educational publishing solutions, ScribeConcepts understands the importance of all types of learning. As a former content writer and recent full-time hire as Content Manager, I have deeply appreciated our focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. These values extend from our products to our client and consultant relationships and our everyday experiences as a staff. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage month, please take a moment to consider what our bilingual staff had to say about knowing more than one language. Remember, everyone's language journey is unique. It's never too late to embark upon your own.


Teresa Hamilton, our Senior Bookkeeper who speaks English and Spanish, recounted her language experiences:


Teresa Hamilton, ScribeConcepts' bookkeeper, has wavy black hair. She is looking up and to the right, smiling.

"My journey in learning another language derived from the need to survive in a new country during my adolescent years. My family immigrated from Mexico to the United States in search of a better life and education for us. I started school in Mexico, where I learned the basics, such as reading and writing, and even though it was for only a year, I am so grateful for that year and all that I learned. My parents did a good job of maintaining that balance at home in continuing our Spanish education so we would not forget what we had learned. But growing up in Mississippi, there was very little to no Spanish education, which made it a bit difficult to interact and practice the language outside of the house. 


"Although Spanish was my first language at one point, it is now my second language, and unfortunately, one that I do not get to use as often as I would like. It wasn’t until later on in my late teens that I met more people like me and explored what it meant to be different, and I quickly realized that what I thought to be a useless trick has been one of my proudest skills. It brings me so much joy when I can speak my native language with others, and more importantly, I am always happy to help translate when I hear someone in need of assistance. Having been there before, I know what it means to have a helping hand or in this case, a voice."


 

James Cukr, our Creative Director, talked about his and his daughter's language journeys:


James Cukr, ScribeConcepts' Creative Director, smiles.

"When I was a child, my mother was not allowed to teach me her native language for fear that it would disrupt my learning capacity. That was the way it was decades ago, and to this day, I wish she had.


"So, when my daughter was born, her mother and I made a very conscious and deliberate decision to have a multi-language household. Her mother would speak in her native tongue, French, and I would speak in mine, American English. 


"We were amazed that she comprehended both of us equally and knew when to use one language or the other. She was four when I realized just how remarkable it was. Her mother and I were talking with her using our respective languages, and she was able to switch languages mid-sentence, continuing her train of thought, as she turned to face either of us. Repeatedly.


"Today, she is completely bilingual and is studying two more languages: Spanish and Latin. Her English teachers regularly check with her for proper usage tips and idioms. And although she lives in France full-time and I am the only one outside of her English classroom whom she speaks English with, she has no accent or any problem holding conversations when she visits the U.S.


"As a parent, I’m very proud and envious of her language mastery. I feel so much more comfortable knowing that when she travels, she has the tools to communicate, and those tools will become even more valuable when she transitions from school to becoming independent."


 

Ben Baio, our Director of People Operations, had this to say about the power of language:



Ben Baio, ScribeConcepts' People Operations Director, smiles.

"As a bilingual learner who came to America at a young age, I initially faced challenges expressing myself in English. I grew up dreaming in Spanish, which was my comfort zone, but I knew my English skills were improving when my dreams began to shift into English. Over time, as I traveled across the U.S. and world, I discovered the diversity in how Spanish is spoken, with different slang and dialects unique to each region and country. This sparked a curiosity in me to explore even more languages, which led me to learn French. Knowing multiple languages has helped me develop as a professional and connect on a deeper level with employees and candidates. I now see language as a powerful key that unlocks the doors to diverse cultures and deepens my understanding of the world."


 

Tabitha Miller is the Content Manager for ScribeConcepts. She has worked in education for nearly two decades as a teacher, principal, consultant, and curriculum developer. She is passionate about bilingual and personalized education models, early literacy, science instruction, and equity in education. Tabitha works with our talented consultants to create high-quality educational content for clients.

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