Learning in 2 languages at Ericsson Elementary

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By Sheena Dooley | Tuesday, November 13, 2007 2:04 AM CST | () comments

Fernando Ramos, left, Julissa Rivera and Georgina Moreno look through books during story time in Ericsson Elementary School’s afternoon session of the bilingual preschool class Monday. (Kevin E. Schmidt/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo

As students flow into Room 3 at Ericsson Elementary, they sit at different stations. Some of the preschoolers work putting puzzles together. Others talk to each other, catching up.

Once the nine students present settle in, their teacher, Kara Banfield, calls them to the carpet at the front of the room.

“Donde esta Fernando?” she asks in Spanish. A boy raises his hand, and she continues.

“Donde esta Monica?”

A girl raises her hand, and Banfield greets her, “Buenas tarde,” or good afternoon.

In all, Banfield teaches 10 students in her afternoon preschool class. All of the children are Hispanic. Some speak limited English. Others don’t. But in Room 3, it doesn’t matter.

Banfield’s class is part of a new bilingual preschool program offered at Ericsson this year, adding to similar classes already offered to kindergarten through second-graders. The goal is to build an educational foundation in students’ native language, while slowly integrating English in their vocabulary, Banfield said.

Ericsson enrolls the highest Hispanic population in the Moline-Coal Valley School District, with just more than 90 percent of students with that ethnicity. That compares to the 15 percent or less at most other elementary schools.

“We don’t expect them to know English by the end of the year,” she said. “They will go through the bilingual program through second grade. By then, they should have acquired enough English skills to move on.”

Less than two months into the program, students already use the two languages interchangeably, as does Banfield.

After the teacher takes attendance, they sing the “Buenas tardes” song.

“Buenas tardes, buenas tardes. A todos saludamos,” they sing in unison. In English, it translates into, “Good afternoon, good afternoon. We greet everyone.”

They sing several other tunes in both languages before Banfield selects one student to read over the day’s schedule, which includes lunch around a large table in the classroom, painting, reading, putting puzzles together and recess.

“Preschool is really a language-based program,” she said. “Social skills are vital at this age. We do a lot of ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to help teach good manners.”

Letting students take such leadership roles helps them feel more a part of family, which is something the class is focusing on this week, Banfield said. Also, a constant focus is teaching them how to interact socially, which includes using good manners.

Throughout the class, both teachers and students are careful to say “gracias” or “thank you,” which is countered most often with “de nada” or “you’re welcome.”

“We view the classroom as a family now,” Banfield said. “We want them to succeed so we nurture them and make it a more inviting atmosphere.”

Sheena Dooley can be contacted at (563) 383-2363 or sdooley@qctimes.com.