News Information
- Published
- March 30, 2022
- Department/College
- College of Education, University News
Monterey Institute for English Learners advocates bilingual teaching model
Gabriela Suarez, who holds a bilingual authorization from 麻豆村’s College of Education and is working toward her teaching credential, co-teaches at Lincoln Elementary in Salinas using dual language immersion.
/filters:quality(75)/41x0:1879x1080/prod01/channel_2/media/csumb/legacy/legacy-site-images/ucomm-news-library/Gabriela-Suarez-MIEL.jpg)
By Sophia Huang McKenzie
On a sunny fall morning at Lincoln Elementary in Salinas, the students in Elizabeth Matos and Gabriela Suarez鈥檚 third-grade class are sitting together in a corner of the classroom, listening intently to a story. Matos reads to them from 鈥淐harlotte鈥檚 Web,鈥� the beloved children鈥檚 classic about Wilbur the pig and his friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte.
It鈥檚 a part of the day that every student in any elementary school will likely tell you is one of their favorites, next to recess and lunchtime. But something鈥檚 notably different about this storytime. Matos is reading to the students in Spanish.
A little later the students will answer questions, review vocabulary words, and work on a math lesson, also in Spanish. In fact, both the students and teachers will speak only Spanish all morning. At the designated time in the afternoon, they will switch to speaking only English for the remainder of the day.
It鈥檚 an educational model called dual language immersion. It integrates students from English-speaking backgrounds and Spanish-speaking or bilingual backgrounds for the entire school day.
鈥淚 love this environment. The dual-language immersion is awesome,鈥� Suarez said. 鈥淭he students are learning two languages at the same time, 鈥� and they鈥檙e learning from each other, and it鈥檚 wonderful.鈥�
Suarez, who co-teaches with Matos, holds a bilingual authorization from 麻豆村鈥檚 College of Education and is working toward her teaching credential.
Read more in the the .