December 4, 2023 • 20 mins
In this episode we learn about our Multilingual and Heritage Spanish Department in the OSD. We’ll talk with some of our staff members and hear about the many opportunities for our kids.
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SPEAKER1:
Today we're going to learn about our multilingual and heritage Spanish
departments in the OSD. (00:00):
undefined
We'll talk with some of our staff members and hear about the many opportunitiesfor our kids.
SPEAKER2: Welcome to this episode of inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids. (00:13):
undefined
Here is your host, lifelong educator and our superintendent, Dr.
Leslie Bergstrom.
SPEAKER1: Welcome to Inside the OSD. (00:26):
undefined
We are excited to have you here to talk about our multilingual and heritageSpanish departments.
So let's start with introductions.
Can you share a little bit about your background and your role here in the OSD?
SPEAKER3: My name is Jasmin Hammes. (00:39):
undefined
I am the heritage Spanish teacher for Prairie View and Brooklyn Elementary.
I believe this will be my 14th year in the district.
Wow! I was the first heritage teacher to be hired, which is really exciting.
A little bit about my background.
I had the privilege of attending a Spanish immersion elementary school, and solanguage learning is been part of my life since I was like five years old, which
(01:05):
is something that I carry with me in my instruction.
SPEAKER1: That's really cool. (01:08):
undefined
Where did you grow up where you had that opportunity?
SPEAKER3: It was in Minneapolis. (01:11):
undefined
SPEAKER1: Wow. That's great. (01:13):
undefined
SPEAKER4: Hi, I'm Katie Hajdu. (01:16):
undefined
I am a multilingual teacher here in the Oregon School district.
I'm at Prairie View, Netherwood and Brooklyn Elementary.
I really started my career -- I read an article about the need for ESLteachers, and that's another term for what I
do just in Dane County.
(01:37):
And the need, because of the growing population of specifically Spanishspeaking students, but other languages as well.
And I decided to go back to school and get my teaching licenses, includingthat.
And then this is my first and only position in this field, and this is my 13thyear.
SPEAKER1: That's so exciting. (01:55):
undefined
So you had a different -- you were in a different profession.
You read this article and went back to school.
Yes. Oh my goodness.
We should find out who wrote that and send them a card or something.
That's really cool.
SPEAKER5: I'm Maggie Lofgren and I'm the heritage Spanish teacher at RCI and OMS, and my background is in learning languages (02:08):
undefined
and English as a second language in school.
Once I started teaching in Lodi teaching Spanish, I realized that I reallyloved working with my native speakers and I realized there was
(02:31):
there was a lot lacking for them in their in their classes.
And I decided to go back for my master's and went with a bilingual biculturalfocus and really, really fell in love with that world and landed
here in Oregon.
And this is my sixth year.
SPEAKER1: Thank you Maggie. And I forgot that you had been in Lodi before us. (02:48):
undefined
I think they just won the state football championship for their division.
Yeah, that's pretty cool.
So now I'd love for you to describe the programs that you work in for ourlisteners, because I'm not sure everybody understands the services that we
provide our students, especially since names have changed over the course oftime, so they might not recognize it even if they think they understand it.
(03:14):
So, Jasmin, would you like to start with the elementary schools and then we'llwork our way up?
Sure.
SPEAKER3: So at the elementary level, we have a heritage Spanish program, and we also have what's called the multilingual program. (03:20):
undefined
The Heritage Spanish program provides Spanish support for our students whoseparents speak Spanish at home.
The multilingual offers more English support for all of our students.
We'll get into that in a little bit.
(03:40):
So for the heritage program, it's really cool because when all of their peersgo to the World Language Spanish course, which is
a little, it's not as challenging as maybe our Spanish speakers might need.
Our Spanish speakers come with me.
And so they get literacy and writing in Spanish, so that way they can flourishin both languages.
(04:07):
One thing to kind of think about when a kiddo goes into kindergarten and ifthey don't have any English, they're not only trying to figure out the language,
but they're also trying to figure out the content, the reading, the writing,the math.
So if we're able to provide that support in Spanish, then those skills transferas they're learning English.
SPEAKER1: I think that's the key piece, Jasmin, that a lot of people don't understand. (04:26):
undefined
When -- why would you teach a student in Spanish when you want them to learnEnglish?
They don't understand always why it works the way it works.
So can you do that?
Can you explain that one more time?
Because that's a really big piece.
SPEAKER3: So I kind of go back to like if you were to learn the vocabulary or if you're learning photosynthesis. (04:43):
undefined
This is kind of complex. But if you're learning photosynthesis and you don'tspeak the language, you have to learn the content, photosynthesis.
But then you also have to learn the language.
And so by providing the heritage Spanish program, we're making sure thatthey're getting the content while they're developing their English skills.
SPEAKER1: That's a great way to describe it. (05:10):
undefined
And they're getting the content in their English language arts course.
So reading, writing, speaking, listening.
SPEAKER3: Yes. And the cool thing about the new language arts curriculum is that there's a lot of science and social studies embedded. (05:17):
undefined
So they're learning like kindergartens, learning different types of weather.
And then in second grade they're learning about fossils.
And that is embedded in the language arts curriculum.
SPEAKER1: Oh that's fantastic. (05:34):
undefined
So they're getting that in their heritage language and they're getting that inEnglish.
Correct.
Okay. Thank you I think that made it really clear.
SPEAKER3: So then while I'm offering the Spanish support, Katie Hajdu offers English support for a lot of our students. (05:45):
undefined
SPEAKER4: Yep. So Jasmin and I do overlap a lot of our students. (05:53):
undefined
Students are identified as multilingual learners based on how their parentsfill out their registration, parents or guardians fill out registration and
their home language.
And then we give a screener in English.
And so students who qualify, then we can start right away.
(06:14):
It doesn't matter what age they enter.
And so then we provide English support for them.
And so we do a combination.
We might support them in the classroom.
When I say "we" I mean myself or my colleagues at the other buildings, we alsohave some paraprofessionals who work with us as well, um, support in the
(06:35):
classroom. We collaborate a lot with teachers as well, with vocabulary andlanguage, just all sorts of instructional best
practices that they can use.
And we do some pull out as well, or working in small groups.
It kind of varies based on a student's language level as well.
(06:56):
We can see students who are born here in Madison, Dane County, and they arelearning English even before they're
coming to us, but they're still needing support all the way to students comingstraight from another country and enrolling as an 11th grader at the high
school. So it can really vary.
(07:16):
We have students who currently in our district, they represent 23 countries.
That's fantastic.
Themselves or their parents?
We also have about somewhere between 8 and 10 languages right now represented,with Spanish being the
majority as well.
SPEAKER1: After Spanish, what is the next most commonly spoken language of students in our Multilingual Learner program? (07:38):
undefined
SPEAKER4: Right now, I would say probably Albanian. (07:46):
undefined
Wow. I could -- I would have to crunch the numbers, but it's a pretty big gapbetween Spanish and then just some pockets of some of the other languages.
But we have Spanish, Albanian, Nepali, Arabic, Hmong, Lao, Polish.
In the past we've had Mandarin, Ukrainian, Dutch, Russian, French, Korean,Mongolian, and I'm sure there's more that I'm missing.
SPEAKER1: Well, now it's absolutely a superpower to be multilingual. (08:13):
undefined
And I -- it's something that is so important in our world.
But I also know that being a multilingual learner teacher doesn't require thatyou speak every one of these languages.
So I think that's important to remember sometimes, because I believe that veryoften people assume that you are a fluent Spanish speaker, and that isn't
(08:39):
necessarily the case.
It may be for some, but not for everyone.
Why isn't it important?
SPEAKER4: Yeah. So in our training, it actually has a lot more to do with how human beings acquire language, rather than mastering a second (08:45):
undefined
or third language for us to be able to support students, which it
SPEAKER1: would be important in the heritage language program, but not in the multilingual learner. (08:58):
undefined
SPEAKER4: So. So it really is about best ways to draw out language and support and provide scaffolding and setting goals (09:02):
undefined
for for learners.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. Now, Maggie, what does this look like in the middle level? (09:13):
undefined
SPEAKER5: I would say similar to Jasmin, what she said about our heritage, Spanish students coming to our classrooms when they would typically be at a world (09:18):
undefined
language classroom.
So it looks like more rigorous reading and writing in the language.
And it's -- it's like our goal to get them as close to grade level as we can.
And we're always struggling because we have such a limited amount of time.
(09:40):
But that's the goal is to to keep improving in their literacy in Spanish.
We know what a benefit that's going to be for them in the future.
I would say also in middle school there -- there are some things that happen inmiddle school, and there's some identity pieces that come up with students
and a lot of reflection they go through.
(10:02):
And I think just having a space where they feel safe and where they feel seen,and where they can connect with peers who are very similar to them in their
backgrounds is very valuable.
So that's a huge piece I just wanted to put in there as well.
And then I would say as far as our multilingual department, similar to whatJasmin and Katie have said, we're supporting in their classrooms.
(10:25):
Rachel, Zaida and I have been focusing more on Translanguaging, which is a big.
Can you explain what that is right now?
Yeah, I'll try my best, but I think they would put it as using your fulllanguage repertoire -- repertoire in school.
And so knowing that students, they're not students that are bilingual are notjust using one language in isolation.
(10:48):
They're accessing all of their language and all of their abilities at once.
And it's a real benefit to connect to their language and to their culture inthe classroom.
So that might look like this year I'm supporting in a geography classroom, andwe have some newcomer students, students who are newer to the country,
(11:08):
Spanish speakers, and we're using some flexible language use in the classroom.
So Laura Stoler - can call it a teacher?
Please do. Laura Stoler, who actually is a Spanish speaker herself.
Her and I get a little creative, and it's cool to see how the whole class seemsquite comfortable with us switching to Spanish once in a while, or providing a
(11:30):
text in Spanish, or modifying -- modifying an assignment so that it'sbilingual.
And when you think about middle school and high school, the language becomes alot more demanding and academic.
And you have a student that might be here only a year and has not been exposedto English in the past.
And so it's a different strategy that you need to employ, I think, in themiddle and high school level.
(11:55):
And so we we do get a little bit more flexible in language use.
Like I said.
SPEAKER1: That is that is so interesting. (12:01):
undefined
And I'm thinking about content specific vocabulary and how challenging I'm surethat is when you're trying to learn it in two languages simultaneously, but
ultimately extraordinarily beneficial, but very challenging in the moment.
So what are some of the most important strategies to help students when they'retrying to master content vocabulary, as they're also mastering the
(12:27):
language of English?
SPEAKER5: Well, many things, and feel free to chime in. (12:29):
undefined
But I would say like, obviously a big thing would be being able to compare bothlanguages.
And so, you know, we might make a bilingual note taking sheet where they'reable to compare those two sets of vocabulary in both languages.
Oftentimes we have words that are cognates that look the same between Englishand Spanish, and that can be a big benefit as they start to comprehend.
(12:54):
So we want them to be able to comprehend because, like Jasmin said, we wantthem to learn the content.
And then at the same time, we also want them to be able to have the language tocommunicate, ideally in both languages.
So I think it's a slow transition from Spanish to English or kind ofsimultaneously learning as they go.
(13:15):
I would say time to process and time to orally talk about what is going on.
So, you know, just thinking about best practices when they're able to take thetime to talk through what was just delivered in the lesson, versus just
merely like a sit and get type of lesson, given the chance to talk with theirpeers and maybe discuss it in Spanish so that they're able to first comprehend
(13:40):
it and then move towards being able to produce something in English or Spanish.
What other strategies do you have?
I mean, there's a lot.
SPEAKER3: So this actually reminds me of this year we're doing Spanish push in read alouds, which is something that we have not done in the (13:50):
undefined
past. And so what we've done is for all of the English language arts texts thatwe purchased, we tried to find as
many as we could in Spanish.
(14:11):
And so what happens is the kindergarten teacher will will read a text andthey'll have a deep dive and talking about what happens in the story, the
language and the story. And this is all happening in English in the classroom.
And I also read the text and the heritage Spanish class.
But then afterwards we come together and I actually read the text to the wholeentire class.
(14:32):
Or today I actually read it to the whole entire purview first grade class.
Like we had three classrooms Miss Marshall's, Miss Merrill, and Miss Heath'sclass all jammed into Miss Marshall's class.
And it was a book about a moon.
And the kids were repeating some of the words and the actions, and so they werelearning moon and how it gets bigger and how it gets smaller and all of it.
(14:54):
The story was in Spanish, and because they had heard it in English before, theEnglish learners were able to access the Spanish, and because it was in Spanish,
our Spanish speakers got to be experts.
So every once in a while I'll say, "hey, does anybody know what Estrellas are?"And what happens is all my Spanish speakers, their hands go up and they get to
(15:14):
say "that's star in Spanish." And so it's really great because it normalizeshaving multilingualism in your classroom, and it provides access to
bilingual education as best we can with the resources we have for all of ourOregon elementary kids.
SPEAKER1: Oh, that's a really exciting example. (15:31):
undefined
That's fun.
Walk us through a day in the life of a student in either of the programsheritage, Spanish or multilingual learners.
SPEAKER4: For multilingual learners, it could really also range. (15:45):
undefined
But I would say if you are brand new to the country, to our district, you'dprobably be greeted by one of us,
especially on your first day.
But as time goes on, you might see a little time with the multilingual teacher.
(16:09):
If they are also a Spanish speaker, they'd also be participating in theheritage Spanish program as well, and they'd probably get a combination of that
time building that vocabulary, but also the content enrichment and also time inthe classroom.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. How about when they get older? (16:27):
undefined
SPEAKER5: When they get older? You know, it really depends. (16:30):
undefined
Case by case. We have students who still receive multilingual services as theyget into the middle school coming from Prairie View, Brooklyn, Forest Edge.
And they might not see their multilingual teacher quite as often as someone whois new to the country and might need more of that one on one support.
(16:50):
Sure. More modifying assignments, bringing in that that Spanish or whatever thefirst language is to help support their comprehension
and.
SPEAKER1: All right. Thank you. (17:03):
undefined
Anything you want to add about your students and their experience?
SPEAKER3: I just appreciate how much we support that they are provided with having a heritage Spanish as part of their programing. (17:09):
undefined
A lot of the families have talked about the opportunity to read Spanish booksto their children is just really important to
them, and it helps bridge education between home and school.
(17:32):
And then also we try hard to incorporate content and texts that reflect theircultures.
And so, for example, we were just reading a book about it's called mango, mangoabuela.
So mango, abuela, grandma and me.
And it's this cool story about how this grandma comes from an island that onlyspeaks Spanish, but the girl only speaks English.
(17:55):
And in my class, the kids are like, "that's just like me.
I'm still learning, you know, I'm learning Spanish so I can talk to my abuela."And so just having those opportunities to really connect what the kids are
learning to their cultures and their home lives, life strengthens theirlearning experience.
SPEAKER1: Oh that's wonderful. Thank you. (18:12):
undefined
So I think you've kind of answered my next question.
Why is it important to offer the program of Heritage Spanish?
I mean, that was a great answer.
Is there anything else you want to add to it?
SPEAKER5: Well, I mean, the connection to their their family is huge. (18:26):
undefined
I've been talking to parents at conferences recently.
I heard a couple of times like, "so-and-so needs to keep up their Spanish.
They need to be able to talk to their abuela" like they need to be able toconnect to their family.
Many of them go back to their home countries during the holidays or the summer.
They they need to be seen for all of their identities, I guess you could say.
(18:51):
And I've seen as I've gone a couple more years into this position, when I talkto parents, they are speaking up more about how important it is for them that
they that they build their literacy in Spanish, that they have that opportunityin their future careers to be able to read and write in both languages and speak
in both languages. So it's -- it's a big thing.
SPEAKER4: Yeah. I've actually had conferences also where people or parents have asked, you know, what can I be doing at home? (19:13):
undefined
And I'll actually say, actually keep up your first language.
And some people are surprised to hear that coming from my -- my role as someonetrying to help students learn and master English.
But it really is true.
(19:35):
You're more likely to learn how to read in English if you are literate in yourfirst language, so those skills transfer over.
But also I think about this a lot.
Students are only students for so long in their lifetime.
It's a percentage to have the skills of being bilingual or multilingual.
Beyond that is just so much more important to their identity, but also justtheir community, their relationships.
(20:02):
And so it's it's a society really.
SPEAKER1: Remember that you can find links to all episodes of Inside the OSD and submit topic ideas on our website at (20:08):
undefined
OregonSD.Org/podcast. You can find this podcast anywhere you can find podcasts.
Make sure to subscribe if you're listening on one of these apps to getnotifications on the most recent episodes.
(20:29):
We'll see you next time on Inside the OSD where it's all about the kids.
undefined
We'll talk with some of our staff members and hear about the many opportunitiesfor our kids.
SPEAKER2: Welcome to this episode of inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids. (00:13):
undefined
Here is your host, lifelong educator and our superintendent, Dr.
Leslie Bergstrom.
SPEAKER1: Welcome to Inside the OSD. (00:26):
undefined
We are excited to have you here to talk about our multilingual and heritageSpanish departments.
So let's start with introductions.
Can you share a little bit about your background and your role here in the OSD?
SPEAKER3: My name is Jasmin Hammes. (00:39):
undefined
I am the heritage Spanish teacher for Prairie View and Brooklyn Elementary.
I believe this will be my 14th year in the district.
Wow! I was the first heritage teacher to be hired, which is really exciting.
A little bit about my background.
I had the privilege of attending a Spanish immersion elementary school, and solanguage learning is been part of my life since I was like five years old, which
(01:05):
is something that I carry with me in my instruction.
SPEAKER1: That's really cool. (01:08):
undefined
Where did you grow up where you had that opportunity?
SPEAKER3: It was in Minneapolis. (01:11):
undefined
SPEAKER1: Wow. That's great. (01:13):
undefined
SPEAKER4: Hi, I'm Katie Hajdu. (01:16):
undefined
I am a multilingual teacher here in the Oregon School district.
I'm at Prairie View, Netherwood and Brooklyn Elementary.
I really started my career -- I read an article about the need for ESLteachers, and that's another term for what I
do just in Dane County.
(01:37):
And the need, because of the growing population of specifically Spanishspeaking students, but other languages as well.
And I decided to go back to school and get my teaching licenses, includingthat.
And then this is my first and only position in this field, and this is my 13thyear.
SPEAKER1: That's so exciting. (01:55):
undefined
So you had a different -- you were in a different profession.
You read this article and went back to school.
Yes. Oh my goodness.
We should find out who wrote that and send them a card or something.
That's really cool.
SPEAKER5: I'm Maggie Lofgren and I'm the heritage Spanish teacher at RCI and OMS, and my background is in learning languages (02:08):
undefined
and English as a second language in school.
Once I started teaching in Lodi teaching Spanish, I realized that I reallyloved working with my native speakers and I realized there was
(02:31):
there was a lot lacking for them in their in their classes.
And I decided to go back for my master's and went with a bilingual biculturalfocus and really, really fell in love with that world and landed
here in Oregon.
And this is my sixth year.
SPEAKER1: Thank you Maggie. And I forgot that you had been in Lodi before us. (02:48):
undefined
I think they just won the state football championship for their division.
Yeah, that's pretty cool.
So now I'd love for you to describe the programs that you work in for ourlisteners, because I'm not sure everybody understands the services that we
provide our students, especially since names have changed over the course oftime, so they might not recognize it even if they think they understand it.
(03:14):
So, Jasmin, would you like to start with the elementary schools and then we'llwork our way up?
Sure.
SPEAKER3: So at the elementary level, we have a heritage Spanish program, and we also have what's called the multilingual program. (03:20):
undefined
The Heritage Spanish program provides Spanish support for our students whoseparents speak Spanish at home.
The multilingual offers more English support for all of our students.
We'll get into that in a little bit.
(03:40):
So for the heritage program, it's really cool because when all of their peersgo to the World Language Spanish course, which is
a little, it's not as challenging as maybe our Spanish speakers might need.
Our Spanish speakers come with me.
And so they get literacy and writing in Spanish, so that way they can flourishin both languages.
(04:07):
One thing to kind of think about when a kiddo goes into kindergarten and ifthey don't have any English, they're not only trying to figure out the language,
but they're also trying to figure out the content, the reading, the writing,the math.
So if we're able to provide that support in Spanish, then those skills transferas they're learning English.
SPEAKER1: I think that's the key piece, Jasmin, that a lot of people don't understand. (04:26):
undefined
When -- why would you teach a student in Spanish when you want them to learnEnglish?
They don't understand always why it works the way it works.
So can you do that?
Can you explain that one more time?
Because that's a really big piece.
SPEAKER3: So I kind of go back to like if you were to learn the vocabulary or if you're learning photosynthesis. (04:43):
undefined
This is kind of complex. But if you're learning photosynthesis and you don'tspeak the language, you have to learn the content, photosynthesis.
But then you also have to learn the language.
And so by providing the heritage Spanish program, we're making sure thatthey're getting the content while they're developing their English skills.
SPEAKER1: That's a great way to describe it. (05:10):
undefined
And they're getting the content in their English language arts course.
So reading, writing, speaking, listening.
SPEAKER3: Yes. And the cool thing about the new language arts curriculum is that there's a lot of science and social studies embedded. (05:17):
undefined
So they're learning like kindergartens, learning different types of weather.
And then in second grade they're learning about fossils.
And that is embedded in the language arts curriculum.
SPEAKER1: Oh that's fantastic. (05:34):
undefined
So they're getting that in their heritage language and they're getting that inEnglish.
Correct.
Okay. Thank you I think that made it really clear.
SPEAKER3: So then while I'm offering the Spanish support, Katie Hajdu offers English support for a lot of our students. (05:45):
undefined
SPEAKER4: Yep. So Jasmin and I do overlap a lot of our students. (05:53):
undefined
Students are identified as multilingual learners based on how their parentsfill out their registration, parents or guardians fill out registration and
their home language.
And then we give a screener in English.
And so students who qualify, then we can start right away.
(06:14):
It doesn't matter what age they enter.
And so then we provide English support for them.
And so we do a combination.
We might support them in the classroom.
When I say "we" I mean myself or my colleagues at the other buildings, we alsohave some paraprofessionals who work with us as well, um, support in the
(06:35):
classroom. We collaborate a lot with teachers as well, with vocabulary andlanguage, just all sorts of instructional best
practices that they can use.
And we do some pull out as well, or working in small groups.
It kind of varies based on a student's language level as well.
(06:56):
We can see students who are born here in Madison, Dane County, and they arelearning English even before they're
coming to us, but they're still needing support all the way to students comingstraight from another country and enrolling as an 11th grader at the high
school. So it can really vary.
(07:16):
We have students who currently in our district, they represent 23 countries.
That's fantastic.
Themselves or their parents?
We also have about somewhere between 8 and 10 languages right now represented,with Spanish being the
majority as well.
SPEAKER1: After Spanish, what is the next most commonly spoken language of students in our Multilingual Learner program? (07:38):
undefined
SPEAKER4: Right now, I would say probably Albanian. (07:46):
undefined
Wow. I could -- I would have to crunch the numbers, but it's a pretty big gapbetween Spanish and then just some pockets of some of the other languages.
But we have Spanish, Albanian, Nepali, Arabic, Hmong, Lao, Polish.
In the past we've had Mandarin, Ukrainian, Dutch, Russian, French, Korean,Mongolian, and I'm sure there's more that I'm missing.
SPEAKER1: Well, now it's absolutely a superpower to be multilingual. (08:13):
undefined
And I -- it's something that is so important in our world.
But I also know that being a multilingual learner teacher doesn't require thatyou speak every one of these languages.
So I think that's important to remember sometimes, because I believe that veryoften people assume that you are a fluent Spanish speaker, and that isn't
(08:39):
necessarily the case.
It may be for some, but not for everyone.
Why isn't it important?
SPEAKER4: Yeah. So in our training, it actually has a lot more to do with how human beings acquire language, rather than mastering a second (08:45):
undefined
or third language for us to be able to support students, which it
SPEAKER1: would be important in the heritage language program, but not in the multilingual learner. (08:58):
undefined
SPEAKER4: So. So it really is about best ways to draw out language and support and provide scaffolding and setting goals (09:02):
undefined
for for learners.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. Now, Maggie, what does this look like in the middle level? (09:13):
undefined
SPEAKER5: I would say similar to Jasmin, what she said about our heritage, Spanish students coming to our classrooms when they would typically be at a world (09:18):
undefined
language classroom.
So it looks like more rigorous reading and writing in the language.
And it's -- it's like our goal to get them as close to grade level as we can.
And we're always struggling because we have such a limited amount of time.
(09:40):
But that's the goal is to to keep improving in their literacy in Spanish.
We know what a benefit that's going to be for them in the future.
I would say also in middle school there -- there are some things that happen inmiddle school, and there's some identity pieces that come up with students
and a lot of reflection they go through.
(10:02):
And I think just having a space where they feel safe and where they feel seen,and where they can connect with peers who are very similar to them in their
backgrounds is very valuable.
So that's a huge piece I just wanted to put in there as well.
And then I would say as far as our multilingual department, similar to whatJasmin and Katie have said, we're supporting in their classrooms.
(10:25):
Rachel, Zaida and I have been focusing more on Translanguaging, which is a big.
Can you explain what that is right now?
Yeah, I'll try my best, but I think they would put it as using your fulllanguage repertoire -- repertoire in school.
And so knowing that students, they're not students that are bilingual are notjust using one language in isolation.
(10:48):
They're accessing all of their language and all of their abilities at once.
And it's a real benefit to connect to their language and to their culture inthe classroom.
So that might look like this year I'm supporting in a geography classroom, andwe have some newcomer students, students who are newer to the country,
(11:08):
Spanish speakers, and we're using some flexible language use in the classroom.
So Laura Stoler - can call it a teacher?
Please do. Laura Stoler, who actually is a Spanish speaker herself.
Her and I get a little creative, and it's cool to see how the whole class seemsquite comfortable with us switching to Spanish once in a while, or providing a
(11:30):
text in Spanish, or modifying -- modifying an assignment so that it'sbilingual.
And when you think about middle school and high school, the language becomes alot more demanding and academic.
And you have a student that might be here only a year and has not been exposedto English in the past.
And so it's a different strategy that you need to employ, I think, in themiddle and high school level.
(11:55):
And so we we do get a little bit more flexible in language use.
Like I said.
SPEAKER1: That is that is so interesting. (12:01):
undefined
And I'm thinking about content specific vocabulary and how challenging I'm surethat is when you're trying to learn it in two languages simultaneously, but
ultimately extraordinarily beneficial, but very challenging in the moment.
So what are some of the most important strategies to help students when they'retrying to master content vocabulary, as they're also mastering the
(12:27):
language of English?
SPEAKER5: Well, many things, and feel free to chime in. (12:29):
undefined
But I would say like, obviously a big thing would be being able to compare bothlanguages.
And so, you know, we might make a bilingual note taking sheet where they'reable to compare those two sets of vocabulary in both languages.
Oftentimes we have words that are cognates that look the same between Englishand Spanish, and that can be a big benefit as they start to comprehend.
(12:54):
So we want them to be able to comprehend because, like Jasmin said, we wantthem to learn the content.
And then at the same time, we also want them to be able to have the language tocommunicate, ideally in both languages.
So I think it's a slow transition from Spanish to English or kind ofsimultaneously learning as they go.
(13:15):
I would say time to process and time to orally talk about what is going on.
So, you know, just thinking about best practices when they're able to take thetime to talk through what was just delivered in the lesson, versus just
merely like a sit and get type of lesson, given the chance to talk with theirpeers and maybe discuss it in Spanish so that they're able to first comprehend
(13:40):
it and then move towards being able to produce something in English or Spanish.
What other strategies do you have?
I mean, there's a lot.
SPEAKER3: So this actually reminds me of this year we're doing Spanish push in read alouds, which is something that we have not done in the (13:50):
undefined
past. And so what we've done is for all of the English language arts texts thatwe purchased, we tried to find as
many as we could in Spanish.
(14:11):
And so what happens is the kindergarten teacher will will read a text andthey'll have a deep dive and talking about what happens in the story, the
language and the story. And this is all happening in English in the classroom.
And I also read the text and the heritage Spanish class.
But then afterwards we come together and I actually read the text to the wholeentire class.
(14:32):
Or today I actually read it to the whole entire purview first grade class.
Like we had three classrooms Miss Marshall's, Miss Merrill, and Miss Heath'sclass all jammed into Miss Marshall's class.
And it was a book about a moon.
And the kids were repeating some of the words and the actions, and so they werelearning moon and how it gets bigger and how it gets smaller and all of it.
(14:54):
The story was in Spanish, and because they had heard it in English before, theEnglish learners were able to access the Spanish, and because it was in Spanish,
our Spanish speakers got to be experts.
So every once in a while I'll say, "hey, does anybody know what Estrellas are?"And what happens is all my Spanish speakers, their hands go up and they get to
(15:14):
say "that's star in Spanish." And so it's really great because it normalizeshaving multilingualism in your classroom, and it provides access to
bilingual education as best we can with the resources we have for all of ourOregon elementary kids.
SPEAKER1: Oh, that's a really exciting example. (15:31):
undefined
That's fun.
Walk us through a day in the life of a student in either of the programsheritage, Spanish or multilingual learners.
SPEAKER4: For multilingual learners, it could really also range. (15:45):
undefined
But I would say if you are brand new to the country, to our district, you'dprobably be greeted by one of us,
especially on your first day.
But as time goes on, you might see a little time with the multilingual teacher.
(16:09):
If they are also a Spanish speaker, they'd also be participating in theheritage Spanish program as well, and they'd probably get a combination of that
time building that vocabulary, but also the content enrichment and also time inthe classroom.
SPEAKER1: Thank you. How about when they get older? (16:27):
undefined
SPEAKER5: When they get older? You know, it really depends. (16:30):
undefined
Case by case. We have students who still receive multilingual services as theyget into the middle school coming from Prairie View, Brooklyn, Forest Edge.
And they might not see their multilingual teacher quite as often as someone whois new to the country and might need more of that one on one support.
(16:50):
Sure. More modifying assignments, bringing in that that Spanish or whatever thefirst language is to help support their comprehension
and.
SPEAKER1: All right. Thank you. (17:03):
undefined
Anything you want to add about your students and their experience?
SPEAKER3: I just appreciate how much we support that they are provided with having a heritage Spanish as part of their programing. (17:09):
undefined
A lot of the families have talked about the opportunity to read Spanish booksto their children is just really important to
them, and it helps bridge education between home and school.
(17:32):
And then also we try hard to incorporate content and texts that reflect theircultures.
And so, for example, we were just reading a book about it's called mango, mangoabuela.
So mango, abuela, grandma and me.
And it's this cool story about how this grandma comes from an island that onlyspeaks Spanish, but the girl only speaks English.
(17:55):
And in my class, the kids are like, "that's just like me.
I'm still learning, you know, I'm learning Spanish so I can talk to my abuela."And so just having those opportunities to really connect what the kids are
learning to their cultures and their home lives, life strengthens theirlearning experience.
SPEAKER1: Oh that's wonderful. Thank you. (18:12):
undefined
So I think you've kind of answered my next question.
Why is it important to offer the program of Heritage Spanish?
I mean, that was a great answer.
Is there anything else you want to add to it?
SPEAKER5: Well, I mean, the connection to their their family is huge. (18:26):
undefined
I've been talking to parents at conferences recently.
I heard a couple of times like, "so-and-so needs to keep up their Spanish.
They need to be able to talk to their abuela" like they need to be able toconnect to their family.
Many of them go back to their home countries during the holidays or the summer.
They they need to be seen for all of their identities, I guess you could say.
(18:51):
And I've seen as I've gone a couple more years into this position, when I talkto parents, they are speaking up more about how important it is for them that
they that they build their literacy in Spanish, that they have that opportunityin their future careers to be able to read and write in both languages and speak
in both languages. So it's -- it's a big thing.
SPEAKER4: Yeah. I've actually had conferences also where people or parents have asked, you know, what can I be doing at home? (19:13):
undefined
And I'll actually say, actually keep up your first language.
And some people are surprised to hear that coming from my -- my role as someonetrying to help students learn and master English.
But it really is true.
(19:35):
You're more likely to learn how to read in English if you are literate in yourfirst language, so those skills transfer over.
But also I think about this a lot.
Students are only students for so long in their lifetime.
It's a percentage to have the skills of being bilingual or multilingual.
Beyond that is just so much more important to their identity, but also justtheir community, their relationships.
(20:02):
And so it's it's a society really.
SPEAKER1: Remember that you can find links to all episodes of Inside the OSD and submit topic ideas on our website at (20:08):
undefined
OregonSD.Org/podcast. You can find this podcast anywhere you can find podcasts.
Make sure to subscribe if you're listening on one of these apps to getnotifications on the most recent episodes.
(20:29):
We'll see you next time on Inside the OSD where it's all about the kids.
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