A question we get ALL the time from our local families that come in for a tour of Bilingüitos is this, “Are these programs geared more for English-speaking kids or for Spanish-speaking kids?” What they’re wondering beneath the surface is, “If my child starts to attend a program here, what will be their classmates’ primary language? Will my child be the odd-man-out if s/he is [English-speaking / Spanish-speaking]?”
Well parents, you can rest assured, because the simple answer is BOTH. At Bilingüitos we are here for students with zero Spanish experience OR zero English experience (i.e. completely Spanish-dominant), and of course for anyone in between!
Now, it’s totally a valid question, and a good one to ask when you go in to tour an immersion school that you’re considering for your child. “What is the language background of the students here?” It’s not that one answer is better than the other — meaning, it’s not better for the program to be made up of all Spanish-speaking children or vice versa. But asking the question and getting the answer is a good idea if nothing more than to set your expectations. While most programs will likely be a mix of English-dominant kids and Spanish-dominant kids, let’s envision the extremes and the benefits of each.
Two sides of the coin
If the program is made up entirely of students who are dominant in Spanish, then your child will surely be immersed to the MAX with Spanish, both from the instruction and from the peer interaction at play time. If your child is also Spanish-dominant, he or she will quickly see the necessity of maintaining their Spanish language skills sharp, and that it’s a language that is alive and active even outside the four walls of the home. On the other hand, if your child is the only English-dominant one of this group, he or she will be super motivated to learn Spanish in order to keep up, which is a surefire way of boosting their second language skills in a snap. After all, children gravitate toward the language of their peers over the language of adults.
Now, on the flipside, if the program is made up entirely English speaking students whose first exposure to Spanish is the program itself, then your child will get the majority of their Spanish input from teachers and instruction. Granted, this is less input than the previous scenario, but there is an upside too. In a scenario like this one, teachers have to be all the more focused on providing rich language input in a way that is specifically helpful to second language learners. Yes, monolingual children can (and do) learn a new language through “sink or swim” immersion, but in a school setting they often do better when teachers are well-versed in working with second language learners, and have tailored the curriculum to this type of student (i.e. intentional input, awareness of students’ first language, making the language come alive through games and activities, etc.). What about the Spanish-dominant child being placed in a group like this one? I will say that you will still want to seek out Spanish-speaking peers for them outside of their school, in order to maintain their peer-to-peer language skills. But a benefit for them in a scenario like this one is that they will be made increasingly aware of their bilingualism (their super power) and will likely excel in the program’s lessons and activities as the groundwork for their language skills has already been laid. Imagine how well they will do in circle time, speaking activities, etc. That feeling of success in the classroom will be a confidence booster and propel them forward to biliteracy.
Okay, but what about Bilingüitos specifically?
Okay, all of this theoretical talk is great and all but maybe you’re here to know about Bilingüitos Spanish Immersion in Loudoun specifically. What IS the linguistic make-up of students at Bilingüitos? Spanish-dominant or English-dominant?
Again, the answer is BOTH.
Originally, when I (Kaila) started dreaming up the program in early 2016, I admittedly envisioned something targeted at English-dominant families. Why? Well, one, my circle of friends and acquaintances here in Ashburn (Loudoun County) was largely English-speaking at the time and so that’s just who I imagined marketing to. Secondly, it was my own background and how I myself learned Spanish — my family is English-speaking, and I learned Spanish through immersion starting around age two at a Spanish-speaking home daycare in Herndon. So, I thought to myself, “I’ll recreate that experience and opportunity that I had for other families in the area who want their English-speaking children to learn a second language early on!” Honestly, that was my thought process when dreaming up Bilingüitos.
But I quickly realized that there was a bigger vision in store for Bilingüitos. As I started hosting storytimes, playdates, meet & greets, interest meetings, and the like, I began to meet many hispanic families that were extremely interested in the idea of Spanish immersion for their kids as well. “Es muy importante para nosotros que nuestros hijos mantengan su español,” “No quiero que mis hijos pierdan su lengua materna,” “Queremos que nuestros hijos aprendan a leer y escribir en español, y que vean que es un idioma igual de importante que el inglés.” I heard the message loud and clear: “We want our kids to maintain their mother language and to develop the same skills in it (reading, writing, conversation, etc.) as they do in English.”
So I changed my marketing strategy. I continued to reach out to English-speaking families and tell them about the incredible benefits of starting a second language while their children were young, but I also started to make an effort to reach those families who already spoke Spanish at home but wanted to reinforce it with their kids in a new setting. Since then, the community that has sprung up around Bilingüitos and our programs and events is an incredible one. We’re a diverse, dynamic group of families committed to bilingualism and passionate about sparking a love for learning in our kids. We want them to see the world through a special lens; one that values other people, languages, and cultures.
The diverse Bilingüitos community
Today I would say that Bilingüitos really is a healthy mix of English and Spanish speaking families, PLUS we have a handful of other languages represented too, like Hindi, Farsi, German, and even Estonian (!), to name a few. Bilingüitos mamas, regardless of native language, rally together to be there for each other in times of need – including baking lactation cookies for newly nursing moms, taking meals to each other when someone is sick, and even throwing each other baby showers. ^_^ (Okay that last one was something they recently did for me, so blessed!)
To answer the original question, because I know you’re still dying to know, the general breakdown of our local community is this: definitely more than half of our students come from a background where they have previous Spanish experience (whether it’s a vast majority or not fluctuates based on the class and program, and varies year to year). A large amount of students come from homes where one parent speaks Spanish and the other doesn’t (OPOL homes). (Some of these families are ones where the Spanish-speaking parent isn’t a native Spanish speaker but has chosen to implement Spanish anyways, how noble!) Other students come from homes where both parents speak Spanish (MLAH homes). Still others come from homes where they have a caretaker that speaks to them exclusively in Spanish (how cool!). Others come in with previous experience from a different immersion school. Others come in with zero Spanish, but speak another non-English language at home (thus they’ve already been exposed to bilingualism). And finally, others come in completely English dominant with no Spanish experience at all (or any other language for that matter).
And guess what? All of our students, regardless of their linguistic background, are ready and able to learn Spanish! Spanish-speaking, English-speaking, Farsi-speaking, and beyond — all of our students are welcomed in with open arms and set on a path where they themselves can cultivate and celebrate their budding superpower of bilingualism.
What about your kids, what language are they dominant in? Let us know in the comments below 😀 Also, whether you’re local or not, join our online community through our Facebook group The Bilingual Parenting Network. Also follow along through our social media (FB & IG). Can’t wait to connect with you!
