Soy Bilingüe: Language, Culture, and Young Children

This Soy Bilingüe course will examine theory and practice in supporting the linguistic and cultural development of young children. Students will review a framework for teaching children whose primary language is one other than English as well as teaching a second language to English speaking children. They will engage relevant theoretical and practical information related to bilingual early childhood and elementary education methods with a goal of the development of cultural competence and respect for learners growing up in a bilingual world. Students will reflect on and evaluate their language plan (time based or teacher-based models) and review the ways they have responded to the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of children and their families in curriculum planning. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the natural processes of acculturation, cultural transmission, and language acquisition through the use of song-games, folkloric dances, songs, finger-plays, lullabies, poetry, spoken word, and rhythms.