Spanish immersion program helps students with speech deficiencies

By Kayla A. Swenson

Thirty students sat on a colorful rug and anxiously waited for their teacher Vitoria Floyd to challenge them on their newly learned Spanish vocabulary.

After Floyd pointed to a picture of an umbrella held by a cartoon bear the class shouted an enthusiastic, “Paragua.” The thick Spanish vowels rolled off their tongues with ease.

Five of the 30 Heritage Elementary first graders struggle with speech articulation in English — and Spanish immersion may be the newest prescription.

Heritage Elementary implemented the Spanish Dual Language Immersion program two years ago. Students in the immersion program spend half of their day learning core academics in Spanish and the second half in English.

“I had a few students that I dismissed from services that are in the dual immersion program,” said Katie Coleman, a speech pathologist at Heritage Elementary.

“They go over the pronunciation of words more in Spanish than we do in English,” she said.

DLI coordinators were unaware of the benefits it would provide students with speech disorders.

“Students who are receiving speech therapy have made excellent progress despite the fact that they are learning a second language,” said Shauna Winegar, the DLI coordinator for Cache County School District.

“Learning a second language seems to be helping rather than impeding those speech impediments,” she said.

Alec Bateson is a second grader enrolled in both speech therapy and Naomi Nunez’s Spanish immersion class.

Bateson said that initially it was scary to not understand the teacher. Now his mother said he likes to make up songs in Spanish.

“We’ve seen a ton of growth,” said Mieka Bateson, Alec’s mother. “He was able to get his G and K sounds last year and we are confident that he will continue to improve.”

Coleman said that the effectiveness of the DLI program to improve speech depends a lot on the academic abilities of the child and the sounds offered in the language.

“I know in Spanish they over emphasize their R’s,” Coleman said.

Certain students have been able to overcome their struggle in pronouncing the letter R due to the emphasis Spanish puts on the R consonant.

“That was quite unexpected for us but rewarding,” Floyd said on realizing that students in her class have progressed. “When they are young they have the ability to develop more muscles in their brain to create new sounds.”

Floyd is from El Salvador and said that all of her first grade students have already adopted her native accent instead of an “American learning Spanish” accent. She said because they are so young it is easier to mimic sounds.

“It’s been nothing but a positive for us,” Bateson said. 

North Park Elementary considers the benefits of the Chinese immersion program

By Kayla A. Swenson

The second Alisha Green’s first grade students walk into class they are immersed in the language and culture of China.

This year the North Park Elementary first and second grade students are enrolled in a Chinese Dual Language Immersion Program. Last year the school started the DLI with Green’s first grade class and now the school has Elva Li teaching second grade immersion students. Teachers, parents and students are working to continue development in the program.

“The students are starting to understand that they are learning Chinese,” Green said. “It’s almost magical because they come in and they don’t understand anything and right now we are a functioning class in Chinese.”

Students spend half of their school day learning math, science and social studies in Chinese and the next half of the day in English. This process will continue through high school.

“It’s so much fun,” said Hannah Call, a first grader in the DLI. “I’ve talked to Chinese people at the Jump Zone, Pizza Pie Café and in Salt Lake City.”

Language competency comes from listening, mimicking and watching the teacher’s charades.

“I’m not allowed to speak English in front of my students,” said Li, the second grade Chinese immersion teacher.

Li has taught English Immersion classes in China and this year started Chinese Immersion at North Park Elementary.

“The big difference is here the students are willing to speak when learning a language but in China the students are shy,” Li said.

To promote speaking in the classroom Green doesn’t correct mistakes for the first two months. She wants students to feel successful and want to continue trying.

“My focus is attitude,” Green said. “If they don’t love it from the beginning that won’t change in third grade. You have to make them feel successful. That has been my focus, that the students enjoy it, love it and it all starts in first grade.”

Next year the school will hire a third grade immersion teacher to continue the program.

Christi Zook, a DLI parent, said she thinks the program is a huge benefit and is hoping her son can someday use Chinese in his professional life.

Kayla Swenson is a student at Utah State University, where she is studying in the Department of Journalism and Communications with an emphasis in public relations. Recently returned from a Mormon proselyting mission in Spain, Swenson is bilingual in Spanish. She insists on keeping her Spanish "theta," or pronouncing her words with the Spanish "z-sound" instead of the widely heard Latin American "s-sound." Swenson's love for Spanish culture continues as she practices her second language among other bilingual students.

Welcome to LanguageLearningInUtah.blogspot.com, where journalist Kayla Swenson covers the linguistics of language learning advancements in Utah. On Feb. 25, a bill was passed by Utah's Senate of Education adding a second language to high school graduation requirements. In the past few years Utah has become the nation's world language state. LanguageLearningInUtah.com will cover some of the state's most influential language programs and their effects on society.