Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Education:

Henderson school creating ‘citizens of the world, even at age 3’

Preschool Spanish Class

Paul Takahashi

A preschooler colors in “calcetines” (socks) with an crayon that is “amarillo” (yellow) during a Spanish class at the Henderson International School on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. The private school in Green Valley started offering Spanish classes to preschoolers three years ago so students could video-conference with its sister school in Mexico.

Preschool Spanish Class

Spanish Teacher Ileana Nelson teaches a Spanish lesson to 17 preschool children at the Henderson International School on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. The private school in Green Valley started offering Spanish classes to preschoolers three years ago so students could video-conference with its sister school in Mexico. Launch slideshow »

Ileana Nelson points to her nose and asks her class, “What is this?”

“Nariz,” the students call out in unison.

The Spanish teacher nods and flashes a big smile.

“Muy bien,” she says. “Good job!”

It might sound like a lesson straight out of an introductory high school Spanish class, but Nelson’s students aren’t even in grade school yet.

They’re 3- and 4-year-old preschoolers at the Henderson International School.

Operated by the Meritas Family of Schools — which has 31 campuses around the world — the Green Valley private school started offering Spanish classes to preschoolers three years ago so students could videoconference with its sister school in Mexico, according to the school’s preschool director, Annette Sooper.

“Children need to be citizens of the world, even at age 3,” she said.

Each week, the 94 preschool students at Henderson International receive a half-hour Spanish lesson from Nelson, who uses playful songs, colorful flash cards and worksheets to teach basic Spanish vocabulary to students. So far, the six preschool classes have reviewed colors, parts of the body, names of animals, clothing and how to identify family members, Nelson said.

“They pick it up so fast, it amazes me,” she said. “Even at age 3, they’re grasping it and learning it.”

Most Las Vegas-area students begin learning a foreign language in middle school. Although the Clark County School District offers a dual English and Spanish program at seven elementary schools (Dearing, Hollingsworth, Harmon, Herron, McDoniel, Walker and Wengert), most students start learning French, German, Japanese or Spanish in sixth grade.

While students may learn to master a foreign language when they begin studying in middle school, researchers say there’s an advantage to getting a 10-year head start, said Deborah Arteaga, a UNLV professor of linguistics who studies second language acquisition in adults.

“What the research overwhelmingly shows is it’s better to learn a language before puberty; the earlier the better,” she said. “You can learn a language after puberty, but it’s just a lot easier, and you won’t own the language like you will when you start younger.”

There is a “critical period” — between preschool and puberty — after which learning a language becomes more difficult, Arteaga said. While historically there have been concerns about bilingual children confusing languages and not fully understanding either language, those fears have been debunked, she added.

There are many barriers to starting foreign language studies at such an early age, notably funding and the additional staff needed to expand foreign language offerings to the preschool and elementary levels, Arteaga said. (Henderson International School charges $8,000 a year for half-day preschool and nearly $12,000 per year for full-day preschool.)

However, learning a second language has never been more important, she said.

“In a global world where most people are multilingual, we need to strengthen bilingual education,” Arteaga said.

Sharice Lance, the managing director of the Henderson International School, said she agrees with the research. The school’s philosophy is to start academics and extracurricular activities early, from violin lessons to foreign languages. Henderson International recently began offering Mandarin Chinese lessons as an after-school activity to all its students, preschool to eighth grade, after overwhelming interest from parents.

Although the private school had to consolidate its Las Vegas-area campuses and eliminate its high school program last year because of the recession, Lance is finding that many parents are “pleasantly surprised” and interested in her school’s preschool-level Spanish program. Henderson International students continue their foreign language studies into middle school, where classes in Japanese and Spanish are taught every day in an immersion environment, meaning no English is spoken at all.

Henderson attorney Kristin Cogburn is one parent who enrolled her two sons at Henderson International for its preschool Spanish program. Her 3-year-old son Carter already knows how to say colors, numbers and letters in Spanish.

“It’s such an exciting opportunity for Carter to learn Spanish as a 3-year-old,” she said. “In a global economy, it’s critical to be bilingual — it’s a huge competitive advantage.”

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