Inside the Bilingual Classroom

More New York City schools are signing on to the idea of bilingualism, bit by bit. One classroom at a time.

The city currently has about 150 dual language programs, serving a tiny fraction of the city's students. Next year it will open 25 new ones and expand others, a priority of Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña's, a native Spanish speaker. 

These are programs where students learn in both English and in a second language, evenly splitting time in the classroom between the two. At Samara Community School in the Bronx, two kindergarten classes alternate days learning in English and in Spanish.  

“If there’s one thing that’s definitely going to be of use, it’s learning a second language,” said Danielle Derrig, the school's principal. 

She said at first, students may get confused and feel lost. But eventually, things start to click, and small accomplishments have a large payoff.

"They feel so excited about it that they build their own self-confidence," said Derrig. "And I think we sort of take for granted confidence in the early grades, but that’s really what supports achievement.”

An ideal dual language model means half of the students in the class are native English speakers and half native speakers of the second language. The set-up creates a classroom environment ripe for student collaboration, said Yelena Tkachenko, a kindergarten teacher in the Russian dual language program at P.S. 200 The Benson School. 

"If someone does not understand, they translate for each other," she said. "So they rely on each other. They know they can help each other."

 In order to apply to a dual language program, families must contact schools directly.