Spark Spotlight: Buncombe County Dual Language Teacher - Vanessa Villanueva
Photo Credit: Buncombe County Schools
How long have you been a dual language teacher?
I have been working as a dual language teacher for 15 years now.
What got you started as a dual language teacher?
My experience began in my country, Perú, working in an inquiry-based learning program that requires teachers to work with students in a multi-language setting in order to become globally-minded citizens. I was an English immersion teacher then. Now, this is my second year in the U.S. working as an Spanish immersion teacher for Buncombe County Schools.
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
What I enjoy the most about working with this program is to have the opportunity to help my children investigate and learn about different countries. By knowing where the languages come from, their cultures, traditions, food, music, etc., children develop their critical thinking by making connections with their own experiences. It feels rewarding to know as a teacher that you are collaborating and leading students to become global citizens for the future.
What is your favorite language to teach?
I wouldn’t say I have a favorite, but definitely teaching my native language is easier. At the beginning it can be very challenging to make yourself understood, especially if the student has been exposed for the first time to the new language. Learning to teach through the English immersion experience prepared me to use different strategies, such as total physical response activities or task-based learning, to succeed in a Spanish immersion program.
What is most important to you?
I think the most important thing for me is to help students learn more about the world and inspire students to take action on global issues when they grow up. I came to the United States with a program called Participate Learning, and when I found out this is one of that program’s principal goals, I made my decision to jump into this adventure. It was very similar to what I was expecting from my “international learners” (as I like to call them) back in Perú.
What is most rewarding for you?
When you have parents or other community members coming to you to talk about your country or to try to speak in Spanish because their kids taught them some words, that makes me feel our job as dual language teachers is going far and beyond. Whenever they ask me to play a song from a hispanic country or when they show me they went shopping and they found something originally from Perú, that is very rewarding. I am amazed at how much a teacher can accomplish with their students with motivation, which is in this particular case, learning a second language and having the full experience of it.
When someone walks into your classroom, what do you want them to see?
What I like to display in my class is basically learning. At the beginning of the year, our walls are empty and as we move forward, the walls start talking about what is happening in the classroom. They slowly fill up with what the children produce and learn because they are agents of their own learning. We are like a small family inside our class, and I always try to make them feel that way. Every day we try to find connections, even with our own ancestors, to create an environment in which we are all identified as bilingual individuals.
→ Information about BCS Dual Language Spanish Immersion
All six BCS districts have at least one elementary school with a Dual Language Spanish Immersion program. Participating students become bilingual and bi-literate. They have greater cultural fluency, are more prepared for a global society, and in many cases, perform better academically.
