About BASE
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”
-Nelson Mandela
This is one of the first things that comes to my mind when someone asks me, why is it important to become bilingual? One of the best ways to understand another society’s culture is to learn another society’s respective language. I started B.A.S.E. (Bilingual Adventures in Spanish and English) because I wanted to make a difference in my community by encouraging children to learn a foreign language and learn about other cultures and countries. I also wanted to encourage them to read (in any language)! Reading is the key to academic success and the future. Whether it is for pleasure, work, or school, reading is truly life-transforming or to put it in the words of Dr. Seuss who is one of my favorite authors for my bilingual readings: “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” –Dr. Seuss “I Can Read With My Eyes Shut.”
I love to read and I also love the Spanish language. I am currently in my fourth year of Spanish study and intend to become fluent. I initially began the bilingual program by reading Dr. Seuss books in Spanish and English at the local public libraries. I now read at local elementary schools and other groups where I can reach even more children. I can also incorporate PowerPoints and songs about other cultures that fit into a teaching lesson. I try to make sure that the children who have participated in a B.A.S.E. session go home having learned at least one word in Spanish. It is typically a word they can relate to like gato for cat. They also ask me how to say other words in Spanish. I have found that working with children is a fun, yet a humbling experience, especially when they ask you how to say words like platypus in Spanish as one young elementary student did one day. (I always carry my electronic Spanish Dictionary now.)
If I can touch the mind of at least one child with my program, I would count it a success. Who is to say how that one child might affect the world and future generations? Perhaps one of these children I have read to will go on to be a future bilingual president of the United States. It just might be the one that asked me how to say platypus in Spanish.
-Nelson Mandela
This is one of the first things that comes to my mind when someone asks me, why is it important to become bilingual? One of the best ways to understand another society’s culture is to learn another society’s respective language. I started B.A.S.E. (Bilingual Adventures in Spanish and English) because I wanted to make a difference in my community by encouraging children to learn a foreign language and learn about other cultures and countries. I also wanted to encourage them to read (in any language)! Reading is the key to academic success and the future. Whether it is for pleasure, work, or school, reading is truly life-transforming or to put it in the words of Dr. Seuss who is one of my favorite authors for my bilingual readings: “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” –Dr. Seuss “I Can Read With My Eyes Shut.”
I love to read and I also love the Spanish language. I am currently in my fourth year of Spanish study and intend to become fluent. I initially began the bilingual program by reading Dr. Seuss books in Spanish and English at the local public libraries. I now read at local elementary schools and other groups where I can reach even more children. I can also incorporate PowerPoints and songs about other cultures that fit into a teaching lesson. I try to make sure that the children who have participated in a B.A.S.E. session go home having learned at least one word in Spanish. It is typically a word they can relate to like gato for cat. They also ask me how to say other words in Spanish. I have found that working with children is a fun, yet a humbling experience, especially when they ask you how to say words like platypus in Spanish as one young elementary student did one day. (I always carry my electronic Spanish Dictionary now.)
If I can touch the mind of at least one child with my program, I would count it a success. Who is to say how that one child might affect the world and future generations? Perhaps one of these children I have read to will go on to be a future bilingual president of the United States. It just might be the one that asked me how to say platypus in Spanish.
