Hello everyone! Thanks for checking out my blog. My name is Jeanne and I’m currently pursuing my Bachelor of Education in Elementary Second Languages. Spanish, to be more specific. This summer, I will be researching about the History of the Spanish Bilingual program in Calgary.
Like any other research, mine started with a question. As a former journalist and a Spanish-native speaker, I have a natural interest on bilingual education and second language teaching. I also have a curious mind and always, always have questions. One of them is what makes Spanish a popular language option for schooling in Calgary?
The curiosity sparked from a couple of anecdotes. When my children entered the Spanish bilingual program back in 2014, I was surprised to know that among almost 400 students, the majority of them spoke English at home. Years later, I met a mom outside school who was dropping off her kid for the first day of Kindergarten. She was excited that her daughter got a spot in the program and expressed interest in Spanish because she thought it was going to be useful in the future as there are more Spanish-speaking people around the world.
I will discuss some figures about Spanish in Canada’s educational landscape in a follow-up post, yet the anecdotes above still do not answer my initial question. As I tried to look for answers, I came to realize that there was not too much publicly available information about the Spanish Bilingual program. If you do a quick Google search, as I did, you’ll find three lines in English and one line Spanish. Although I did find a curious fact: The upcoming month of September will mark the 20th anniversary of the Spanish Bilingual program in Calgary. And that’s the heart of my research!
Although the Spanish Bilingual program has existed for almost two decades, little is known about the history and theoretical foundations that led to its creation. My project, funded by The Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE), aims to analyze historical and legal documents as well as interview key stakeholders and members of the Calgary community (parents, retired teachers and school administrators, government officials) to trace the path of creation, implementation and evolution of the Spanish Bilingual program in Calgary. Documenting its history will inform second language educators, and provide insight to school administrators and policymakers who seek to establish similar bilingual programs.
Stay tuned and thanks for reading!