Bilingual - WKTV Journal

Education, student, business (Courtesy, pxhere.com)

By WKTV Staff

Leaders at Davenport University (DU) announced a groundbreaking initiative that leads to bilingual degrees with professional proficiency in English and Spanish.

Casa Latina at Davenport has a unique approach by offering courses with one week fully in Spanish and the next week fully in English. Graduates of this program at Davenport will enhance the pool of bilingual talent for businesses, while offering a solid path to careers in business, technology, healthcare, urban education and the sciences.

Casa Latina, the only program of its kind in the nation, represents a new era in higher education.

Twelve undergraduate and graduate degrees are tailored to students who will not only become experts in their fields, but will join the workforce ready to lead in a bilingual world. Degree programs include accounting, business administration, education, human resource management, health services administration and technology project management.

Worldwide flexibility

Students can apply now for courses beginning fall 2024.

The Casa Latina program is fully online, giving students the flexibility they need to begin and finish their degrees. The program will be available worldwide, and Davenport will consider work experience and education credits, reducing the time it takes to earn a degree.

Scholarships are available for full-time students: $9,200 for undergraduates and $5,000 for graduate students. Students attending part-time will be awarded a prorated amount.

Innovative and bold

DU saw the need for this bilingual program after studying the needs of employers across the country.

Carlos Sanchez, the executive director of Casa Latina, believes the uniqueness of this program will appeal to the Latino community by offering key bachelor and master degrees along with wrap-around support for students. DU’s Casa Latina program offers bilingual and bicultural student support in admissions, financial aid, counseling, tutoring and library services.

“Davenport is taking an innovative, bold approach with Casa Latina,” Sanchez said. “We are creating this bilingual program that will provide an opportunity for Latino students to overcome so many challenges. We are taking barriers down related to language, finances and geography.

“We have virtual bilingual tutoring, and we have staff dedicated to advising our Casa Latina students. We are creating a community at Davenport that will embrace and guide students as they pursue their degrees.”

Supporting the underserved

The energy for Casa Latina comes right from the top. President Richard J. Pappas and Executive Vice President of Academics and Provost Gilda Gely know Casa Latina will serve students and employers, while aligning with Davenport’s commitment to reach underserved populations in higher education.

Despite being the fastest growing population in the country, Latinos are the least represented in higher education. In the U.S., only 18% of adults over the age of 25 who identify as Hispanic or Latino have a bachelor’s degree or higher. That’s compared to 37% of white/non-Hispanics. Pappas said Davenport is focused on closing this gap.

“We have taken direction from people within the Latino community to understand the needs and challenges they have to continue their education,” Pappas said. “We are absolutely committed to creating an environment with all the tools necessary for bilingual students to graduate ready to work and lead in bilingual environments.”

Gely has been instrumental in the development of Casa Latina and believes it is the right program to give bilingual speakers the opportunity to become confident in their ability to succeed in college and in the workplace.

“At Davenport, we have taken the position that Latino students do not have to fit into our mold, but rather we will meet them where they are and support them as they realize their potential,” Gely said. “We have been working toward launching this bilingual program with their success at the forefront of its development. This is truly an exciting moment and opportunity.”

Philanthropic community support

The philanthropic community has contributed $2.7 million to Casa Latina at DU. Foundations and donors giving to Casa Latina include:

Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
M.E. Davenport Foundation
Daniel & Pamella DeVos Foundation
Frey Foundation
Steelcase Foundation
Steve and Tana Wessell

Those interested in supporting Casa Latina can find out more here.

Integration and services

Casa Latina has an advisory board to ensure integration into the community with opportunities for networking and internships. Davenport offers career services support throughout a graduate’s lifetime.

For more information about Casa Latina at Davenport University, visit https://www.davenport.edu/casa-latina.

(Courtesy, Davenport University)

Courtesy Michigan State University Extension

By Tracy Trautner, Michigan State University Extension

Why would we want young children to learn a second language while they are focused on learning their primary one? It seems like this would be learning overload at a time when they are also learning how to be friends, count, play on the playground and so much more. However, this is a time in our lives when acquiring a second language comes very naturally.

Between the ages of 0-3, the brains of young children are uniquely suited to learn a second language as the brain is in its most flexible stage. In fact, bilingually exposed infants excelled in detecting a switch in language as early as 6 months old. They can learn a second language as easy as they learned to walk and learn their primary language. According to the University of Washington News, the U.S. census shows that 27 percent of children under the age of 6 are now learning a language other than English. Learning a second language does not negatively impact the child’s native language.

As adults, we have to consider grammar rules and practice, but young children absorb sounds, structures, intonation patterns and the rules of a second language very easily. Up until the age of 8, young learners benefit from flexible ear and speech muscles that can detect differences between the sounds of a second language.

If youth can learn multiple languages, why not teach them? Exposure to two languages over one language has many benefits, according to What’s Going on Inside the Brain of a Bilingual Child? from KQED news. Bilingual children may have a superior ability to focus on one thing and change their response, easily indicating “cognitive flexibility.” Both traits require self-control, a very desirable trait in the early childhood classroom as well as life. When a bilingual toddler attempts to communicate, the languages in the brain “compete” to be activated and chosen. The child must select one and suppress the other, which requires attention and the ability for the brain to be flexible, which is possible at this early age. The interference forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles.

Bilingual children are also more adept at solving certain kinds of mental puzzles. A 2004 study by psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle Martin-Rhee found that bilingual youth were more successful at dividing objects by shape and color versus their monolingual peers who struggled when the second characteristic (sorting by shape) was added. This suggests the bilingual experience improves the brain’s command center, thus giving it the ability to plan, solve problems and perform other mentally demanding tasks. These tasks include switching attention from one thing to another and holding information in mind, like remembering a sequence of directions when getting ready for school in the morning or, for adults, driving a car.

While it may be easier for young children to pick up a second language, there are benefits for adults as well. Researchers found that young adults who knew two languages performed better on attention tests and had better concentration compared to those who only spoke one language. They also respond faster or more accurately than their monolingual peers, according to Kapa and Colombo, 2013. This is largely because of the workout our brain receives while switching back and forth between one language and another when deciding how to communicate. It allows us to focus better during a lecture and remember relevant information.

Learning a second language can protect against Alzheimer’s as well. Recent brain studies have shown that bilingual people’s brains function better and for longer after developing the disease. On average, the disease is delayed by four years compared to monolinguals.

Do not fear that learning two languages will confuse or distract your child. Remember, their brains are flexible, and the skills develop beyond learning a second language is immeasurable. Bilingual children learn that an object stays the same even though the object has a different name in a different language (object permanence). For example, a foot remains a foot in English as well as French. Studies have also repeatedly shown that foreign language learning increases critical thinking skills, creativity and flexibility of mind.

Michigan State University Extension suggests the following articles for additional information about the advantages to learning a second language as well as helpful tips to support your child:

How can I help my child learn a second language?, Tufts University
Bilingual Babies: Teaching Your Child a Second Language, Parents Magazine
Bilingual Children, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

For more articles on child development, academic success, parenting and life skill development, visit the Michigan State University Extension website.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).