From the Ross Valley Reporter
Mouths of Babes, a Second Language
By Nicole Makris
Published on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
There's a common joke among Europeans that goes like this:
Q: What do you call a person who speaks three languages?
A: Multilingual.
Q: What do you call a person who speaks two languages?
A: Bilingual.
Q: What do you call a person who speaks one language?
A: American.
Chloe Caviness with her husband and two children.
Chloe Caviness feared her young children were destined to be the butt of such jokes. She searched high and low for a program that exposed her 3- and 4-year-old children to languages other than English and found nothing outside of total immersion programs in private schools. With so many soccer teams and clarinet lessons available for her children's enrichment, why was it so difficult to find a low-key, once- or twice-a-week class where her little ones could learn a new language?
Out of luck, the business-savvy, event-planning guru-turned-mom gathered her gumption and decided to do it herself. She created Little Lingua, a program that offers a one-hour, once-a-week language class to children ages 2-5.
"The premise is to offer language enrichment programs for preschool-aged kids," Caviness said. "The classes are set up like a preschool class, with the kids reading stories, singing songs and playing games."
Caviness worked with impressive speed to get the program running. After deciding in November 2007 to put the program together, it took just two months to hire French, Italian and Spanish teachers and arrange with the San Anselmo Department of Recreation to rent a space where classes could be held. Classes began Jan. 14, and now take place seven days a week: four in Spanish, two in French and one in Italian. Little Lingua's second session begins March 31, when 13 classes will be taught: three in Italian, four in French, four in Spanish, one in German and one (if the staff can find a suitable teacher) in Hebrew. It's a remarkable accomplishment, and Caviness herself is pleased, and even a little surprised, with the program's success.
"I've gotten very positive feedback," she said. "People have been loving the words their kids are learning, and they're very pleased. We'll see how many re-enroll."
The classes, based in San Anselmo, are open to toddlers throughout Marin. While the hourlong sessions are based on a preschool model, Caviness and the individual teachers aim to highlight the unique cultural practices associated with each language. Each teacher is a native speaker of the language she teaches, and most are recent immigrants from countries including Peru, France and Italy. They celebrate the various cultures by preparing regional foods, observing holidays and listening to music.
The program is fun and challenging, Caviness said, but it's also important. As a child of a French father and an American mother, Caviness herself grew up bilingual, and she notes that being exposed to more than one language as a young girl played a big role in her life.
"Kids this age are sponges, and there's no hang-up around learning something new. A lot of them are still learning English," she said. "I spoke French growing up, and I can pick up languages very easily. It doesn't take very much effort for me to learn a new language. Being exposed to a language at this point, whether or not they continue to speak it, is going to make it much easier to learn a new language in the future."
Caviness is a real go-getter - although she spends a lot of time with her kids, she has a vision of Little Lingua centers all over the country. In addition to her business sense and ability to organize an after-school program so quickly and efficiently, Caviness is very passionate about Little Lingua, which she sees as an important and often absent privilege available to young children.
"I feel that kids getting exposed to languages and cultures early on just opens up their world," she said. "That awareness of other cultures - kids will bring that with them in whatever direction they go in life. It's just such an important foundation to have, just being aware of other cultures and languages and ways of doing things and saying things."
Little Lingua's next session will run March 31-June 6. Classes are $180 per session, with a $20 discount for siblings enrolled in the same class. To register, call Greg Mihan at the San Anselmo Department of Recreation, 258-4680.