Spanish Dual Language @ MMA!
What is Dual Language?
Midtown Montessori Academy’s Dual Language program provides children the opportunity to develop both their nativelanguage and a second language—Spanish and English—in arich, academic setting.
Our Dual Language classrooms are available at the Primary (ages 3–6) and Lower Elementary (ages 6–9) levels. Instruction is delivered in both languages throughout the day,tailored to each child’s age, developmental stage, and individuallanguage needs.
Programs are offered across all campuses:
- Primary (Ages 3–6) : Berkeley Park, Midtown, and Sloan’s Lake
- Lower Elementary (Ages 6–9): Sloan’s Lake
The Big Picture
Our Dual-Language program prepares children to not only understand, speak, read, and write in both English and Spanish, but to do so with confidence, cultural awareness, and genuine curiosity. By carefully sequencing literacy development, differentiating our instructional materials, and cultivating diverse teaching teams, we offer a powerful foundation for true bilingualism that is both meaningful and sustainable.
Potential Benefits of Bilingualism:
Bilingual people use both sides of their brain, which can lead
to:
- Increased creativity & more developed problem solving
skills - Stronger working memory
- Broadens perspectives & opens students to cultural
experiences they might not otherwise encounter - Stronger ability in meta-language skills, such as
understanding grammar rules - Increases brain density & strengthens executive
functioning - Favorable college application details with potentially
higher acceptance rates than monolingual peers - More diverse job opportunities
Why Multilingual Instruction as Part of Montessori?
Clear, Intentional Language
In our Dual Language communities, will speak to children using English and Spanish. While not every educator in the classroom will be a native-Spanish speaker, at least two faculty supporting their day will be fluent in Spanish – giving the children the opportunity to hear authentic, quality dialogue between adults in the target language. It’s amazing how quickly children absorb language simply by observing and repeating phrases they hear their teachers use.
Real Life Interactive Instruction
At MMA, our dual-language programs provide opportunities to experience language in a real-life context, rather than out of textbook pages. In the Montessori environment, teachers are responsive to children’s activities and will speak to them in Spanish throughout the day. This is Spanish the way it should be learned: through interactive experience.
Cultural Competency
Language is inevitably tied to culture. Practical life activities can incorporate Spanish customs, from foods we prepare together, to the type of fabrics we use in our materials. Songs and stories from Spanish-speaking areas of the world bring Spanish culture to life in the classroom. Naturally, the strong Montessori geography curriculum enables our students to locate the cultural regions where Spanish is spoken on the world map!
Extensive Vocabulary Building
Montessori environments are filled with vocabulary of objects and ideas —from animal figurines, to real tools, Grace and Courtesy lessons, and math concepts — all words they don’t have to memorize from a textbook, but rather get to use and hear everyday in the classroom! This unique time in a child’s life allows them to leverage their sensitive period for language known as the”Absorbent Mind” in the First Plane of Development.
Understanding the Instructional Model
It is important to understand that Midtown Montessori’s model is not full immersion. Instead, our goal is to provide:
- Authentic, environmental exposure to both English and Spanish in daily routines, lessons, and social interactions.
- Meaningful opportunities to use Spanish in context, whether through storytelling, group instruction, songs, or independent work.
- Consistent support from bilingual and native-speaking
Guides who know how to scaffold each child’s progress across both languages.
Children develop bilingual abilities not through rote translation,
but through repetition, contextual learning, and social use. This mirrors how they learned their first language—organically and joyfully.
Spanish Dual Language Over the Years
We believe that children benefit from clarity and consistency as they develop literacy in two languages. To support this, Midtown Montessori Academy has adopted distinct systems for reading and writing in English and Spanish.
At Midtown Montessori Academy, language development is woven into the fabric of our Dual-Language (50/50) classrooms. While our approach is not full immersion, we prioritize authentic exposure and contextual opportunities for students to learn and use both English and Spanish throughout their school day. A common question families have is: How will my child learn to read and write in both languages? Here’s what that journey looks like in our program.
English Literacy: Taught First, Using Print
- Foundational phonics, phonemic awareness, and early reading are introduced first in English.
- Materials such as sandpaper letters, moveable alphabets, and 3-part cards all use print lettering for English instruction.
- Once students demonstrate mastery of phonetic sounds and phonemic skills in English, they begin progressing through leveled English readers and can begin applying their reading skills to writing.
Spanish Literacy: Introduced Later, Using Cursive
- Spanish reading and writing instruction begins only after children show readiness and proficiency in English.
- Spanish materials—including letters, writing cards, and booklets—are presented in cursive, helping children differentiate between the two languages visually and cognitively.
- This clear distinction supports bilingual development and reduces confusion, especially in early learners.
By teaching one language with print and the other with cursive, students
develop a clear visual and tactile understanding of the structure and patterns
unique to each language.
To ensure children are making academic progress in both English and Spanish, elementary students enrolled in the Dual-Language program participate in additional Spanish-language benchmark assessments.
These assessments are designed to monitor each child’s growth in Spanish literacy and comprehension, allowing our Guides to adjust instruction, set personalized goals, and share meaningful progress updates with families.
By the end of Lower Elementary, Dual-Language students at Midtown Montessori Academy have not only developed stronger reading and writing skills in both languages—they have also grown as confident, culturally aware communicators, capable of navigating academic work and daily life with increasing fluency, flexibility, and independence.
