Dr. Ginny Torres-Rimbau of the University of St. Thomas uses the Con Cariño program to train the new generation of bilingual teachers

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – Bilingual programs are mushrooming across the country, especially for those who want their children to be fluent in Spanish and English.

But, unfortunately, there is a shortage of qualified teachers.

Today, a professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston is working to change that. So far, it works.

Dr Ginny Torres-Rimbau said she began to notice that students who wanted to be bilingual teachers had problems with their academic Spanish, despite being able to speak the language.
“It is not enough to be able to speak to children in Spanish and use their mother tongue,” Torres-Rimbau explained. “But, we also need to be able to do math and science and all reading and writing skills in Spanish.”

Knowing that his students dominated English and had only oral skills in Spanish, Torres-Rimbau created a program to help his students succeed in their academic Spanish.

She calls it “Con Cariño”; which means with affection.

“I call him Con Cariño because I’m not going to say, ‘You should know that, you speak Spanish. I mean, shame on you.'” She said. “No, I’m not going to say that. I’m going to say, ‘You learned that in English, let’s see how we can do it in Spanish.'”

It was precisely this method of teaching that gave former student, Kalyn Vasquez, the confidence she needed to become a bilingual teacher.
“I actually wasn’t sure if I wanted to be bilingual because I knew I knew Spanish and I knew I knew English,” Vasquez explained.

“Con Cariño” prepared her for success.

She is now a kindergarten teacher at a Channelview ISD school. She says she uses the same cross-language technique on her students.

“[My students are] going to remember, ‘Oh, Miss Vasquez taught me it’s red, but she also taught me it’s red,’ “she said.” That turns me on. “

The Torres-Rimbau program has a 93% success rate on the state test. Its program has indeed proved its worth.

She is currently doing a study there at the University of St. Thomas to find out why Con Cariño is doing so well and how to improve it.

To learn more about Con Cariño, follow Mayra Moreno on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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