Episode 102: El don del lenguaje (The Gift of Language)

For almost a decade, Leydis Lopez put her career in education on hold. Until one day, she finally decided to lean into her native Spanish language to give children the gift of bilingualism.

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Transcript

Martina: Hey listeners, a quick note before we begin: the following episode contains a reference to domestic violence, so it might not be suitable for listeners of all ages.

One afternoon, in 2017, Leydis Lopez was visiting the local library in Norwalk, Connecticut. She was with Camila, the toddler she cared for. They started playing a version of the popular game “Simon Says,” but in Spanish. Soon, other nannies and children surrounded them.

Leidys: Cuando llegaba a la biblioteca, la mayoría de las niñeras estaban usando sus teléfonos y los niños hacían lo que querían. Camila muchas veces se aburría, así que yo inventaba actividades con libros y juguetes para ella. Los otros niños siempre venían a jugar con nosotras.

Martina: The other caregivers saw Leydis playing and teaching children at the same time. They were impressed by how Camila spoke Spanish fluently, even though her parents spoke English at home.

Leidys: Me gustaba mucho hacer actividades en español con los niños. Eso me hacía pensar en los dieciséis años que trabajé como educadora especial en Colombia. ¡Me encantaba esa carrera!

Martina: Leydis missed her career as a special education teacher, or educadora especial, in Colombia. She had been unable to continue teaching after moving to the United States. Until one day, at the library, Leydis had an idea: What if she could find a way to lead children in fun, bilingual activities that were educational, and get paid for it?

Leidys: Pensé: “¿Y si les enseño a los otros niños como le enseño a Camila?”. La verdad es que no sabía cómo lo podía hacer, pero quería intentarlo.

Martina: Bienvenidos and welcome to the Duolingo Spanish Podcast. I’m Martina Castro. We’re dedicating this season to you, our listeners. Over the last 12 seasons, you’ve written to us by email and social media, you’ve even called and left us voicemails with wonderful suggestions for stories. So, this episode, like the rest of this season, comes from your ideas. Here's one from Kipp Visi:

Kipp Visi: The message of persistence and following a dream present throughout many episodes resonated with me. And I immediately thought of the story of our now close friend, Leydis. It was through our journey of teaching our children Spanish that we were lucky enough to meet Leydis, who started caring for our first child, and then evolved into so much more… She continues to amaze us with her creativity, passion, and dedication.

Martina: Well, we responded to Kipp and he was eager to connect us with Leydis. So here we bring you her story. We hope you enjoy it!

As usual, the storyteller will be using intermediate Spanish, and I’ll be chiming in for context in English. If you miss something, you can always skip back and listen again. We also offer full transcripts at podcast.duolingo.com.

Keep an ear out for our storyteller’s Colombian accent, where the LL and Y are pronounced with a soft “j” sound. So words like “caballo” sound like: “…caballo…”

Martina: Growing up in Colombia, Leydis wanted to become a pediatrician because she always loved children. But after facing challenges in medical school, she became interested in special education, through a friend.

Leidys: Mi amiga era educadora especial y yo la ayudaba a escribir sus tareas de la universidad. Así que, mientras las escribía, las leía. Los temas me parecían muy interesantes.

Martina: Leydis was fascinated by how the field of special education included children of all abilities…and how far kids could go, when they received the right support early on. She read one paper about special education that really inspired her. It made her want to work with people with disabilities, or discapacidades.

Leidys: Esa tesis hablaba de las oportunidades de trabajo que las personas con discapacidades tenían en algunos países. Eso me pareció maravilloso. Uno de esos países era España y hablaban de los trabajos que estas personas podían tener en supermercados o restaurantes.

Martina: Leydis was inspired by the outcomes in Spain, and wanted to help people with disabilities in Colombia reach their full potential. So, in the early 1990’s, she got a loan to study so she could become a special education teacher. She loved every minute of it.

Leidys: Mis estudios me hicieron pensar mucho y me di cuenta de algo… Si un niño con necesidades especiales o discapacidades recibe todas las atenciones necesarias, es capaz de lograr sus sueños.

Martina: After graduating in 1993, Leydis was offered a job in a rural area outside of Medellín. There, she helped set up a program for children with disabilities who weren’t receiving any support at all. Leydis loved her new job…including her interesting commute to school.

Leidys: Yo iba para allá a caballo… Sí, ¡a caballo! Era muy gracioso porque todos los días anunciaban: "Leydis López está llegando. Pueden traer a sus niños si creen que necesitan algún tipo de educación especial”.

Martina: She enjoyed working with her students. And Leydis got to express her creativity as an educator. She designed the home education programs herself and tailored everything to each student, so that their families could practice the activities at home. Every child had different needs.

Leidys: Yo diseñaba programas personalizados. Veía al niño para analizar su progreso y los objetivos que tenían que lograr. Luego, les dábamos tareas a los miembros de la familia. Juntos hacíamos lo mejor que podíamos. Aunque algunas de las familias tenían una educación limitada, siempre tenían muchas ganas de ver el progreso de los niños. Fue un trabajo muy bonito, ¡me encantó!

Martina: Over the next 15 years, Leydis built her career in education in Colombia. She provided public services to children from low-income homes. And she empowered families with information to better support their kids. Leydis loved seeing children reach their full potential. Education became even more important to her, when she had her own daughter, María Paula.

Leidys: Cuando María Paula nació en el 2002, lo único que yo quería era darle la mejor educación y el mejor futuro.

Martina: Leydis saw an opportunity to give her daughter the best future possible, when her partner suggested that they move to the United States — where he had citizenship. It was a risk for her own career. But Leydis hoped she could return to education after they got settled.

Leidys: Decidimos ir a vivir a Nueva York. Al principio sabía que no iba a ser fácil, pero yo esperaba trabajar como educadora especial allá también. Yo quería prepararme antes de irnos a los Estados Unidos, así que comencé un curso de inglés… aunque no sabía qué iba a pasar en el futuro.

Martina: Unfortunately, things didn’t go as Leydis planned when she left Colombia and her teaching career. Soon after her family arrived in New York in 2008, her partner became abusive.

Leidys: Empecé a ver el lado oscuro de mi pareja. Él no me quería dejar trabajar porque quería controlarme.

Martina: So Leydis did what she had to do to protect herself and her daughter. She left her husband, found her own apartment, and got a job. It didn’t have anything to do with education, but it paid the bills.

Leidys: Mi familia me decía que era mejor regresar a Colombia, pero yo ya estaba en Estados Unidos y quería seguir adelante. Entonces empecé a buscar y encontré un trabajo en un restaurante español.

Martina: When Leydis started at the restaurant, she was so shy about her English, she would often hide from customers. She had started learning English in Colombia. But in New York City, she didn’t have time or money to take more classes.

Leidys: Yo trabajaba en la entrada del restaurante y las únicas personas que hablaban español eran los muchachos que estaban adentro en la cocina. A mí me gustaba hablar mucho y era horrible estar ahí ocho horas sin poder hablar español con mis compañeros.

Martina: But since her workstation was at the front of the restaurant, Leydis realized that she couldn’t avoid customers forever — they were constantly asking her questions.

Leidys: Mientras trabajaba, yo escuchaba la información que mis colegas les daban a los clientes. Así que cuando ellos estaban ocupados, los clientes venían a hablar conmigo y yo los ayudaba.

Martina: Leydis studied as much English as she could on her own, in between preparing tapas, or Spanish appetizers, at the restaurant.

Leidys: Yo tenía un libro de inglés básico y cuando tenía tiempo libre en el trabajo, lo leía. A veces, también practicaba con mis colegas. Algunos estaban aprendiendo español, así que hacíamos un intercambio de idiomas.

Martina: It helped that her daughter, María Paula, was becoming bilingual, too. Leydis saw that speaking two languages made it easier for her daughter to make new friends and connect with their new home.

Leidys: Por muchos años tuve que ir al médico con María Paula porque yo no hablaba muy bien el inglés. Después de un tiempo, María Paula me acompañaba, pero yo era la que hablaba con el doctor. Recuerdo que una vez me dijo: “¡Mami, felicitaciones! Estás hablando muy bien, ya no tengo que venir contigo”.

Martina: Over time, Leydis grew more confident in her English skills. And at work, she was inspired to use the restaurant as her own personal language lab.

Leidys: Fue mi primera escuela. Cuando empecé a trabajar en el restaurante, solo podía saludar y hablar de cosas muy básicas. Pero después de unos años, aprendí suficiente vocabulario para hablarles a los clientes de mis platos favoritos y darles recomendaciones. También podía dar recetas y hacer reservaciones en inglés.

Martina: Leydis told her colleagues about her career in education in Colombia, and how she missed working with children. They encouraged her to get her teaching certificate in the United States. As a single mother, Leydis didn't feel like she had the time or money to go back to school… But she knew she had to get back to working with kids.

Leidys: Yo no sabía ni cómo ni cuándo lo iba a hacer, pero mi objetivo era volver a trabajar como educadora. ¡Y estaba segura de que lo iba a hacer!

Martina: In 2017, Leydis finally felt ready to leave the restaurant industry and work with children again. She made a major life change: She and her daughter moved from New York City to Norwalk, Connecticut. There, her daughter María Paula enrolled in a more rigorous high school. And Leydis started applying for jobs as a nanny, or niñera.

Leidys: Yo había respondido a un anuncio en una página para encontrar trabajo. Un día, una pareja de la ciudad de Norwalk me escribió y me dijo: “Hola. ¿Te gustaría trabajar con nosotros? Tenemos una niña y necesitamos una niñera”.

Martina: Intrigued, Leydis set up a time to meet the couple, Yajaira and Kipp. She was excited to learn more about the opportunity. But she wasn’t sure how they’d feel about her not being a native English speaker. She had become more self-conscious after a previous employer harshly criticized her language skills.

Leidys: Yo quise ser honesta, así que les dije que mi inglés no era perfecto. Entonces Yajaira me dijo: “Eso no es un problema. Nosotros queremos que nuestra hija aprenda español”. Después de leer esa respuesta, me sentí mucho más tranquila.

Martina: Kipp and Yajaira were thrilled that Leydis could speak in Spanish to their daughter, Camila, who was just a few months old at the time.

Leidys: La familia de Yajaira era de Puerto Rico, pero ella no sabía hablar español. Por eso, ella quería que su hija Camila aprendiera el idioma.

Martina: Leydis accepted the job offer and began by talking to Camila only in Spanish. She took her to the park, read books, played games, and sang songs — all in Spanish. Kipp and Yajaira were so pleased with how Leydis cared for their daughter, they started to ask her for parenting advice.

Leidys: Fue una experiencia bien bonita y teníamos una relación muy linda. Yo no me sentía como la niñera, sino como parte de la familia. Ellos escuchaban todas mis recomendaciones para la educación y el cuidado de Camila.

Martina: As she cared for Camila, Leydis appreciated the gift of being bilingual even more. She saw how much others valued it when she took Camila to the library. There, other nannies would join their activities! And it was rare to see kids play in Spanish in Connecticut. It reminded Leydis of how special she felt as a parent when her daughter, María Paula, learned a second language.

Leidys: Pensé que a María Paula le había ido muy bien en la escuela porque hablaba bien los dos idiomas. Eso abrió puertas. Por ejemplo, cuando las clases empezaron, la llamaron porque necesitaban su ayuda para comunicarse con los padres que no hablaban inglés. Eso me hizo sentir muy feliz.

Martina: To think that she was giving the same gift of bilingualism to Camila made Leydis feel incredible. She wondered, why not share that gift with more families in Connecticut?

Leidys: En nuestra ciudad solo había un programa para enseñarles español a los niños a través de la música. Conocí a muchas familias que buscaban actividades en español para sus hijos, pero no había casi nada disponible. Entonces ¡tuve una idea! Les pedí ayuda a Kipp y a Yajaira porque mi sueño era volver a trabajar con los niños.

Martina: The couple was honored that Leydis asked for their support. Together they brainstormed how to make her dream a reality. They all agreed Leydis should start by founding a Spanish-language playgroup, or centro de juegos, for young children — from infants to kids as old as ten!

Leidys: Juntos decidimos que lo mejor sería crear un centro de juegos. Es donde los niños pueden cantar, jugar y aprender con canciones, actividades y libros.

Martina: Games and songs were how Leydis had taught Spanish to Camila. Kipp and Yajaira thought the idea was fantastic, and they helped get the paperwork and initial funding. For Leydis, this validated a conviction she had for a long time about the value of Spanish… and being bilingual.

Leidys: Yo sabía que muchas familias creían en mí y en mi proyecto.

Martina: In 2019, her vision became a reality… Leydis opened a Spanish-language playgroup for kids. It was called “María’s Friends.”

Leidys: Lo llamamos así en honor a mi hija porque ella tuvo la oportunidad de aprender un idioma nuevo con la ayuda de amigas y de la comunidad en los Estados Unidos.

Martina: Leydis was amazed by how far she had come: Almost 25 years after her first teaching job in rural Colombia, she was working with children again…this time, in a completely different country! On the first day of her new playgroup, Leydis planned every moment. She wanted all the activities to be fun, informative, and appropriate for the children’s ages.

Leidys: Yo tengo una canción para todo, así que empezamos el día con una canción que se llama “Los amigos”. La música ayuda a los niños a aprender mejor y más rápido. Después, les enseño a los niños a presentarse en español. Luego jugamos y leemos historias y así aprendemos nuevas palabras.

Martina: It was a dream come true to watch her new students sing and introduce themselves, or presentarse, in Spanish. Leydis was happy to share it with her new friends who helped create it. Kipp, Yajaira, and Camila were all there to cheer her on. They even had a surprise visitor…the town mayor!

Leidys: ¡El primer día fue increíble! Estaba muy nerviosa, pero al mismo tiempo estaba muy feliz. ¡Fue muy bonito poder cumplir mi sueño!

Martina: So far, Leydis López has worked with over 30 students at María’s Friends in Connecticut. During the pandemic, she continued her Spanish-language playgroups online.

This story was produced by Adonde Media’s Caro Rolando.

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And we have a surprise for you! In our next season, we’re going to learn all about daily customs, or costumbres, in the Spanish-speaking world! We’ll meet people who are preserving…or updating customs in their communities, like the Spanish siesta and quinceañera parties.

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The Duolingo Spanish podcast is produced by Duolingo and Adonde Media. Our producers this season were Tali Goldman, Paige Sutherland, Caro Rolando, and Samia Bouzid. Our managing editor is David Alandete. Our senior editor is Laura Isensee. Our production manager is Román Frontini. Our assistant producers this season were Caro Rolando and Andrés Fechtenholz. Mixing was done by Andrés Fechtenholz, Daniel Murcia, and Mauricio Mendoza. Our mastering engineer and sound designer is Antonio Romero. Our sound supervisor is Martin Cruz. I’m your host and executive producer, Martina Castro. ¡Gracias por escuchar!

Credits

This episode was produced by Duolingo and Adonde Media.