Educational Consulting
“For the past 25 years, I have been teaching early childhood music classes in three different languages. As a clinician and workshop leader and a native Spanish speaker, I have heard the need from educators and parents alike, not for more bilingual materials, but for great Spanish materials that they can readily use and implement immediately with students in schools and at home. With a growing Spanish-speaking population in the USA, the specialized workshops, clinics and professional consulting I offer help to fulfill that need.”
Yolanda Borrás
Yolanda Borrás
An internationally recognized specialist in early childhood and bilingual arts education, Yolanda Borrás trains teachers in best practices related to second language acquisition and vocabulary development through music and the arts.
Yolanda offers consulting services, staff development, professional development and teacher-training workshops. They are available on-site for private, public, non-profit and international institutions at the state, national and international levels. Since Yolanda is completely fluent in Spanish, French and English, training is available in all three languages.
Yolanda Borrás is active as a speaker and presenter throughout the United States and abroad, having made presentations in public, private and non-profit organizations in New York City, Georgia, Texas, Indiana, California, and Rhode Island, as well as her native Dominican Republic. She was a featured presenter at MENC National Biennial Conference in Milwaukee and the Global Language Convention in Atlanta, and has been invited to lead an arts-based bilingual education demonstration session at the 40th Annual Conference of the National Association for Bilingual Education in 2011.
Educated at Peabody Conservatory of Music and Columbia University Teachers College, Yolanda Borrás is the author of the I’m Bilingual book series, a unique approach to language education that introduces young children to the bilingual world though music. She is also the creator of ¡Caramba! Kids (2006), a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award winning CD and author of the book ¡Caramba! Kids, Guide for Parents, Teachers and Caregivers.
For complete bio click here.
Professional Development
Teacher Training and Bilingual Workshops
Our professional development programs are a result of thirty years of worldwide experience in the field of bilingual education and the arts for the very young. All workshops are hands on, practical, creative, interactive and highly engaging. The material presented may be easily implemented in any classroom setting. Yolanda uses recent research on best practices to effectively promote language acquisition through the arts. This enables teachers to confidently use the arts to integrate the Spanish language and culture into any classroom setting and actively engage students in the language-learning process.
Would your school like to participate in interactive and informative workshops that will help educators teach confidently in a second language? We will provide you with the tools for success in engaging young learners into the bilingual and bicultural world. Our bilingual arts workshops and teacher-training:
• Offer specialized training in SPANISH and FRENCH. Training is available nationwide, for private or public institutions and non-profit organizations with students attending early childhood programs and early elementary grades.
• Introduce group strategies and cooperative learning where teachers may share ideas with other teachers
• Present opportunities for hands-on teaching and for educators to ask questions
• Demonstrate how music may be used as an everyday classroom management tool
• Provide techniques for utilizing and adapting musical material for use with different age groups depending on their stage of development.
• Enhance teachers’ practices through learning new skills
• Present creative ideas on using bilingual songbooks with children, including group games and the use of instruments to read basic rhythmic patterns
• Integrate the material the general curriculum and combine it with other subject areas by adding a “cultural or historical” context to the material or extending music into simple art projects.
• Provide training that applies up-to-date research related to second language acquisition through music and the arts and its impact on brain development.
Consulting services
We provide:
• Expert advice for educational institutions offering bilingual programs at the early childhood and early elementary grade levels
• Nationwide consulting for private or public institutions and non-profit organizations to strengthen an existing program or introduce a bilingual arts component into preschool and early elementary grades
• Assistance in improving effectiveness in teaching and classroom management through musical activities in a bilingual setting
• Suggestions for adapting bilingual materials for age-appropriate teaching to achieve maximum educational impact
• Guidance and best practice teaching strategies for educational organizations that boost teacher morale and student motivation
• Research-based workshops that are highly engaging and interactive for teachers who work in a bilingual or immersion setting
For more information on consulting services, training and fees, please contact yolanda@musicalkids.net
