Dr. Mary Jill Brody works with Prime Time Adapting for Bilingual Families
Credit to James Brown, Prime Time, and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
Prime Time has been bringing families together over children’s books – mostly in English – for
more than 30 years. But there have been Prime Time programs in French and Spanish
as well. Many places around Louisiana have hosted bilingual Spanish programs, including
several in 2024.
Dr. Mary Jill Brody, a longtime Prime Time scholar and storyteller, helps facilitate
the bilingual program at Wildwood Elementary School in Baton Rouge. She said making
participants feel comfortable is the key to a successful program.
“It is very important to learn about language abilities of participants,” Brody said.
“Bilingual communities are heterogeneous for many different reasons - education level,
age, time in the U.S., being a heritage speaker, (and/or) particular life experiences.”
There are many different aspects to Prime Time, and the bilingual nature introduces
complexities in the implementation of the program. One major adjustment is story sharing.
Each book is read in English and Spanish, and the comments in the discussion are translated
as well so that everyone can understand what’s being considered.
“Adults are often shy about their linguistic abilities. They may feel hesitant to
speak English for fear of making errors. This second factor makes me feel less bad
about my less-than-perfect Spanish abilities: participants will hear me make errors
and just go on talking, which can give them permission to do the same,” she said.
Prime Time continues to expand its bilingual options for our Spanish-speaking community.
Both Prime Time Family and Prime Time Preschool programs are available as bilingual
Spanish options. The next season of our podcast, Little Voices, Big Ideas, will also
be offered in a bilingual format.