Elizabeth Jones pens bilingual adventure for children
Published:Sunday | March 24, 2024 | 12:09 AMKrysta Anderson - Staff Reporter
Elizabeth Jones has spent close to a decade working in English-Spanish language education in destinations like Colombia and Spain. Now that she has crossed over to corporate, the former teacher wanted to pay homage to her passion, bringing her life full circle by penning a bilingual book for children.
Don’t Change Osito shares a unique connection between a bear and his flying friend, Mary. Osito, which is the Spanish word for teddy bear, goes on an exciting journey with Mary, short for Mariposa, which translates to butterfly in Spanish. Challenging himself to the impossible, soaring like a butterfly, and failing at that talent, Mary reminds her furry pal that he has amazing attributes to contribute to the world, like giving bear hugs, showing the true meaning of love, support, and friendship.
“The book is a reminder to children that each of them have different talents and that they are special just the way they are,” Jones told The Sunday Gleaner.
Choosing to highlight the book’s duality with Spanish and English was the sweet icing on the festive cake, since it has been a passion and an active part of her imagination for a long time.
Born and raised in Kingston, Jones recalled always having an affinity with foreign languages. She admired her father, who had first-hand experience having attended school overseas. He would go on to speak both Russian and English in his household.
Studying both Spanish and French at the Immaculate Conception High School, she gravitated towards the former, with plans of one day changing the world con Español and English.
But life had other plans. She enrolled in The University of the West Indies, Mona campus, pursuing her degree in an unlikely area: animal biology. “Growing up, there was this narrative of studying the sciences in order to one day become a doctor,” she said. Staying the scientific course, however, didn’t distance her from her first love. This move evoked a different side effect. So drawn was she to the language that she decided to minor in Spanish.
From there, she went to the Instituto Colombiano de Crédito Educativo y Estudios Técnicos en el Exterior (ICETEX), a Colombian institute for educational credits and technical studies. Deciding to spread her wings, she moved away from the country she knew and loved to make Colombia her new home. Teaching English as a language assistant at a university, the educator went on to work at a non-profit organisation called Volunteers Colombia.
“When that company closed down, the plan was to go back home until a friend of mine told me about a teaching programme in Madrid, Spain. So I returned home for a bit and then got ready to embark on a new adventure,” she said.
Spending a number of years at the Bilingual Education Development and Assessment (BEDA) programme in Spain, teaching at the kindergarten and high school level, Jones later made a switch. She currently works as a Spanish to English translator for Smartick, a mathematics app for children ages four years old to 14. But the educator couldn’t leave the lessons behind. So she created an educational tool, giving an interactive language learning experience with her bilingual book.
Taking four months to pen her passion project, the response since its release on Amazon this Valentine’s Day has been heartwarming. “Many persons have enjoyed it. They said how much they love the book and that it has created a nice bonding experience between them and their children or family members. The children have loved the visuals as well.”
According to Jones, Osito and Mary’s adventure doesn’t stop here. The aim is to write other stories and convert it into a series, “...bridging the gap and creating narratives that English speakers can enjoy while learning Spanish in the process.”