Vianne Speaks!

My classroom has many children of very different backgrounds. There are ten different languages spoken in my classroom (including English), and about 50 percent of my students are learning English as a second language. Most of the children do have some minimal understanding of English, or at least are using some words and can imitate spoken words.
However, there is one little boy that has only been in America for a short time that speaks Kirundi. (I know what you're thinking. Where do they speak Kirundi? That's easy! In Burundi! You don't know where Burundi is? Well, Google knows everything... that's how I found out.) He has been mostly silent since coming to my class. I say mostly silent, but that would not be entirely true. There was that one day in the very beginning where he was just so overwhelmed that he began to howl for some period of time. That wasn't very quiet.
I have heard him speak briefly to his brother in their native tongue, which helped me know that he at least does talk. No matter what I've tried, up to this point at the end of October, he would not even imitate sounds I made... until today.
Today, while playing a game of Cookie Monster ABC, he would imitate the names of the letters on the cookies when it was his turn! This was a breakthrough! In fact, it was such a big deal that every time he did it (and it was quiet even at that), one of the little girls in the group would touch me and say, "I heard him! I heard him talk!" The kids have been super good about including him and remembering him. I think they know that he needs extra help... and so they are as excited about his progress as I am. Hurrah!