After reading Rodriguez's piece I realized how lost a child can be at school. Not knowing when they are going to be able to speak a language they are familiar with. They have to go in to class with the knowledge they have and learn a whole second language so they can fit in with everybody else. My dad is fluent in Portuguese so when I was a lot younger and I went to his mothers house to visit her and the rest of the family on his side I was always so scared. None of them spoke English. It is scary going into an environment where the only language you know is English. Not knowing what anybody is talking about, or if they are even talking about you. It also doesn't help that none of them spoke English so they would have no clue what I was saying. It's scary. It's like you are in a whole new world. These children in this school must be scared out of their mind. Nobody can understand them, and they are trying their best to understand everybody else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOODZjZRaHI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob4gcERZfv8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-TMa8ZObl4
These links are really worth watching because it shows how interactive these students are with each other. They don't realize the difference between one another at all. They are all intrigued to learn another language and it is amazing that their parents want this for them as well. It teaches the students and the families to be diverse and they shouldn't only be learning English, but they should be learning another language as a second option.
I loved the videos of the students speaking both spanish and english in their schools! It was very interesting to learn how the schools break up the time for both languages to be taught. Bilingual schools seem to be working out very well for children and that video made me more excited to be a language teacher!
ReplyDeleteI also loved the videos! I feel as though that children should always learn a second language, Spanish or not they need something else! It stimulates the mind and it makes them more educated. Imagine how much more excepting our future children will be because they know a second language. I feel that because they know another one, racism will be not as frequent, that people will be more caring and understanding and helpful with others!
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