Tom is a 13 year old boy who is currently enrolled in the 7th grade. His mother is a Spanish speaking woman that needs a translator. Tom lives with his mother, his father, and his younger siblings all three younger. Tom’s family moved to Kentucky from California in 1996 when Tom was 5 months old. His grandmother and mother are from Mexico and mainly speak Spanish in the home and Tom speaks in Spanish with his family. Tom began learning English at the age of four when he entered Early Start. Tom speaks in both Spanish and English with his siblings and primarily in English with his peers.…
In autumn term (Nov ’09) MRPS in coordination with the RBK&C arranged a session for the parents of EAL children. Many parents attended the session, which was mainly focused on the importance of home languages. The school is working towards involving the parents and having more sessions on developing home-school relationships. In the past there have been sessions on parent child reading in the classroom which was quite a success.…
In his book Richard Rodriguez argues the idea of using “family language” at school should not be allowed because it separates the students and makes it harder for them to comprehend one another.By doing this,Rodriguez utilizes imagery, anecdote, and pathos.…
Within a school setting, I feel that one of the key ways to develop a strong and trusting relationship with the children in my care is to speak to them in an age appropriate way that shows them the correct grammar, pronunciation and tenses as well as tone. A Teacher…
If you turn over a permission slip or handout from a public school in Southern California on the backside you will find the same English words translated into Spanish. The act of translating the paper for the “child’s” wellbeing only provides a false illusion to the parent’s that the need to learn English is trivial. In reality it actually hinders the immigrants’ chances of success by denying the full language immersion in English that is needed to thrive in America, not just survive. And once one group of immigrants is catered for, it unjustly secludes others of equal treatment. The responsibility of speaking English falls on the shoulders of every immigrant. The lack of a shared proficiency in the English language…
“Diet Coke does not contain nasty chemicals. It contains lovely and delicious carbonation, caffeine, and aspartame. What's unnatural about that?” Meg Cabot. This chapter was based on Power and Wealth. The article that I did my paper was about Aspartame. These two subjects connect because the individuals who drink the Diet Coke are getting fooled by the big companies that are selling it to them. The power elite are selling false hopes and false products, so people will buy their inventory, which in turn only profits the companies, and give them more substantial power. People in this country have strayed from what Mother Nature provides as sweet and delightful. The consumption of fruits was once gratifying enough to quench the curiosity of the sweet tooth without consequence. Nowadays people don’t have the time to eat organic foods and instead opted for the convenience of mass-produced, heavily processed and nutrient deprived fast foods and beverages. Most of these factory produced food products today are extremely sugary. That sugariness is a contributing factor to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity and tooth decay. This all leads to one ingredient and that ingredient is artificial sweeteners.…
In both essays, “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan and “A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” written by Richard Rodriguez, the two types of language used by bicultural people are distinguished: private and public. Moreover, both articles illustrate the challenge of expressing complete thoughts with limited English and it influences on a bilingual growing child. The first one, as Rodriguez describes, “The words would come quickly, with ease. Conveyed through those sounds was the pleasing, soothing, consoling reminder that one was at home” (213). On the other hand, “The English that I learned in school and through books” by Tan’s definition, is a language that gives individuals a public identity. The parents accented and broken English in society, although,…
Richard Riodriquez in his "A Memoir Of a Bilingual Childhood" is recalling his memories about how he felt as a bilingual child in the American society. While doing so and reflecting on these memories, he refutes the idea of "alienating" the bilingual children by educating them through their native language. He presents very interesting thoughts about the true reflections of intimacy and how that relates to language.…
“Aria,” an excerpt from the memoir “Hunger of a Bilingual Childhood,” accounts for the author, Richard Rodriguez’s, childhood experience with learning English as a second language. Throughout his essay he represents the power of the individual to defeat the language barrier and how he overcame this particular problem as a child. Being torn between conforming to the “public” language or staying true to his “private” language, he discusses themes of intimacy and language. Throughout his excerpt, he presents arguments against the idea of bilingual education and it’s negative effects on ESL students, like himself.…
The term “fragile X” comes from the finding that the X chromosomes of affected individuals have a fragile site that causes the chromosome to break under certain test conditions.…
Furthermore, as educators, it’s important that we consider our students trauma, societal and familial circumstances. Students may have witnessed or experienced physical assault, sexual assault and exploitation. They may have crossed over the border by themselves or came with extended family. This student will come to the classroom in trauma. Teaching needs to be sensitive to this child’s circumstance. As an ESL educator, it’s crucial that we incorporate the students home country and cultural into the content that we teach. With that said, educators must be mindful of how students process this information. We should be deliberate in developing and fostering a supportive, nurturing spaces while at the same time allowing students to share as they…
I think and issue of not being able to communicate with the families is a big issue for everyone. The families feel uncomfortable coming to the schools, especially if they do not have a translator with them or their child has to do the translating. The teachers feel uncomfortable because they do not know if they are getting the right information to the parents. So I think the community needs to come together and try to think of ways to solve this problem so our children will feel more comfortable at school and more valued.…
Most people would love to be able to travel to Spain or Mexico and feel comfortable with speaking the native language as well at the same time making themself a more valuable employee to any future employer. A simple way to achieve both of these goals would be to learn a foreign language more specifically Spanish. Many children have the option in their class rooms to elect to learn Spanish but just as many have the opportunity many do not or just do not take advantage of it. Some parents or children taking the classes see it as a waste of time that English is the only language they should ever have to learn. Although everyone is entitled to their opinions, especially when concerning their child’s education there is a high importance that is among America’s adults to teach Spanish to children while they are still of school age. It is important for America’s youth to learn Spanish as a second language in today’s world to help further them in their social, professional, and educational endeavors.…
When examining sociolinguistics views relating to whether or not children should have support in their native languages, there are surprisingly several theories. With each article and author, with each study, a new idea is formed. Likewise, non-linguists responded the same way. For the interviews, I interviewed Isaac, Betty, and Chantelle. All thought that support came from the family and they had various reasons why they thought so; when it came to potential problems, social factors were the answer.…
The role of strong parental guidance and supervision in children’s achievement is very predominate. Children learn by example and repetition, and one of the most important things all children are offered is the privilege of learning to be literate. Learning to read, write, and speak the language of their nation, and sometimes multiple languages, is a gift offered to young people through schools or independent learning centers. There are many charities to support this action of learning as well as individual volunteers. To maintain the progress achieved, one of the most important factors in these children’s lives is the parental guidance being displayed. After the hours put in learning correct literacy it is imperative that the environment around the young learner is displaying the same techniques being taught. The more complex that everyday environment gets with changing technology, bigger economies, and the need for better jobs the more important it is to maintain proper literacy to and for parents to help children grow and manage a successful lifestyle.…