Jumping the language barrier
Posted on Tuesday, September 2, 2008
DECATUR - Beginning this semester, Decatur High School is offering one of the few "Spanish for Spanish speakers"classes in the area.
This fall, foreign-language teacher October Vanegas, who teaches both Spanish and French, has six native Spanish speakers in her new class. Some of them are fluent in reading Spanish, and others are not yet literate in Spanish or English.
On one recent day, members of the group paired off, with the more fluent students working with less fluent students, and practiced reading aloud. The focus was on clear pronunciations, Vanegas said.
Some of the students learned to read in Mexico, while others had little opportunity to attend school until they came to the United States, Vanegas said. She hopes students will learn the connection between letters and sounds, and as they discover how to read in Spanish, their English reading skills will improve as well.
About 21 percent of Decatur High School students speak another language at home. In the past, Spanish-speaking students have often enrolled in Spanish classes, hoping for an easy A, but failed miserably because they didn't study and didn't understand the grammar. Adding to the problem, other students expected the Spanish-speaking students to have all the answers.
Vanegas saw a need for the class and presented her idea to principal Bobby King, who quickly agreed to add the new course. Siloam Springs High School and Rogers High School also offer the classes.
Spanish speakers need to take high-school Spanish classes for the same reasons English speakers take highschool English classes. In "Spanish for Spanish speakers," students learn skills beyond the basics that are presented in traditional Spanish classes. They learn skills for reading comprehension, writing and developing ideas. They also learn an academicstyle vocabulary, good spoken and written presentation, proper grammar and how to research - all important in preparing the students for a professional career.
Many of the skills students learn will translate into English class, where some of the students struggle just to keep up with the English and can't concentrate on the finer points, Vanegas said.
According to the Center for Applied Linguistics Web site, www. cal. org, Spanish for Native Speakers classes are beneficial for a variety of groups from third- and fourth-generation U. S. born Hispanic students who understand Spanish but have trouble speaking it to recent immigrants who have not yet mastered English. It's also helpful for people who may speak Spanish at home and English at school.
The center also points out that students learn more about their language and cultural heritage and raise their consciousness about their identity while studying formal Spanish.
"It's a way we can help them preserve their culture while helping them expand their English skills," Vanegas said.
In the future, Vanegas would like to see the "Spanish for Spanish speakers"classes offered in more schools.
"Administrators need to realize how beneficial this is," she said.
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