Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Transitions from middle to high school
Teaching Foreign Languages in Elementary
Transitions from middle to high school
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Transitions from middle to high school
Looking back at my early childhood filled with several events and memories, I remember one in particular when my parents taught me my native language, Spanish. I can think of many reasons to why my parents decided to teach Spanish as my first language. One of them is that they didn’t know enough English to be able to teach it to me. Another reason is that many benefits came from learning Spanish first. Later in life, it would've been extremely hard for me to grasp the language. There were a few methods that they used to accomplish this. One, by reading books to me any chance they had and two, by giving me a literature workbook and helping me through it. Beginning at the age of eight, I would bring home a variety of books from school eager to …show more content…
I noticed how everyone else progressed while on the other hand, I stayed behind, occasionally clueless of what was going on. Back then I was a quiet and shy kid too embarrassed to ask for help, I believed I could learn everything by myself. One of our hardest assignments was to write a brief story about ourselves and present it in front of the whole class. At first I doubted myself that I could write one, but I somehow managed to do so with the guidance of my older brother. The following day, I read over and over again the story that I would present to make sure I had everything down and ready. Now all I had to do was present it in front of my peers and then I would get it over with. Afraid of going first, no one raised their hand to volunteer. So then Ms. Magaña decided to pull sticks out from her cup, one after another, students went up to present. Soon I was the only one left, so I assumed I was up next. Slowly, I walked to the front of the class, everything was fine until I stood behind the podium and took a glance at my classmates. The room looked twice its size while everyone stared at me. I became so nervous that I started fiddling with the corner of the paper in my hands and avoided eye contact with my audience. Ms. Magaña gave me the signal that I could start and so I began reading, "H-h-hi my n-name is A-an-gelica and I'm ei-eight ye-years old..." Imagine how the …show more content…
As soon as I reached the class, I saw her sitting at her desk grading papers. I made a faint knock on the door, letting her know that I was there. Looking up, she gave me a generous smile welcoming me. Sitting down beside her, I began telling her everything, from struggling to learn English to being mocked by my classmates. Embarrassed, I looked down at my lap, worried about what she was going to tell me next. She began by saying that there was nothing to be embarrassed about, that there are also other students who found English challenging just like me, but they were sent in a different class where they received extra help. After hearing what she needed to say, an idea popped in my head. Since those boys and girls struggle just like me, why not put me in that class. Ms. Magaña seemed to be in thought, afterwards her words felt like a weight being lifted off my shoulders. She told me that she, herself, was thinking of moving me because she had a suspicion of what was happening to me. All I needed to do was get some paperwork signed by my parents and after that I would be moved immediately. What she did for me that day, I will always remember it and be forever
I came from Mexico when I was 4 years, and like many of us I did not know English. Little by little I became fluent until I now can dominate English. Many people come to this country for a better life, but once in this country, we notice how essential English is for our everyday life. Being bilingual can be very beneficial for anyone in this country. I may be fluent in English, but I still prefer speaking in the Spanish language. This may be because at home that is all we speak. Both my parents do not really know English much. It’s better for me to talk to them in Spanish. I can try to talk to them in English but there may be a few words they won’t
I took a deep breath and began to read it aloud. My nerves were a little more at ease as I read through the text I had written. I spoke naturally and fluently, just as the day before when I practiced. I took time to look into the crowd. As I scanned the crowd I spotted my parents once again, and just like before they began to wave excitedly.
Finally, I learned how to be more responsible by myself. In my last classes, my teachers were technically always there to tell me step by step what to do and how to do my assignments. In a certain way, it made me kind of lazy and entirely dependent of my teachers. However in this course it was not like that; instead, my instructor just gave me the assignments, instructions, and deadlines, and I must write my essays and summited it on time. This absence of guide absolutely made me to react that it was time to me to do my assignments by myself, demonstrate what I know, and ask for help just whenever it is
My parents did everything they knew to help my sister and I learn and respect our Mexican culture. Born into American culture but raised by Hispanic parents, often was difficult for me. Since I was little I had to manage and balance two very different cultures at the same time. There were many times while growing up that I encountered complex situations in regards to language, whether to speak Spanish or English and when it was appropriate. I felt a lot of pressure having to act as an interpreter for my parents when we were out in public. At home I was told to speak Spanish so I would not forget, but at school I was taught to only speak English with my teachers and friends. However, when we would go visit family in Mexico, I was expected to only speak in Spanish, since speaking in English in front of family members who only spoke Spanish was seen as disrespectful. So learning two languages has been very beneficial to my life and for my family. By
In conclusion, learning English was a challenge when it was first introduced to me, but now I have overcome that challenge. I am able to defend myself in the outside public world of English with no shame at all. I now understand how fortunate I am to know another language different from my own. For me, it is important to still have my first language because it is a way to retain the Mexican culture. It is just the way I was raised to believe.
38 percent of all Hispanic parents only speak Spanish according to Pew Research center. In many cases this is why parents teach their children to speak Spanish for their first language. My parents learned English at a young age because they moved to the united states and were expected to know it. That was not the case for me. Growing up my family expected me to know English well. We lived in a small town called Fort Hancock, Texas with my grandparents. Everyone just spoke Spanish in that town and for that reason, I learned to just speak Spanish first. When we moved to Oklahoma City I was five. I had to transition to English, which was hard. I got made fun of, but luckily improved later on my literacy journey.
Spanish should be required to be taken as a second language in grades K-9. American students should be required to speak Spanish fluently upon completion of their 8th grade year. Other societies such as Pakistan, Japan, and China can demonstrate proficiency in 3 or 4 languages by middle school years. "A child taught a second language after the age of 10 or so is unlikely ever to speak it like a native," said a February 1996 Newsweek article. Through extensive research it has been proven that the earlier a child is introduced to a second language the greater the chances are that this child will master both languages. A number of experts attribute this mastery to physiological changes that occur in the maturing brain as a child enters puberty.
As a child, I had to navigate from an English-speaking classroom to a Spanish-speaking home. At eight in the morning I was given instruction in English by my professors at school. After three in the afternoon at home, I engaged in Spanish conversation with my mother, father, and siblings. When the summer vacation came around, it was back to speaking Spanish only, and then I regained the Mexican accent that had faded away during the school year. My experience learning English was different from what earlier Spanish-speaking generations in the United States dealt with.
Language is an important part of our lives. I remember when I arrived to USA I could speak a little English. I went to school to improve my language, reading and writing skills; even now I am learning my second language, without English I cannot survive in this new environment. Now I am raising my own kids and I want them to have this important skill, this privilege of knowing a second language, language of their parents and grandparents. By looking at studies of bilingual children, research shows how important it is for a child to learn a second language. Raising a bilingual child is a benefit because it improves social skills, academic proficiency, introduces child to a different culture, and prepares for the future.
When a baby is born, he/she comes into this world eager to learn. Always taking in information and absorbing it like a new computer. Every experience he/she encounters could possibly stick in that baby’s mind. However, some of the things that a child hears or perceives can either benefit or corrupt their learning. Teaching a child a second language has the same concept as putting in new software in a computer. Many advantages come with a safe and powerful computer and the same would come with knowing a second language. If a child was not taught a second language in their early years, that child might be at a disadvantage in their future, and as that child grows up not knowing a second language could potentially hold him/her back with grades and obtaining a job. Knowing a second language can benefit from those things and can also help with keeping strong ties with their family, culture, community, and even music.
When I was a child my dad, and my grandparents taught me how to speak Spanish before I could learn how to speak English. As I continued to learn more and more words, Spanish became my first language, I spoke it fluently, and English came second. When I was ready to start Pre-K, my dad taught me to write in English other than in Spanish. It was hard to learn how to write my letters without knowing them in English and only in Spanish. I would confuse my E’s
Language has pioneered many interracial relationships and historical milestones. Language is a necessity for basic communication and cultural diversity. Being multilingual is a skill proven influential to a successful future. Due to rapid globalization, countries all over the world are stressing the importance of learning a second, or even third, language. With the exception of time and lack of resources, adults have very few widely applicable disadvantages to learning multiple languages. However, language learning as a child presents more complications. Some of those include not having enough funding at the elementary school level to introduce a program for secondary language, academic overload for the youth, stress for both the parent and student parties, and the mixing of languages. Not all of these complications are true in any or all situations, however, and the absence of them provides multitudes of opportunity for future career and academic success. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents or the education legislation to decide whether they encourage the learning of a secondary language at the young age necessary for retention. “The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency,” therefore the younger a child begins to learn, the more likely they are to benefit to the maximum potential (Robertson). Keeping the language learning in high school or beginning the process earlier is a greatly controversial discussion that is important to address because of the topic’s already lengthy suspension.
It was finally the first day of school; I was excited yet nervous. I hoped I would be able to make new friends. The first time I saw the schools name I thought it was the strangest name I’ve ever heard or read, therefore I found it hard to pronounce it in the beginning. The schools’ floors had painted black paw prints, which stood out on the white tiled floor. Once you walk through the doors the office is to the right. The office seemed a bit cramped, since it had so many rooms in such a small area. In the office I meet with a really nice, sweet secretary who helped me register into the school, giving me a small tour of the school, also helping me find
Our first meeting was at the Sacramento State library. I had given her a tour of the school while getting to know her. She was very shy at first because she was worried that her English would be wrong and has a fear that when she talks she might be wrong. She told me that she doesn’t like to explain complex situations because she cannot find the words that she is looking for. When she starts school in the Fall she will enrolled in English 10M, as a class to help her with her English.
Sometimes a lesson hides beneath the sad moments of life. As dumb as it may sound, learning spanish was part of my lesson. I was still a little boy and didn’t understand yet what was good for me, I was decently old enough to understand “don’t steal, tell the truth, obey your parents, etc.” Basically all the stuff expected from you by your parents. It took me some time to understand what was the lesson I was suppose to learn, to be exact it was 2 years.