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 and my I’s, it was difficult to learn the different sounds. It was hard for me to grasp the concept of learning Spanish, because I was too young to keep up. It would have been easier for me if my dad had waited until I was older to understand. A better method would have been to enroll me into a head step school that would have helped him with his teaching. When I started school, I was put into ESL classes to help my development in both Spanish and English. As time went by I slowly learned how not to confuse my letters in English and Spanish. My skills surely increased as I got older. Through the things I was taught, I could change my life for the better. …show more content…
It was difficult to be taught English, because I was also being taught another subjects tool. I was taught how to read in Spanish and it was easy to do, because I knew how to speak it. Reading in Spanish was easier to learn, because of the familiar sounds the letters would make. It was easy to read in Spanish, because the words would sound out easier than the words in English. Spanish was spoken throughout my household as I grew up, so it was necessary to learn Spanish than to not know it. I was taught how to read in Spanish by my early childhood teachers. They gave me assignments to take home and practice to become
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
When it was my time to go to the U.S., I was eight years old, fluently only in Spanish with a Dominican accent. You see there is Spanish but then there's Dominican Spanish, and from there
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.
As the dull scent of chalk dust mixes imperceptably with the drone of the teacher's monotone, I doodle in my tablet to stay awake. I notice vaguely that, despite my best efforts in the shower this morning after practice, I still smell like chlorine. I sigh and wonder why the school's administration requires the students to take a class that, if it were on the Internet, would delight Mirsky (creator of Mirsky's Worst of the Web), as yet another addition to his list of worthless sites. Still, there was hope that I would learn something that would make today's first class more than just forty-five wasted minutes... It wouldn't be the first time I learned something new from the least likely place.
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.
When I first came to this country, I wasn’t thinking about the language, how to learn it, use it, write, how I’m going to speak with people who are next to you and you want to talk to them. My first experience was in Veterans School, it was my first year in school here in United States, and I was in eight grades. The first day of school you were suppose to go with your parent, especially if you were new in the school, like me. What happened was that I didn’t bring my dad whit me, a woman was asking me a lot of questions and I was completely loss, I didn’t have any idea of what she was telling me and I was scare. One funny thing, I started cry because I fell like frustrate, I didn’t know no one from there. Someone seat next to me, and ask me in Spanish what was wrong and I just say in my mind thanks God for send me this person, then I answered her that I didn’t know Engl...
For as long as I can remember learning how to read and write was a real challenge for me. When I first arrived in the United States I was enrolled at the nearby elementary school. Being from another country I was scared and embarrassed because I was different then the other children in my class. Talking and communicating with others was something that wasn't in the interest of what I wanted to do. I sat far away from others depriving myself of what they were doing or learning. Coming from Mexico and going to a school where no other children would speak the same language that I would or even play the way I did made me believe that I was some sort of thing that didn't belong. All these contributed to a low esteemed child that was unable to communicate. The world I was in suddenly became a place that I didn't know. To the kids and others in my class I was an illiterate person.
The academic disadvantage was a delay in learning the English language. The crowded classroom had thirty to thirty-five students who came from a variety of Latin American nations. As a result, I used to speak Spanish with them. I didn’t want to make mistakes using incorrect words. Also...
When I first started school, I really didn’t know any English. It was hard because none of the kids knew what I was saying, and sometimes the teachers didn’t understand what I was saying. I was put in those ELL classes where they teach you English. The room they would take us to was full of pictures to teach us English, and they would make us sit on a red carpet and teach us how to read and write. When I would go back to regular class, I would have to try harder than the other students. I would have to study a little more and work a little harder with reading and writing if I wanted to be in the same level as the other kids in my class. when I got to third grade I took a test for my English and past it I didn’t have to go to does ELL classes anymore because I passed the test, and it felt great knowing that I wouldn’t have to take those classes no more.
For once I was able to learn the same curriculum as my peers and I even felt like I had the upperhand, for I was bilingual. But my overachieving-self wasn’t satisfied for long. On my second year of middle school visited my roots and set a goal to excel in my native tongue. I decided that I wanted my English to be equally strong as my Spanish, so I set foot in my first Spanish class. At first it all seemed fundamental.
0. Introduction I grew up in a Spanish speaking environment in Westmont, California. Although my mother and everyone else in the family only spoke Spanish, I was also exposed to English at the age of three or four. I was exposed to English at a young age through preschool. I further improved my English through classes I took from elementary through high school.
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.
I did notice learning Spanish at an early age helped me retain vocabulary over a long period of time. Even though I did not learn a large amount of vocabulary and grammar, what I did learn stuck with me for years. When I finally revisited Spanish in high school, I had to learn the basics all over again. The structure of the class did not make it easy for me to remember much vocabulary after the semesters, or even after a few class periods. I think there were a number of reasons why I never retained as much Spanish as I did in kindergarten compared to when I learned it in high
however i remember feeling frustrated with the language barrier this understanding of the importance of communication and my interest of French and Spanish culture has inspired me to study French and Spanish at university. at least if one day i would become a mother i wish that my children will speak English and French.