Connection to Bilingualism in America



After watching the videos and reading "Aria" by Richard Rodriguez, I have two major connections to make to both the text and videos. Now that I have done much observing at service learning, I gather that many of the students in Providence schools are going through the same thing that Rodriguez did to some degree. Each day they  have a block of time where students that are not English as a first language speakers get extensive work with reading and writing. Many of the students that I have interacted with typically speak Spanish to their friends and have told me they speak Spanish at home. All of them can speak English pretty well but often struggle with pronouncing and recognizing words. This is similar to what Rodriguez talks about because they are only getting reinforced with English at school. In some ways this can be inclusive to them because teachers are focused on these students getting better with the English language. I also think it is unfair because it doesn't seem like they are trying to promote bilingualism in schools. 

Another small connection I have made was with my own father. He works in Providence and deals with customers every day that speak only Spanish. Through the many years he has worked there, he has been able to learn some small important phrases in Spanish to interact with them. Some of them also speak English and can interact with him in that way as well. Although this may not be exactly promoting bilingualism, it is keeping his business afloat because he is not pushing Spanish speakers away just because he can't understand them or they can't understand him. 

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Comments

  1. Emily JohnsonMarch 21, 2023 at 5:52 PM

    At my service learning I see the same thing that many students speak Spanish with there friends or at home and they even sometimes speak Spanish to me but the teacher has tried to be inclusive by using Spanish around the room. She has signs in Spanish around the room and even counts with them in Spanish.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Coral MooreMarch 21, 2023 at 8:46 PM

    I like how you added your own connections

    ReplyDelete

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