Honestly i dont really know or remember how i came to reading and writing English. But i do remember how i came to reading and writing Spanish. My parents are only spanish speakers. They are the one's who taught me how to read and write spanish. My father would have me read with him every night before i would go to sleep. All through elementary school i was placed in bilingual classes. All of my classmates also spoke spanish. Our teacher would speak and would have us do all of the assigned activities in spanish. But in the playground and at lunch all of the kids would communicate in spanish.
At school is where i developed the English language and at home is where i developed the spanish language. At times i would feel very confused. i felt like i didnt know enough about the two languages. Once i went to middle school i was forced to speak english at all times. I was separated from my spanish speaking classmates. Around this time is when my fear of reading out loud in class started. The kids in my classroom would make fun of me because of my accent. My elementary and middle school years feel like a blur. I feel like i didnt really learn anything because i was to focused on trying to learn how to speak both languages.
Hey Angelica,
ReplyDeleteYour story is so sad!! The system really, really needs to change! In a perfect world students could stay in the same classroom and learn each others language and cultures so no one would feel left out by not understanding another language. All children regardless of age should NEVER be afraid to read outloud and participate in the classroom.