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“En mi casa se habla espanol (In this house we speak Spanish)”, my mother yelled out.
In my house the primary language we spoke is Spanish, while English is our second language. Growing up my mother did not like for us to be speaking English in our house (my brothers and I spoke English anyways). That was the only place we all spoke Spanish; till this day we only speak Spanish in my parents’ house. My mom and dad speak limited English, which means they speak English, but not that well. I could understand everything they said, but to others it was hard to comprehend them. The fact that we could only speak Spanish in my home affected me in English class. Even though I spoke English well, some might even say I spoke it fluently, I still struggled in understanding the language especially where writing was concerned. One of my major disadvantages was writing
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Even though
I did not make an “A” in my English paper, I made a “B” which was fine. I felt so much better knowing I was getting better. We had so much more essays in that class and as the days went by I kept improving, even my teacher noticed that I improved and congratulated me. Couple of weeks passed by and Mrs. Rubio stopped tutoring me. I improved and did not need her as much anymore. Both my mom and I congratulated her and thanked her for everything she did for me because of her, I was much better at writing. I always have Mrs. Rubios strategies in my mind when I write any type of essay for any class. I consider myself an average writer. I am not perfect but I am certainly not bad at it. I never liked to read books you |in fact I am not the type of person who will read a book just for fun.| I prefer to be outside, go shopping, or just be on my phone. Recently I started reading books and is also writing in my spare time. I know I am not a great writer but with practice and determination I know someday I will be a good
A large number of people in the Hispanic community whether Hispanics are not able to get the English literacy skills that they need not because they want to keep born in Latin America or the United States, speak Spanish primarily. This is basically because in present day time, Hispanics are more likely to pass Spanish to their kids now than they have done in the past. (Ortiz, P.149) This is seen as a social problem, especially because of the fact that there is an increasing demand that English should only be taught in public school and it should also be spoken within the Spanish community. Even though Hispanics do speak a lot of Spanish most of the time, they still do learn English also, especially the young. But, because of the large flow of immigrants, the use of Spanish is used more often because they are constantly encountering immigrants who speak no English. (Ortiz, P. 150) Before hand there has been said to have been lower achievements when Hispanics make frequent use of the Spanish la...
While reading this article one of the most shocking sections were when the students were talking to Monzó and sharing their outlook on their place and their language’s place in society. These students even at this early age are feeling how devalued their first language has been. They feel like they have to speak the right* English, only use English in public places, never their first language, and that they must assimilate to the American culture as much as possible. This reminded me of a chapter in Lippi-Green (2012)’s text. Within this chapter Lippi-Green (2012) discusses how in the United States Spanish speakers are not only expected to learn English but they are expected to learn and utilize the right* English determined by the majority and assimilate entirely to American culture. Throughout Monzó and Rueda (2009)’s text the children in conversations expressed their observation of the social order in relation to language and race. This was surprising to me since they are only in 5th grade. During a conversation with one of the children Monzó and Rueda (2009) recorded an alarming statement, “He said that his mother could not be considered American because she did not...
In “Se Habla Español,” the author, Tanya, talks about her personal experience with dealing with language issues. Tanya was born in Guatemala and moved to the U.S when she was only three years old. Tanya’s mother did not want her to speak Spanish, because they believed that when they moved to the U.S speaking only English would help her blend in. For so long Tanya believed that speaking Spanish went hand in hand with being poor and speaking only English made her feel superior. After many years she has tried to learn Spanish but has found it quite difficult because although that is her native language it was like trying to learning a whole new language for her. In “Mother Tongue,” Amy’s explains how she has come to the realization that she speaks more than one “English,” meaning that the way she speaks in front of a crowd is different than the way she speaks with her mother. The way Amy speaks with her mother is still English although it is not proper. Amy expresses how she does not really like the phrase “broken English,” because if something is broken it needs to be fixed and she does not feel that her mother’s English needs to be
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.
Growing up in a Hispanic household the first language that you learn should be Spanish, right? This was not the case for me, having two older sisters that were already in school learning English and always using English around me and my family. English was my first language, this helped with my early youth in picking up English at school faster. Learning English first was detrimental to learning Spanish, I learned informal Spanish called Spanglish. I would mix up English words with Spanish words and made it harder for me to construct vocal sentences. Being a Hispanic is difficult if you know limited Spanish, it was important for me to dedicate time to learn Spanish.
In your company, a position that pays a higher salary and has more regular work hours opens up so you decide to apply for the job. Your supervisor tells you that you cannot be considered for the position because although you are fully fluent in English, you have a Vietnamese accent. Instead, another employee who speaks with a British accent is interviewed for the position. In Myriam Marquez’s article “Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public” and Amy Tan’s article “Mother Tongue” we get a taste of what it feels like to be linguistically impaired and discriminated against. Through exploring Tan’s and Marquez’s articles, one can see the importance of learning a certain amount of English so one can get far in life and not be taken advantage of,
When I first got here in America I was an immigrant, and I didn’t know anything about reading and writing in English because I only went to school in Mexico for a year. Once I arrived in the United States I was shock in seeing everything different from Mexico, and it was as if I had arrived in a different world. My parents brought me here so that I could have a better future and in order for that to happen I had to go to school. From the first day kindergarten I knew that I had to have an English class, but it seemed harder then I thought. Also I knew that in order to fit in I needed to be capable of understand and speak English well enough so that I can understand and communicate with my teachers and my classmates.
Fear radiated from me like the heat of the sun on the Sahara Desert. My fingers tapped and my leg shook. I had heard stories about the teacher. She was tough and she did not hesitate to give a student what he or she deserved. My first essay experience was a disaster. I tensed up and my mind clouded. I did not know how to write and in the pit of my stomach I knew my teacher would fail me. Anxiety imprisoned me. The day came for me to receive my graded essay back. Red marks covered the pages. I scanned my eyes over the words and began to lose vision to the tears welling up in my eyes. I followed the lines to the bottom of the page and stopped cold. I will never forget the last line on the page, “Great work!” I turned to my teacher and told her I did not understand. How could my essay be great work when it contained so many mistakes? She explained that the mistakes a writer makes does not define the writer. Just because I did not have the tools to write a proper essay did not mean I was incapable of doing great work. It was a simple phrase of only two words, but it gave me confidence, and a feeling of hope I had never had before. I sat a little taller in class that day. The teacher further explained that her job was to give us the right tools and if we used them writing would be a breeze. This was music to my rule-following ears. I work best when I have guidelines and instructions to follow. I
I believe my writing skills to be average. In the past, I wrote a lot just for fun and had countless notebooks filled. In high school, I took a newspaper class my first two years as well as the required English classes, and provided articles to be published for our school newspaper. I was also a part of a writing club, which mostly just dealt with prose. Although I wrote a lot, I never proofread my work before turning in a rough draft.
We were constantly taught that being bilingual would offer us so many opportunities and that it was important to master multiple languages. I was well versed, and though I felt more comfortable speaking English, my Spanish was especially fluent. I spoke Spanish both at home and in school, and eventually, this became problematic. In my second year of learning Spanish, there came a point where the two languages meshed together, and it became increasingly difficult to know which one to speak in everyday situations. For example, I would begin greeting family members who didn’t know Spanish with “Buenos Dias” which meant good morning. I would also ask my mother and father for things in Spanish and they would have no idea what they were. In my home, where all of my siblings spoke solely English, I felt that I wasn’t connecting with them because of my lack of knowledge and awareness on when to speak what language. At one point in my elementary school education, I was so confused about being a bilingual student I had an identity crisis when confronted by a Hispanic adult who told me that I shouldn’t be allowed to speak Spanish because I wasn’t Hispanic, and that I was “stealing their culture.” I began to question who I was and even asked my parents if I could unenroll myself from the program. It wasn’t until years later
Since September 16, 1999 my parents instilled in me the importance of Spanish becoming my first language. My parents motivated me to learn Spanish as they always described how a bilingual student would have more opportunities throughout life. Since at an early age of my education I was moved to an English Language Development Class, Marisela Ornelas, was able to give me good foundations improving my essay structure. Also, while traveling to Washington, an experience at a restaurant made me look crass in front of people, encouraging me to gain a higher level of communication skills in English. I finally comprehend why my parents encouraged me to be bilingual as we are given opportunities like getting a Seal of Biliteracy. Even though I am very good with my Spanish, I also face challenges. For example, it's difficult making pauses as I talk, however I am able speak with great diction and my fluidity extremely well. On the other hand with writing, I face some slight difficulties with accents, but my sentence structure and word choice allows the reader to float through.
Speaking different languages can be done by some, but may be very tough for others. When coming into a new culture, it is difficult to learn all the languages and beliefs all at one time. People that don’t speak the same vernacular as one who speaks a different language should and will be allowed in the future. We, blacks, whites, and all other races, need to be able to communicate whether it is the same language or different languages.
I am taking AP Literature and Composition for many reasons, but the main reason is to make my grandmother proud. She used to be an AP english teacher herself and I just want her to be happy for me. The other perks for taking this course is to challenge myself and be more prepared for college. I believe that I could get a higher score on my ACT by taking this class. I hope to be able to read and comprehend words fast and efficiently. Also to improve my writing skills and spelling, I am really bad at spelling. Lastly, I want to improve my critical thinking skills when reading a story. To accomplish my hopes I can work on practice tests and spelling words. I can also read a book and stop in between certain chapters to think about the author is trying to say.
Language is the most effective device of communication in everyday life. It has influenced people's cognitive development and it is the medium in which they translate their ideas and thoughts into a communicative form. However, to learn a language, whether a first (L1) or second (L2), one has to work hard and spend a great time. While acquiring a first language is a natural and unconscious process, learning a second language is a conscious and sometimes comes out of inner personal desire (Saville-Troike, 2006). In this case, the learner encounters difficult issues as he is exposed to new linguistic system different from his first language; his mother tongue.