Hablas Espanol?

WHEN:
Sept. 25, 2006 from 8:00-11:00 – US History
Sept. 27, 2006 from 8:00-11:00 – US History

WHAT:
After class 2 ESL students rambled off in Spanish in front of the teacher. I believe they were upset with her as she had given the students a load of assignments. They seemed to be aggravated when speaking. As they walked out of the class, the teacher reminded them in a strong tone to speak in English.

SO WHAT:
I thought this was very interesting. In this situation the students had the upper hand of knowing more Spanish than their teacher, thus they could use the language to communicate without the teacher knowing what was being said. The students were obviously frustrated with something the teacher had done. In return the teacher was frustrated because she did not know what her students were saying.

NOW WHAT:
This has motivated me to study more for my Spanish 202 class. There are several ESL students in the classes I am observing. This has shown me that I need to be open and more motivated to learn about others’ cultures and languages. I want to be able to communicate with my students openly. Even though I may not be able to know the Spanish language fully, I hope I can establish a good communication system with my English learning students.

CONNECTIONS:
This reemphasized the chapter on ESL students from the text book and class discussions. I am also curious as to whether or not the school has a policy for English learning students speaking in their native tongue. For instance, are there any rules as to when a student may be able or prohibited from speaking their native language in the classroom.