At the time my mom and dad only spoke Spanish in the house. To make matters worse, when I was about three years old my parents sent me to Dominican Republic for two full years. The time that I spent there was when I grasped more, and more the culture of my people. English was nonexistent. For me Spanish was the only way of life, there was nothing…
In Julia Alvarez’s “Bilingual Sestina” demonstrates the difficulty in being bilingual and having to adapt to a whole new language or culture. To get this point across Julia Alvarez structures her poem in a sestina pattern, however giving her own spin off to it by incorporating Spanish words. In order for the message to be understood, Julia Alvarez places the audience in her shoes in order to recognize the difficulty of having English as a second language. Although most of the poem is English, there are a couple of Spanish words.…
Rhetorical Analysis: Positivity of Bilingual Education Bilingual education has positively affected foreign children with their overall lives. Kenneth Jost’s, Harvard College and Georgetown University Law Center alumni, article, “Bilingual Education vs. English Immersion” is about the positive significance of bilingual education in public schools. Jeff Bale’s, a language education professor at Michigan State University, article, “Bilingual Education is the Best Approach for English Language Learners” also explains why this type of education is effective for foreign students. Together, both of these authors provide an effective argument with the use of reasoning, credibility, and emotion, but also include logical fallacies. Jost’s and Bale’s…
I am from a religious, Catholic, working class family that immigrated to the land of opportunity in the 1980s from Cuba. I am considered a Hispanic Latina even though I was born in America. I am an only daughter and granddaughter, who grew up in a suburban part of Miami; Hialeah. I learned English as a second language in primary school and was labeled gifted and talented after completing assessments. I am a young adult first generation college student at the University of Florida; Go Gators.…
In our educational experience, there are going to be pros and cons. We also have similarities and differences with others, but that doesn’t make our education any better than theirs. What truly matter is that you have gotten some sort of education and strived to continue. In “ I Just Wanna Be Average” by Mike Rose showing ruff times he had in school. Also, “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez that was spoken in a different time period of history where it was hard for some to get education compared to others and weren’t able to have goals or dreams.…
Richard Rodriguez in his is personal narrative “Aria” gives the reader his perspective of learning English while being a native Spanish speaker. As a child he attended a monolingual school. He was told that by not speaking Spanish at home he would be able to quickly develop his English. Rodriguez attributes much of his success in life to this event of learning English, which is why he is against bilingual education. “The Pros of Bilingual Education” by Stephen Krashen challenges Rodriguez’s stance by stating the positive impact that bilingual education has on students, and how bilingual education gives students an educational advantage compared to those without it.…
The primary argument that Richard Rodriguez addresses in Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood is the issue of bilingual education in America. He claims that he can’t be fully merged in American Society due to his “private” life, in other words his second language. Rodriguez also claims that because his original language is not the same as the “public” language, he is unable to create intimacy with someone who speaks a different language other than the public one. Lastly, he claims the use of a native language is impossible to have coexist with the “public” language. “It is not possible for a child, any child, ever to use his family’s language in school” (Rodriguez 448).…
As a kid I grew up around Spanish and English, being bilingual has helped a lot I life in communicating with family, friends and even strangers because being Hispanic most don’t know English or don’t like to speak English. English had become my first language then Spanish because of school. I grew up speaking Spanish at home but it was not fluent at first it was more English with a few Spanish words here and there, today that would be considered Spanglish but it wasn’t even that.…
During the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I realized I am Mexican. On one side of my family my grandparents are completely white but on the other side my grandparents are 100% Mexican. I grew up making tamales at Christmas and I learned about my culture. My grandparents who were born in Mexico came to the United States by walking across the border. I admired my grandparents’ strength and courage and they helped me understand the idea of The American Dream.…
“Aria” by Richard Rodriguez is an essay that shows the readers a part of life that many have never experienced. Rodriguez uses this essay to show how he fights through his childhood tounderstand English. He faces society while forfeiting his happy home life trying to become a typical English-speaking student. He establishes a connection with the audience through his personal experience as a child. He uses imagery and narration to clarify his opposition to bilingual education .Rodriguez…
Richard Rodriguez believes that the Americanization of a bilingual child will result in their public gain. “Aria” by Richard Rodriguez is a heart-wrenching piece of writing about the full Americanization of Rodriguez resulting in his native language of Spanish being forgotten and the full submersion into the English language. Many of the events Rodriguez faced in his life are present to many other bilingual students’ today. These events that bilingual students’ are facing will strongly influence their decision on struggling to learn two languages at a young age, stalling the development of one of their languages, or being forced to choose one language or the other in a full assimilation. Rodriguez’s viewpoint is that if you want to make a full…
Through taking this ESL course I have learned a great amount about ELLs and how to effectively teach them. I have learned countless techniques that have made me more confident in my ability to teach not only ELLs but all students. When educating ELLs it is important to remember their background and to use it to make lessons that will more effectively meet their specific needs. Overall, I have gained valuable knowledge about the education of ELLs that I can use in my specific content area. Not having taken any other education classes, there is a lot of information that I didn’t know prior to taking this course.…
Ever since I was born, I was raised by the same Latino family. I was taught how to speak both Spanish and English; Spanish was their primary goal mainly because it was our family’s main language. When I started kindergarten, no one else could speak Spanish so I really didn’t have any other choice but to stick to English. Later, however, we noticed that I got too comfortable with English. It eventually got to the point where I was beginning to become monolingual instead of bilingual.…
It was a challenge for me as a kid growing up, to identify the difference language barrier. I felt comfortable to read, write and speak Spanish very well because the school was teaching me. But as soon as I stopped learning Spanish academically, it was hard for me to feel that comfort I once had. My mother wanted for my brother and me to learn Spanish in school since it’s in my family language. She didn’t want us…
Throughout the past few weeks of Studies in English Education, the main aspect that has been addressed is the term ‘multiliteracies.’ From completing this portfolio and attending each of the workshops, I have learned that to become a text producer I need to be involved with the variety of functions in language and literacy. Hill (2012) states that ‘to be multiliterate means to be literate in print-based and new communication technologies’ (p. 361). Such technologies include ‘electronic literacies, technoliteracies, digital literacies, visual literacies and print-based literacies’ (Hill 2012, p. 361).…