No Comprendo Analysis
“No Comprendo” (“I Don’t Understand”) is a newspaper article by Barbara Mujica, a professor of Spanish at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In this article, which was published in the New York Times, Mujica argues against bilingual education (teaching students in their native language as well as in English). No Comprendo Last spring, my niece phoned me in tears. She was graduating from high school and had to make a decision. An outstanding soccer player, she was offered athletic scholarships by several colleges. So why was she crying? My niece came to the United States from South America as a child. Although she had received good grades in her schools in Miami, she spoke English with a heavy accent, and her comprehension and writing …show more content…
“It’s the whole environment,” she replied. “All kinds of services are available in Spanish or Spanglish. Sports and after-school activities are conducted in Spanglish. That’s what the kids hear on the radio and in the street.” Until recently, immigrants made learning English a priority. But even when they didn’t learn English themselves, their children grew up speaking it. Thousands of first-generation Americans still strive to learn English, but others face reduced educational and career opportunities because they have not mastered this basic skill they need to get ahead. According to the 1990 census, 40 percent of the Hispanics born in the United States do not graduate from high school, and the Department of Education says that a lack of proficiency in English is an important factor in the drop-out rate. People and agencies that favor providing services only in foreign languages want to help people who do not speak English, but they may be doing these people a disservice by condemning them to a linguistic ghetto from which they cannot easily escape. And my niece? She turned down all of the scholarship opportunities, deciding instead to attend a small college in Miami, where she will never have to put her English to the
Comparing The Glass Castle And Was Shot By The Taliban
1365 Words | 6 PagesHer "...world has changed so much. On the shelves of [their] rented living room are awards from around the world—America, India, France, Spain, Italy and Austria, and many other places. [She 's] even been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the youngest person ever. When [she] received prizes for [her] work at school [she] was happy, as [she] had worked hard for them, but [those] prizes are different. [She is] grateful for them, but they only remind [her] how much work still needs to be done to achieve the goal of education for every boy and girl.
Martin Espada Is A Mexican-American Author And Ambassador For Latinos By Richard Rodriguez
1063 Words | 5 PagesThis then leads to the problem that in this public life being bilingual or not being able to speak English was still being discriminated against. In public life, people need to be more accepting of others who speak different languages and also not contribute to getting rid of their language in America. Espadas claims culture is important and people who are a part of the English-Only movement are causing so many people to abandon their culture. While speaking out about the cultural warfare in America, Espada declares, “There are too many in this country who would amputate the Spanish tongue. Given this cultural aggression, it is astonishing that more Latinos have not lost their Spanish altogether, that so many Latinos still speak as much Spanish as they do” (Espada 26-31).
Skrentny's The Minority Rights Revolution
811 Words | 4 PagesPrimarily, the idea behind bilingual education is that ““primary and secondary school students who do not speak English well or at all should be taught in some or all subjects in their native language while they learn English” (Skrentny 179). The law targeted limited English proficiency students and especially the Hispanic community who had the high rate of dropouts at schools. While Gann, Duignan, Moore and Pachon insist on the role of Hispanic movement in supporting bilingual education, Skrentny's analysis of bilingual education demonstrates that Hispanics claimed bilingual education as a civil right issue after the emergence of bilingual education. He does not deny the role of the Hispanics but does not put the merit of bilingual education on them. In fact, Skrentny explains that the strongest support for bilingual education came from organizations such as the National Education Organization which argued that forcing immigrant children to give up their mother tongue and native culture in order to assimilate might cause important damage on the self-esteem of the children.
What Are The Barriers In The Devil's Highway Urrea
742 Words | 3 PagesVery few, if any, immigrants have the chance to learn English before traveling to the U.S. Because of this barrier, it is nearly impossible for organizations such as the Border Patrol to warn, aid, and communicate with them as they travel to the U.S. Although there are helpful signs along the border, they are written in English and are therefore indecipherable. Furthermore, the language border hinders an immigrant’s ability to survive in American society once they arrive. English is the written and spoken language in almost every city, thwarting immigrants’ opportunity to find jobs and interact with others. As they struggle to communicate, they become ostracized and do not fit in.
Florida Consent Decree Analysis
966 Words | 4 PagesIn addition, the vocational services set standards and guidelines throughout the workplace to provide services for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students. “Our society is full of people whose contributions and desires to integrate often go unnoticed and unfulfilled. ()” “Ignorance is Bliss.” The lack of knowledge from ignoring what the world has to offer to you is hindering our society today. These immigrants play a vital role in American society and the economy, but we have yet to fully understand or implement a plan to accommodate their needs for them to achieve success as a U.S. citizen.
Examples Of Stereotypes Of Latino Immigrants
687 Words | 3 PagesMany Americans have negative connotations regarding the Spanish language spoken by Latino immigrants. This negative attitude towards their language often leads to discrimination in the workplace, education, and other public settings. They are often forced to assimilate into the dominant culture, which means abandoning their native language and culture. In addition to these factors, Latino immigrants also receive lower wages, discrimination in housing, and education, and access to healthcare services. Many of them have migrated from their home countries seeking opportunities and a better quality of life, yet they often find themselves working in low-paying jobs with limited upward mobility.
My English By Julia Alvarez Summary
160 Words | 1 PagesClass ESL 5 In the article, ”My English” by Julia Alvarez, the author wrote about her experience as she learn to speak English. Spanish was her mother tongue and struggled to speak English in the early phases. She thought that English was a form of Spanish, as there are different dialects in Spanish. Her parents spoke English when they didn’t want her and her siblings to know what was going on.
Latino Assimilation Essay
682 Words | 3 PagesSecond- generation Latinos and beyond speak English just as well as Natives, despite the fact that they live with their Spanish-speaking parents (Myers and Pitkin, 20). Furthermore, it has been observed that even though second or third generations Latinos may retain their native language, the Spanish language will eventually die out by the third and fourth generations in many families, following the traditional three-generation model of linguistic assimilation that characterized European immigrants of the last century (Rumbaut and Massey,
Bilingualism In America By Martin Espada And Richard Rodriguez
1077 Words | 5 PagesIn the United States there is an English only movement. Martin Espada and Richard Rodriguez are both authors who wrote about bilingualism in America. This essay will show how the English-only movement is discriminatory. This is the first of two texts that will be talked about in this essay. This text is written by Martin Espada, A professor of English at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Migrant Workers Research Paper
737 Words | 3 PagesMigrant students in American schools have little or no effect on the American student’s level of education. “I find that immigrants have a small negative effect on natives as a whole; the 1990s increase in child immigrants reduced the native completion rate by 0.2 percentage points” (‘The impact of immigration on the educational attainment of natives’, 2015). Furthermore, dual language classrooms cost can be justified since American and migrant students gain knowledge from each other. ” Two-way bilingual classes taught by sensitive teachers can lead to a context where students from each language group learn to respect their fellow students as valued partners in the learning process with much knowledge to teach each other” (‘The Astounding Effectiveness of Dual Language Education for All’,
Coming To America From A Foreign Country
165 Words | 1 PagesBeing born and raised in a culture and then uprooting your life to pursue opportunities in a different culture can be hard in three ways. First, speaking a foreign language and then coming to America where majority of the people speak English can be difficult to adapt to. When a person has grown accustomed to speaking their native language, it can be problematic to have to pick up an entire new language. Possibilities can be limited because of the restrictions on one’s ability to communicate with other. Second, if a teenager comes to America from a foreign country they will have to take on responsibilities that they normally would not.
Analysis Of Teach Them Spanish Early, Too By Carlene Carmichael
143 Words | 1 PagesIn her article, “Teach Them Spanish Early, Too,” Carlene Carmichael questions why young Californians are not being taught a basic understanding of both the English and the Spanish language. Carmichael contends that more job opportunities are available to bilingual applicants. She suggest that children could be taught both languages together from a young age. Carmichael pities the many Americans who are barred from employment at bilingual businesses because of this disadvantage and she wonders if anyone else feels the same. Carmichael’s suggestion to offer Spanish curriculum to young children and teach both English and Spanish at the same time makes a lot of sense; After all, California does recognize both English and Spanish as official
Espadas Bilingualism
601 Words | 3 PagesHe supports this argument by telling his own story of being forced to learn English by the bilingual education system. The experience he had learning English made him experience great embarrassment, sadness, and change. Rodriguez concludes his experience by discussing how English had changed his personal life at home: “We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed. No longer so close;no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of our public separateness.” By learning English, Rodriguez’s family is finally able to integrate into society without language barriers.
Compare And Contrast Richard Rodriguez And Anzaldúa
701 Words | 3 PagesRichard Rodriguez and Gloria Anzaldúa are two authors who both immigrated to America in the 1950s and received first hand experience of the assimilation process into American society. During this time, Rodriguez and Anzaldúa had struggled adjusting to the school system. Since understanding English was difficult, it made adjusting to the American school system increasingly difficult for Rodriguez. Whereas Anzaldúa, on the other hand, had trouble adjusting to America’s school system due to the fact that she didn’t wish to stop speaking Spanish even though she could speak English. Both Rodriguez and Anzaldúa had points in their growing educational lives where they had to remain silent since the people around them weren’t interested in hearing them speaking any other language than English.
Speaking In Tongues Analysis
1764 Words | 8 PagesHis narrative shows this support and how having instruction in Spanish and English allows him to have higher academics. In less than ten years, one third of students attending public schools will not know English when starting Kindergarten. Are schools and teachers ready for this and will push for bilingual instruction? Is America ready for this? As for now, there is mixed perspectives.
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