mexican teachers in american schools Options

[Inferia]

The ESL programs I've been through in Michigan (and Ohio) are not all that great. I guess the one in elementry school was pretty good in comparison, but the rest were sort of useless (actually the correct termology here would be "nonexistent"). But even the best ones I've been in were terrible at best, I mean considering another name for elementry school is gammar school, very little gammar was actually taught in ESL. It's no where as comparable to a regular language school in HS (ie French, Spanish, etc). In middle school and high school (though I didn't attend the one in hs, I think I had a friend who did), it was basically one time per month for 1 hour. I'm not sure what they were trying to accomplish there, but it was more of a waste of my time than his time (cuz I'm sure he's at least getting paid for it).

And by the way, the United States of America does not have a national language, so this actually does not really violate anything. I think people would do better in the US society as a whole speaking English, but if they only live in Spanish speaking areas, and have no interest in learning the language, then I don't think the laws of this country can force them.

[Spectatrix]

We don't have a national language, but English effectively is one. It's also widely used internationally, so it's useful on that front as well. If ESL programs are that bad, then they need to be improved. I think that would be a step in the right direction. Bring in Mexican teachers to teach in Spanish is only going to handicap immigrants. National language or not, you cannot fully navigate American institutions without being proficient (not necessarily fluent, though it helps) in English. Plus these are KIDS we're talking about, mostly in elementary and middle school, who are going to be able to learn a second language much more easily than adults.

I do think we need a stronger emphasis on language education in the US, because foreign kids kick our butts when it comes to language proficiency, but English should not take a back seat to other languages here.

[False Dude]

oh wow arnold saying the most obvious thing ever. theres not a lot of drive to get mexicans to speak english. if they are working just to work and save money (most dont have expectations to be CEO's one day) they literally dont need spanish in their everyday life. most places they dont need to speak it at work beyond a few phrases, they stick to their spanish friends for the most part. my sisters boyfriend has been here for 7 years and doesnt speak english beyond greetings. he told me speaking english wouldnt give him much more of an advantage to push him to learn it.
but yes he still watches mexican tv because they constantly play soccer

- testm0

[James]

Yeah, with an attitude like that, they'll definitely never move up.

[The Fanatic]

Every kid knows that feeling of the last day of school. It feels so liberating to know there won't be any classes on Monday. But for the kids I met at Starr King Elementary School in San Francisco, it was mostly sadness.

The children I met, all kindergartners, had just finished an entire year learning Mandarin Chinese, and they were sad it was over. The class was a year-long immersion course. The teacher spoke only Chinese to her students. That's it. All of the kids' normal subjects, like math and science, were taught in Chinese. Imagine how difficult that would be since none of the 26 children had ever before spoken Mandarin, considered one of the more difficult languages to learn. (For one hour a day, they worked on their English skills with a different teacher.)

Immersion courses operate on the premise of osmosis: eventually the child will get it. And the children I saw seemed to get it. (Watch these American kids speak Mandarin Chinese)

It was astounding to walk into a classroom full of American five-year-olds communicating in Chinese. They seemed to have little problem understanding their teacher. They also spoke in Chinese to each other. And during their free time, they even read children's books written exclusively in Chinese.

Parents we spoke to said they enrolled their kids in the program to give them a "leg up" for the future. Some of the children are of Chinese descent, but come from English-speaking families. The district said it offered the immersion program course because of China's growing status in the world.

As the children said goodbye to each other and their teacher, there were a lot of tears. Even though they're only kindergartners, these kids and their teacher seemed to forge a special bond over the course of the year. However, this is only the beginning of their Mandarin education. Next year, as first-graders, they'll be back for another year of classes taught in Chinese.

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/

[James]

There's a difference between teaching in a non-English language for the purpose of teaching another language and teaching in a non-English language for the purpose of making the students more comfortable. Not sure which point you were trying to make with the article, but cool for the kids. Learning another language isn't a bad thing. Immersion is definitely a good way to learn a new language, if not the best.

[Spectatrix]

Agreed. As long as their English skills aren't suffering as a result (and they shouldn't be, given their hour-a-day in English and speaking English at home), I have no problem with that.

[The Fanatic]

There's a difference between teaching in a non-English language for the purpose of teaching another language and teaching in a non-English language for the purpose of making the students more comfortable. Not sure which point you were trying to make with the article, but cool for the kids. Learning another language isn't a bad thing. Immersion is definitely a good way to learn a new language, if not the best.

Oh yeah I totally agree. I saw this story on CNN the other day and thought it was interesting. The point I was trying to make is that Spanish speaking kids should be put in completely English speaking classes so that they are forced to learn English.

[GOB]

The point I was trying to make is that Spanish speaking kids should be put in completely English speaking classes so that they are forced to learn English.

i couldn't agree more. a couple of people i worked with when i waited tables learned english by simply forcing themselves to read/watch tv/speak only in english.

actually, one of the guys admitted to watching dora the explorer every day and he said it helped immensely.

[Aaron]

While I am sure there are a lot of reasons why our friends in Central and South American risk life and limb to illegally enter the United States, I feel fairly safe in summarizing their intent into a single sentence: they want a better future for themselves and their families.

Right? Anyone disagree?

It would seem to me that not exposing your children as much as possible to the de facto national language of the United States would prevent them from having a future significantly better than the one they left behind.

Of course, I don't think that we should be paying to educate people who aren't here legally... but that's a different thread entirely.

[Inferia]

While I am sure there are a lot of reasons why our friends in Central and South American risk life and limb to illegally enter the United States, I feel fairly safe in summarizing their intent into a single sentence: they want a better future for themselves and their families.

Right? Anyone disagree?

I was under the impression they came here to destroy America?

[False Dude]

Yeah, with an attitude like that, they'll definitely never move up.

how is an illegal immigrant going to move up so speaking english doesnt really matter

[James]

You mean the illegal immigrant that would become legal if current policy writers have their way? Yeah. And if it doesn't happen this time, there's always a chance it will happen sometime down the road and sooner than later.

Anyway, I wasn't aware I was talking about illegal immigrants when I made that statement as there are plenty of legals that don't speak English.

[Dogmeat]

I swear to god I've seen more mexicans since I've moved to Colorado and Utah than I _EVER_ did in Texas.

fucked up huh?

[GOB]

I swear to god I've seen more mexicans since I've moved to Colorado and Utah than I _EVER_ did in Texas.

fucked up huh?

that's such incredibly fucking homorific horse shit. there are more mexicans in texas than there are even people in colorado, wyoming, utah, and all seven of the dakotas combined.

they're just more noticeable because everybody else is white. no blacks, no asians. just whites and mexicans. we used to go up to cheyenne/laramie (and some of the lakes up north) in high school and i couldn't believe how many mexicans there were along the way, but once you hit the city, it's all honkies.