Student Reflection

by Theresa Calkins


This semester I am volunteering at Garden Hills Elementary School in Champaign, Illinois.  I am working in a bilingual first grade classroom.  Por eso voy a escribir mi blog post en las dos lenguas (español e ingles) para practicar usando las lenguas juntos, como los estudiantes en la clase.  All of the students in the class are native Spanish speakers.  Es obvio que algunos estudiantes se sienten cómodos al hablar ingles, pero algunos siempre hablan el español.  When I met with the Garden Hills volunteer coordinator for my orientation, she told me that by the time the students are in fourth grade, they won’t speak Spanish in the classroom any more.  Had I been working in a classroom like this, even if I made the effort to speak Spanish with them, the students probably would not speak Spanish to me.  Por eso, estoy emocionada por tener la oportunidad de trabajar con esos niños del primer año que pueden ayudarme a mejorar mi habilidad de hablar el español. 

Este hecho que he mencionado, que los estudiantes hablarán el inglés en unos años es increíble.  I have taken Spanish classes for more than ten years, and I still do not consider myself completely bilingual.  I know that there is a lot more that I have to learn.  However, these young students will be completely comfortable with English in just three years or so.  Creo que esto es debido al hecho de que estos hispanohablantes han empezado a hablar el inglés desde una edad muy joven. 

The Garden Hills volunteer coordinator also told me that there are more dialects of spoken Spanish at Garden Hills Elementary School than at any other school in the Champaign-Urbana community, and that even the teacher, who is a native speaker of Spanish, is not completely familiar with all of the dialects her students speak.  Creo que esto es muy interesante porque demuestra que los hispanohablantes en nuestra comunidad no son todos iguales.  Son de diferentes partes del mundo y tienen culturas diferentes, pero la lengua es algo que les une a ellos y les hace una comunidad especial dentro de la comunidad grande de Champaign-Urbana. 

Estoy emocionada por  tener la oportunidad de trabajar con los estudiantes y la maestra de la clase del primer año en Garden Hills.  Hay mucho que puedo aprender de ellos, sobre la lengua española y la cultura de ellos, pero ojala que pueda ayudar a ellos también y les muestre algo de mi cultura y les enseñe algo del inglés.  A volunteer opportunity like this one is a two way street; if I am helping the students in the class as much as I can, I will learn the most Spanish possible during my time with them.  

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