February of James nearly 3 Years, Sydney 5 Years, and 2 adult mothers learning Spanish
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February 1, 2007
I feel like I'm learning a new language myself. Am working on a play..a reinactment of Genesis (three slices...creation, Cain and Able, and Isaac and Abraham). All in iambic pentameter-- many words I've never in my life heard. I got cast as Eve. Suddenly I feel quite sinful, wanna wear nothing but a fig leaf and I have this serious craving for apples (even a bite would satisfy). Adam is a basketball-height blond, very fair, Harvard Ph.D. who stays at home with the kids. Mr. Mom (or rather Dr. Mom). God is a jolly woman with a deep, authorative voice. It's good for me to be on the other end of language learning-- challenging, humbling.
James' pronunciation in English is slightly better than in Portuguese. Sometimes I just can't understand what he's saying. He'll repeat it and if I'm still baffled, he'll say it in English and I usually understand.
Mariana gave us a book on the Amazons that's written in several languages. I'd read a page in Portuguese, then ask if she'd like to hear it again in Spanish. She was so excited. My Spanish accent and intonation sounds like a betrayed husband on a Spanish soap opera-- deep, fast, angry. I take on a persona, really. It's one way I can diferentiate it from Portuguese. They also had it in French. I'd read it in French and she'd make fun of the gutteral sounds. When I read in French, I am a petite femme, with a light, lilty tiny-bird-like voice. Again, a persona. Sydney would ask for each language with each page and laughed everytime I spoke in French.
For some reason, her elementary school (which she'll start in the fall) offers only French as their second language. Am I missing something, or is that a bit limited in choices?
Spent some time with 8 year old twins yesterday. The girl was fascinated by my speaking Portuguese to the kids. She asked why I do that. Hum...how to boil that down into one sentence. I'm a tad bit verbose, even with children, and I think I went on too long -- she lost interest. She would listen intently when I'd say something like, "Voce quer queijo?" ("Would you like some cheese?) and ask "What's 'queijo'?" pronuncing it with a perfect accent.
I read my email today and was rejected for a conference paper or raising bilingual children. It was a shock really because I've never been turned down to speak at a conference. I printed out the email and added it to my rejection letter folder. I've kept my rejection letters since college. Not sure why. Maybe
a. To show I'm not ashamed...proud to have made the effort
b. To say, "Hey, look what you missed" when I'm big famous and considered the expert of the world
c. To someday wallpaper a small bathroom with them.
Really, I love speaking on this topic and learn so much from the eager audiences. Oh well. Am definitely doing a paper in San Antonio in the fall so that'll be enough for '07 I suppose.
February 2, 2007
I've been practicing the medieval language for the Genesis play over and over in my head. SOOOOO hard to remember. I really feel like I better know how my language students feel.
Yesterday we had a playdate with a neighbor (4 year old who's mom's Brazilian and dad American). The mom speaks Portuguese to Paulinho, but he responds in English. When he came to our house, I told him we only speak Portuguese here. He seemed to understand but addressed me only in English. I pretended to be puzzled-- as if not understanding him (but I looked really interested in knowing what he was saying). Finally Sydney said it in Portuguese for him and did so much of the afternoon.
But then real MOTIVATION reared it's pushy head while we were sledding. The first words all morning he'd said in perfect Portuguese were (upon seeing the sled), "I want to go!" The only other thing he said in Portuguese was "I want juice". So obviously he can talk and he definitely understands. It's a matter of having to speak the language to get what you want. If English is ineffective because the parent teaching the second language refuses to respond to it, then the second language becomes a necessity to get what you want, to express yourself, to have a relationship.
It sounds like I'm up on a soapbox so I'll also tell you the down side of all my ravings about being consistent. I'm just not always able to do it, especially when I'm angry. We we got home from sledding, all the children were crying in the bathroom (which incidentlly forever stinks from dirty diapers and changes) while we took off our wet-fm-the-snow clothes. The cries reverberated off the stenchy walls and I just couldn't take it. I screamed (IN ENGLISH) "SHUT UP!" It was very effective. The kids became immediately silent and I felt lik I'd gotten alot of frustration off my chest. I think saying in English helped with the catharsis...somehow I needed it to have the weight of the language I grew up with behind it. I apologized later.
February 7, 2006
A couple of the moms from Sydney's preschool told me they were taking a Spanish class. Judy said to me, "I'm doing it because of what you said, about how adults still have a chance to learn another language." It was odd to hear that-- part of me felt so proud....hey, she's doing this based on my advice. But part of me thought, "If she had bought into the very widespread myth that you can only learn language until you're a certain age, then how will the word ever get out to the general public and to public leaders. (I say that because from what I see, Judy's not the general public...she's highly intelligent, very educated (in the field of education), and has had considerable experience with other countries. So if the research that about the critical period was what she first believed, what hope is there of motivating non-formally educated or people or those who've had little exposure to language learning.
Bickie is the other mom taking the class. She said she's interested in being able to communicate with a broader set of people and that she wants to keep her brain working. Use it or lose it type of thing.
Anyway, they were having fun it seemed so far and really taking things seriously...making sure to get the homework in and such. I told them I'm going to track their progress and they got a good laugh. It'll be interesting though. They're studying at a private school for adult education.
Have had a little better luck getting the kids to speak to each other in Portuguese when I'm around. It is getting to be more the default now, because perhaps they just get sick of hearing me tell them to speak Portuguese while I'm around. The way Sydney switched over to Portuugese today was funny. We were playing UNO and she was saying how many cards each of us had. In English she said, "I have 4 cards, James has 5 cards, and mamae tem 3 cartas." So she did the switch over after using my name.
February 8, 2007
Interesting request I received today from the author of Teaching English Overseas. He's working on his second edition to The World is a Class and is looking for quotes from people who've taught English abroad and have been surprized by racial or other negative feedback. I wrote him the following:
“One challenge I never imagined facing when I taught in Brazil was that I would be viewed—not as an American-- but as just a general foreigner. An outsider. I was in the square after class, talking with one of my students one afternoon. He introduced me as Christine, the new American English teacher. His friend began speaking German to me. My student interrupted him to clear up the obvious misunderstanding, “No, she’s from the US, she speaks ENGLISH.” His friend replied, “I know, but German is the only other language I speak.” My student blushed from embarrassment, and I (after laughing at the pure stupidity of his remark) felt like a generic Other. Any ole foreigner."
"I had this same hollow sensation when I worked at a Pan American school in Salvador. I was with 2 of the high school teachers, one from Thailand and the other from Mississippi. Someone yelled to us (not to call our attention, but to call us names): “Russa” (“Russian,” perhaps because I am a tall brunette), “Alema” (“German,” as she is blond and very fair, and 'Japa' ('Jap,' because he's Asian). We laughed among ourselves and rolled our eyes. In the silence afterwards, I felt we only belonged with each other- not in this country or with its people.”
February 12, 2007
Talked with Bickie today about her Spanish class. It was the first one the actual teacher came to-- a substitute lead the first class. She said it was a bit nerve wracking because the teacher had them all standing up doing verb conjugations (yo soy, ...) (I am, he is...) and working on articles (a, o) (the). I asked if the homework she did was graded and she said that no, they went over it in class, but it still was scary because the teacher would call on individual ones of them. This is a very outgoing, personable woman, smart and self-assured. So imagine the shy students.
She said the teacher asked where they were from and "were very interested in us and who we are." I would say that's exactly the job of a language teacher, to get people talking about themselves, expressing who they are. The conjugation part I'd wait til later. I mean, you can survive quite a long time in the language without knowing "we" verbs...just learning "I" and "you" conjugations as you master the simpler stuff like greetings and such. That's just my 2 cents.
February 22, 2007
Today in the car, Sydney used the word "paper" in English within a Portuguese sentence. I corrected her with "papel". James jumped in to say, "Nao 'paper' Sydney, 'papel'" He repeated it several times until I paid attention to him and praised him for his explanation. He's starting to get it. When he's mad at me and I ask him to say what he wants to say in Portuguese, he says, "Nao, English!" He also recognizes which books are English and which are Portuguese.
Today after class, Sydney's preschool teacher said that she is on a higher reading level than the other students. She asked if we read at home. Sometimes I feel that's all we do. She encouraged me to do sight words on flashcards with Sydney. That's fine (whole language) but really I'm more of a phonics girl. I told her about how we had done reading lessons together and how much she enjoyed them. She's fine transfering the phonics to Portuguese, even though the sounds are different.
Sydney's fascinated with my Portuguese class and with how I read her books to them even though they are adults. It was the first class of the semester and went really well. There was one guy who spent the first 10 minutes of class with us. When (all this in Portuguese) I asked his name, he said, "This isn't Russian." Left immediately.
