How can I make meaning of text in a language I am unfamiliar with?

Blog Entry #4

I do not speak Spanish; I would like to, but I don’t.  I studied French throughout high school and even took a “refresher” course in college.  That was a really long time ago! Because Spanish and French are both “romance” languages and are derived from Latin, I thought that some of the words would be similar and familiar so making meaning of a short Spanish poem would be achievable. I was wrong.

When I first looked at the poem Entre Estas Ruinas by Coral Bracho, I tried to find words I could translate on my own. I only recognized about six terms or phrases—not too helpful. I was only able to determine that the poem was about a hotel in an old school in Antigua. Next, I tried to read it aloud to try and recognize the words. The poem sounds pretty, but this in no way helped me make meaning. I recognize some of the common sight words in Spanish, but I was unable to recall their translations. In the end, the only way to know what the poem was saying was to look at the literal translation and compare it to the original Spanish version.

I was unable to make meaning of this beautiful Spanish poem. Because of this experience and the Confusabet activity we did in class, I realize I need to do a much better job at helping my English language learners in my science classroom. I experienced frustration, and I gave up easily. I know that Google translate is available on the web, and I simply wanted to type the poem into the site and read the translated version. When I did the Confusabet activity in class, I didn't like it, but I was able to slowly make meaning of the symbols. I experienced what it must be like for ELLs who are asked to read and speak in an unfamiliar language every day in school.  My lovely Russian and Amharic-speaking students are now taking science terms and writing them in their native language. They have opportunities to tell me their English definitions and then write in their native language. When we are able, we find pictures to add to the definitions and talk about why the pictures represent that term. I encourage collaborative work in my classrooms so ELLs can practice speaking English and have many opportunities to hear it. My students have found others that can support them with English language translations; they would probably prefer to read text in their own language, but for now, I can only supply them with dictionaries.

It is difficult to decipher the codes of other languages, especially when the symbols and sounds are completely different from the one we think we know well. Without appropriate and significant support and scaffolding, ELLs are expected to figure language out on their own. I’m disgusted when I think that our solution to this problem in many settings is to give ELLs “additional time.” What good does that do? If I can’t figure the language out in 30 minutes, why should I be able to make meaning in an hour? Yet, this is what we do, and this is what we expect. I must do differently; I must do better.

Sources:

Hill, J. D. & Flynn, K. M. (2006). Classroom instruction that works with English language learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Morrow, L.M. (2009). Literacy development in the early years: Helping children read and write (6^th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.