Reflection
For our Park Elementary Project, we were each assigned a student in Park that learned Spanish as their first language. These kids were chosen if they were either struggling in school because they were not fluent in English yet, or if they just needed some support. Then, we actually went to Park and each went to our assigned kid’s classes with them. Throughout the classes, we helped them better understand the lessons, and talked in Spanish with them to make them feel comfortable speaking it.
I was only able to attend one of the two days that we were allowed to go to Park, but I still think that I gained a lot from the experience. When we first met it was a little hard to start being friendly because my student, a 5th grade girl named Fernanda, was in the middle of class. After the teacher was done with her lesson it was a lot easier because then we were allowed to talk and I could start to see what level of Spanish she was. It did not take me very long to find out that she was much better than me at Spanish, and could speak English really well. I felt very connected with her because she is the same exact type of learner as I was at her age. She was advanced and did not feel that elementary school was challenging her enough. I felt so connected because when I was that way, I used to struggle because I could not find friends that felt the same way, so I had a lot of empathy towards what she was experiencing.
I think that although being bilingual as an adult can be very advantageous, it is very hard when you are learning as a kid. I think that kids who don’t take English as their first language, and then go to an English speaking school will usually have a very different learning experience than the average student. I learned in Spanish last year that they are not just different languages, they have different customs, different idioms, different forms of speech, and a different culture. I know that it was hard just trying to learn a new language but I cannot imagine having to take on all of these different factors at once. I think that these students have a lot to take on because in addition to different norms, they most likely find it very hard to socialize with other students when they are not comfortable speaking English. I think that any school would be hard to complete without being comfortable with the other students, and they are going through that at a young age. Other challenges they might have to take on could include things that we do not even think about normally. For instance, there are probably not a lot of other kids to share experiences with regarding before they were at the English school. In conclusion, the accumulated challenges that these students have to face, far outweigh the challenges of the usual student, meaning that our support could have really helped some of them.
This experience affected me a lot. First, I gained appreciation for learning a new language and doing it at a young age. I also discovered how helpful it can be once you are an expert at being bilingual. I think that this trip made me a lot more open-minded. TI think that I grew in this way because, for the first time, I actually considered, in depth, just how difficult it is to live a life where communicating is hard. This was so impactful to me because I know that I would struggle a lot in school if I could not communicate however much I needed. One big highlight of this trip for me was when I went to art with my student. In the class, she seemed very comfortable and she seemed like she was not afraid to mess up speaking, or interact with the other students even though they came from different places. This was very comforting to me because it reassured me that despite all of the challenges that my student was facing, she would find a way to overcome them and thrive in school.
I learned a lot through this whole process, but another big thing that I learned, was how much I take my everyday communication for granted. I learned this when I was trying to ask my student questions in Spanish. I realized that even the simplest questions are entirely different in another language and this gave me even more appreciation for the process of learning a second language. Also, I learned how effective physical communication can be. I noticed that it was a lot easier to communicate when I was using facial expressions and gestures to get my point across.
I was only able to attend one of the two days that we were allowed to go to Park, but I still think that I gained a lot from the experience. When we first met it was a little hard to start being friendly because my student, a 5th grade girl named Fernanda, was in the middle of class. After the teacher was done with her lesson it was a lot easier because then we were allowed to talk and I could start to see what level of Spanish she was. It did not take me very long to find out that she was much better than me at Spanish, and could speak English really well. I felt very connected with her because she is the same exact type of learner as I was at her age. She was advanced and did not feel that elementary school was challenging her enough. I felt so connected because when I was that way, I used to struggle because I could not find friends that felt the same way, so I had a lot of empathy towards what she was experiencing.
I think that although being bilingual as an adult can be very advantageous, it is very hard when you are learning as a kid. I think that kids who don’t take English as their first language, and then go to an English speaking school will usually have a very different learning experience than the average student. I learned in Spanish last year that they are not just different languages, they have different customs, different idioms, different forms of speech, and a different culture. I know that it was hard just trying to learn a new language but I cannot imagine having to take on all of these different factors at once. I think that these students have a lot to take on because in addition to different norms, they most likely find it very hard to socialize with other students when they are not comfortable speaking English. I think that any school would be hard to complete without being comfortable with the other students, and they are going through that at a young age. Other challenges they might have to take on could include things that we do not even think about normally. For instance, there are probably not a lot of other kids to share experiences with regarding before they were at the English school. In conclusion, the accumulated challenges that these students have to face, far outweigh the challenges of the usual student, meaning that our support could have really helped some of them.
This experience affected me a lot. First, I gained appreciation for learning a new language and doing it at a young age. I also discovered how helpful it can be once you are an expert at being bilingual. I think that this trip made me a lot more open-minded. TI think that I grew in this way because, for the first time, I actually considered, in depth, just how difficult it is to live a life where communicating is hard. This was so impactful to me because I know that I would struggle a lot in school if I could not communicate however much I needed. One big highlight of this trip for me was when I went to art with my student. In the class, she seemed very comfortable and she seemed like she was not afraid to mess up speaking, or interact with the other students even though they came from different places. This was very comforting to me because it reassured me that despite all of the challenges that my student was facing, she would find a way to overcome them and thrive in school.
I learned a lot through this whole process, but another big thing that I learned, was how much I take my everyday communication for granted. I learned this when I was trying to ask my student questions in Spanish. I realized that even the simplest questions are entirely different in another language and this gave me even more appreciation for the process of learning a second language. Also, I learned how effective physical communication can be. I noticed that it was a lot easier to communicate when I was using facial expressions and gestures to get my point across.