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Dear Everychild: Learn a language

Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell April 12, 2016 4 Comments

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Seeking the future of world language learning at the intersection of comprehensible input, project-based learning, global education, and love.
Dear Everychild: Learn a language
Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell April 12, 2016
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Dear Everyboy,

The other day I saw you at your new cashier job in Kroger – congratulations!  The two women in front of me- wow, that was a situation, wasn’t it?  Buying all those chips and Diet Coke with their food stamp card.  Except their card only had $1.28 left on it.  And their English was just about nonexistent.  “Yes, please” doesn’t get one very far in understanding that you have to pay cash or give back almost everything you’ve just tried to buy.

money-256319_1920And you, almost finished with Spanish 3 at the Catholic high school.  You were trying!  A word here and there but really, your Spanish 1 and 2 classes were a mess and you’re pretty sure the teacher was fired; it wasn’t that she “needed a change” like she said.

So there everyone was and you know what I found odd?  No one pulled out a cell phone.  There was no Google Translate to be found.  I’m not sure if it didn’t occur to anyone or they’d never tried it before but no communication was happening and there wasn’t a solution in sight.

And there I was.  I must confess to you, young Everyboy, that I was still reeling from finding out what self-employment does to your taxes.  I had started a chat with myself there in my head, about how much I was paying in taxes so these women who couldn’t communicate with the cashier could buy a dozen bags of chips and 72 cans of Diet Coke.

Stop it, I told myself.  You know there’s always more to this story than meets the eye.  Listen to what they’re saying and be the solution.  And I realized what was happening.  They don’t understand they still owe $38.  They think you just need a couple of dollars from them.  I’m sometimes reluctant to jump in like that because I’m not sure if it’s going to be welcome; I know some people are very proud of the English they’ve worked for and want to figure it out themselves.  But someone needed to start communicating and the people behind me were getting antsy.  So I stepped in.

Puedo ayudar si necesitan ayuda.

Do you remember how quiet everything got all of a sudden?  It was 5:30 p.m. on a Tuesday and every line was getting longer and we had a dozen pairs of eyes on us from every side.  And then, the smiles.

Oh, she speak Spanish! Ay, pues mira, que ella habla español, muy amable, muy amable.

Within a few minutes we had it straightened out.  We found out they were refugees from Cuba who had been here for three months, and we both know that’s not long enough to figure out the difference between you only have $1.28 left on the card and you owe another $1.28.

Every experience like that enriches all of us who were involved.  Keep learning, okay?  You’re well on your way, even if it does take you a minute to remember how to say “bread.”  Because regardless of the path you take in life, one day you’ll be Everyman in the grocery checkout line and the women in front of you have only been here three months and will need you because Google Translate can never be muy amable.

 

Dear Everygirl,

I came back to Kroger for eggs today and went through your line, the one right next to Everyboy’s.  Interesting story, right, what happened to me and Everyboy the other day?  You’ve been in that situation a few times even in the short time you’ve been doing this job, I can tell; you’ve felt lost trying to help someone find their way in a new place and a new language.

CUBA EDIT

In fact, you told us how it happened just the other day.  There was a Mexican, you said, who couldn’t find what he needed and didn’t speak a word of English.  You heard the call for everyone, anyone, please someone speak Spanish.  Send him to me, you said, because I’ve got the magic: Google voice-to-text.  But it failed you.  You had no idea what it was spinning out but it wasn’t what either of you needed to make communication happen.  So he ended up finally finding what he needed by himself.

Next time, Everygirl, ask Everyboy for help, because I think he might be a little more motivated to keep going in Spanish class now.  And can I ask you to approach the situation knowing that there’s always more to this story than meets the eye?  As I walked out to my car today, can I tell you what thought was running through my mind?

Oh young Everygirl, if you didn’t understand a word he said, how did you know he was Mexican?

Learn a language, Everychild. At least enough to find out if he’s Mexican, enough to find out what she has run from only three months ago, because at worst Google Translate will utterly fail you, but certainly it can never be muy amable.

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Previous I am (Shakespeare): A practical, fun TL transition/brain break
Next NEW Summer PD: Brave Little Tailor CI strategies workshop
Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell
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4 Comments

  1. Kathy Griffith says:
    April 12, 2016 at 11:56 am

    Such an excellent article.

    Our students need to see their second language as useful, and that they can help others with it. I have a student who is going with her mother on a medical mission trip to the DR next week. Mom thinks her daughter will be able to function as one of the translators for the group. I told her she wasn’t able to do that, but she WOULD be able to be helpful and kind to the people coming to their clinic, and would come away from this trip motivated to learn so much more. The mother seemed to act like I haven’t been doing my job.

    I wish I could build experiences like these into the lives of my students more. It’s hard to do that.

    Reply
    1. Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell says:
      April 12, 2016 at 2:28 pm

      I agree, Kathy. But a worthy endeavor because I’m convinced it’s what makes the difference between a 30-year-old who can communicate and one who can’t. Life gets in the way and they’ll eliminate what they’ve not found a need for.

      Reply
  2. Natalia says:
    April 13, 2016 at 10:00 am

    Sara-Elizabeth,

    I can’t agree more with your post; however, there’s still so many other issues besides just encouraging our Everyboys and Everygirls to learn a language. Like in Kathy’s reply: a parent who is expecting her daughter to be an interpreter after only a few years of language learning. Making sure that parents understand that it takes the right approach, time, effort, and motivation to reach certain level of proficiency may make them better advocates for expanding our programs to reach younger students and demanding effective teachers.

    You’re right that being able to communicate will get the line in the grocery store go quicker but it takes so much more to be “muy amable”, at the very least empathy for anyone regardless of their background and language because there’s always more to the story. I remember quite a few years back, when my daughter was a toddler, I was shopping with her at the local store, interacting in Russian, of course. She was being a good helper finding cucumbers, bread, milk and butter for me. We kept crossing paths with an older gentleman and I caught a few stares. We left the store at the same time. It was in the parking lot, that he said out loud, not really addressing anyone, that people should just speak English in this country. I don’t think he expected me to understand. I was young and brought up to respect my elders but this time I couldn’t let this one slide. I turned to him as he was passing us and said, “Sir, with all due respect, as I speak 3 languages, I have a choice. Do you?” I will never forget the look on his face as he hurried up to his car without a word.

    I am extremely lucky that my “coming to this country story” does not include bombings, gang violence or retributions for going to school. And even though I knew English before I came here, it was not easy to get my life on track – no credit history, a temporary work visa and $200 in my pocket. It bothers me to no end that stereotyping is still rampant and people are unwilling to even consider that the other side of the story may be of any value.

    Reply
    1. Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell says:
      April 13, 2016 at 1:30 pm

      Thanks as always for your contributions, Natalia. My personal hope is that instead of continuing to stereotype and judge, people (my students!) would be inspired to make this a lifelong journey, putting in the time and effort it will take, as you say, to make proficiency happen and last past my classroom!

      Reply

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  •  2013 (110)
    •  December (13)
      • The #1 Musicuentos post of 2013 (and the six years before that)
      • Best of 2013: #2 - Tips for the new AP
      • Best of 2013: #3 - Choice in homework, updated
      • Best of 2013: #4 - Novice song for Spanish Class Idol
      • Best of 2013: #5 - Can you control vocabulary?
      • Best of 2013: #6 - Is your lesson plan out of whack?
      • Best of 2013: #7 - Four habits that enrich vocabulary
      • AP Spanish final exam: Controversia navideña y Vacunas para niños
      • Best of 2013: #8 - Novice high vs. Intermediate low
      • Best of 2013: #9 - Using assessment to inform your teaching
      • Best of 2013: #10 - Spot-checking conversations
      • First-ever Musicuentos ebook: Reader's Guide to Ciudad de las bestias
      • Happy December!
    •  November (8)
      • AP Spanish essay - Obamacare
      • Vote: Musicuentos proposal for ACTFL '14
      • Setting goals
      • Don't go to ACTFL '13 without TELLing
      • Repost: A story for demonstratives
      • Listen to some Grammy music
      • Caring about the Really Big Deal
      • Calm before the excitement!
    •  October (4)
      • Using assessment to inform your teaching
      • Just some fluff: Makeup for busy mom teachers
      • Top 3 mistakes teachers of novices make
      • Book review: Teach Like A Pirate
    •  September (7)
      • Interacting with authentic materials: a guide
      • Using audio-lingua
      • Seven keys to a great story
      • Stations: Exploring music
      • It's a myth: Equipping students to communicate with... themselves
      • Turn a Novice Song into "Spanish Class Idol"
      • Is your lesson plan out of whack?
    •  August (12)
      • Children's literature for the world language class (Helena Curtain)
      • App review & Giveaway! High School Spanish
      • Choice in homework, updated
      • Back to school: Proficiency posts
      • App Review: Storykit (bonus - meet my family!)
      • Back to school: Evaluate traditions
      • Back to school: Blogs with great ideas
      • App review & giveaway: Word Magic dictionary and thesaurus
      • My authorized AP syllabus
      • Back to school: Musicuentos "first days" posts
      • Back to school: Give them signals
      • Going back to school with Musicuentos
    •  July (6)
      • Tips for the New AP
      • Don't be fooled! What the AP does and doesn't measure
      • Illustrating proficiency with a laugh
      • Snag some free apps while you can!
      • Stop asking for unnatural language
      • Fun video: Animals, present, feelings
    •  June (9)
      • Targeting problems with a pop quiz
      • Song, irregular present, part 4: Tengo tu love
      • It's my birthday - check out our presents!
      • A meaningful approach to grammar
      • Websites for creating online magazines
      • A world with no magazines
      • Guest post: Coaching with choice
      • Screencast: Photopeach
      • Communicative grading made easier
    •  May (10)
      • Health infographic: Novice - Intermediate Activity
      • A lesson in finding authentic sources easily
      • Tips and songs for past participles
      • Foster higher-level thinking from the beginning
      • Summer: Language for the fun of it
      • Novice high vs. intermediate low
      • E-magazines with learner appeal
      • Step outside the textbook: Tell a story
      • Repost: Novice description with Jengibre and Pin Pon
      • Interpersonal communication by choice
    •  April (11)
      • Novice speaking: Describing self with Sie7e
      • Can you control vocabulary?
      • Activities from authentic resources: Future tense
      • Why I love mistakes
      • Maternity leave!
      • Lots of your class gone? Pick up a book.
      • Abandon the multiple-choice question
      • Songs for future tense
      • I choose béisbol: sample "homework" report
      • 300 times thank you
      • Reporting like kindergarten
    •  March (11)
      • Training in circumlocution: Ban the dictionary
      • Fun activity #9: A leer
      • Last tips on avoiding burnout
      • Cortometraje for narration
      • Make developing curriculum even easier
      • Even more tips on avoiding burnout
      • Authentic resource: trivia games
      • Still more tips on avoiding burnout
      • Two more ways to ease into developing curriculum
      • Song, irregular present, part 3: Carmelina
      • More tips on avoiding burnout
    •  February (10)
      • Intermediate news activity for all three modes
      • Easing into developing curriculum
      • If you don't pay attention to comprehensibility...
      • Burning out or burning bright?
      • Keeping the class engaged: Change activities
      • Fun activity #8: A cantar
      • Twitter/relationships activity, just in time for Valentine's
      • Tech tools gone wrong
      • Grading regular free-topic writing
      • Add more music to homework choices
    •  January (9)
      • Spot-checking conversations
      • Song, irregular present, part 2: Hace tiempo
      • Four habits that enrich vocabulary
      • Paragraph form
      • Myths 8 & 9: I don't do it because they can't handle it.
      • Assigning homework
      • Song, irregular present, part 1: Sigo con ella
      • More choice every day
      • A novice cross-curricular activity from authentic materials
  •  2012 (39)
    •  December (2)
      • 5 New Year's resolutions for every WL teacher
      • It pays to have a focus
    •  October (2)
      • Best and worst games I've seen
      • Example: authentic text for novices
    •  September (7)
      • Success with Stations
      • More student choice in homework
      • Prezi: The Choice is Theirs (KWLA 2012)
      • Prezi: Kick the Vocab Quiz (KWLA 2012)
      • Take the leap to standards-based assessment
      • Fun activity #7: Conecta cuatro
      • A song for feelings
    •  August (11)
      • Screencast: Edmodo
      • Myth #7: Spanish Mike is a taco.
      • A study in motivation, part 2: Self-assessing abilities
      • It's my blogiversary - but you get the gift
      • Menus
      • Reading guides: Cajas de cartón & Esperanza renace
      • A re-post for your first days back: Abecedario
      • Screencast: Finding authentic sources for prompts
      • Maintaining personal proficiency
      • Ideas for the first days of school
      • AP redesign: Units & EQ's
    •  July (9)
      • A study in motivation
      • Advice for teachers in training
      • More uses for Amor de mi tierra
      • Book review: The Talent Code
      • Songs for 'duele'
      • The Case for Commands
      • Got idioms?
      • Like Musicuentos? Like it on Facebook.
      • Very short times with very young kids
    •  June (1)
      • 5...4...3...2...1... LAUNCH!
    •  March (4)
      • Another change: Survey says...
      • Design your own final exam
      • What I'm changing this week
      • Repost for CSC12: Increasing target language
    •  February (1)
      • A storytelling success story
    •  January (2)
      • Not going to ACTFL again, but for the best reason ever
      • Free Ebook for WL educators
  •  2011 (57)
    •  November (1)
      • Dear novice-learner teacher - love, an AP teacher
    •  October (3)
      • Learning from #langchat
      • Not your average health unit
      • Presentation: Target Language: Expect More, Say Less
    •  September (6)
      • Spanish 3 assessment documents
      • For KWLA 2011: Media from Reel to Real
      • Accuracy vs. proficiency: an illustration
      • Fun activity #6: A escribir
      • App review: Tour Wrist
      • Myth #6: Memorizing vocabulary
    •  August (5)
      • Trending topic = authentic comprehensible input
      • Got the rubric!
      • New year, new units, new assessments
      • Jumping on the Animoto bandwagon
      • Rethinking "late" work
    •  July (1)
      • A song made for early Spanish 1
    •  June (9)
      • Proficiency & tacos
      • Proficiency levels shouldn't be a secret
      • Flipbook illustration
      • Ethics in the language class - we aren't their parents
      • Activity #5: Gira la botella
      • Symbol Illustration
      • Connecting your classroom
      • Myth #5: The textbook is all I need
      • Taking paperless to the blog
    •  May (2)
      • Combat the 'este tiempo' monster
      • Children's DVD giveaway!
    •  April (6)
      • Activity #4: Drama Inmóvil
      • Myth #4: The Time Whine
      • Have you used PhotoPeach?
      • The myths aren't going to ACTFL
      • Fun activity #3: ¡Arriésgate!
      • Fun activity #2: A conversar
    •  March (3)
      • Dismantling Myths 2 and 3: Learning about language and its cousin, Grammatical Terms
      • Activity 1: Cuento poco a poco
      • (Trying to) Make learning fun
    •  February (10)
      • Two new options for out-of-class fluency
      • Great resource from la Sra. Birch
      • Dismantling Myth #1: What's a qualified teacher?
      • Keep singing: 189 pages of Spanish lyrics
      • #Charlando para aprender
      • Vote for this week's #langchat topic
      • It's time for them to use their time
      • For tonight's #langchat: A game for description
      • Short listening activity tailor-made for beginners
      • Ciudad de las bestias: Guides public & streamlined
    •  January (11)
      • Instead of the vocab quiz
      • Best songs for stem changing irreg. present
      • Do something drastic - kick the vocab quiz
      • Topic for #LangChat 1/27
      • Topic for the first #LangChat 1/20
      • Low-level learners can't understand authentic media, what?
      • They can't speak, and it's our fault: Dismantling the myths
      • Don't teach a health unit without this song
      • New: A language teachers' weekly chat on Twitter - choose our first topic!
      • Since I stopped teaching to the [AP] test
      • Faith and Culture: help me decide our AP topic
  •  2010 (38)
    •  December (4)
      • 9 ways to increase students' TL use
      • I love collaboration
      • The problem with translation (from a student)
      • Why music is more powerful than anything (& how to use it)
    •  November (2)
      • iPad giveaway!
      • A collaborative project for our Spanish-teacher PLN
    •  October (2)
      • And the winner is...
      • In the spirit of open source: Ciudad de las bestias
    •  September (10)
      • Books recommended as 'easy'
      • Pure present tense & at least 22 repetitions of 'ya no'
      • For a conference attendee: resources in math
      • Searching BBC Mundo
      • Prompts with Power: writing/speaking prompts
      • Prompts with Power: Prezi
      • Prompts with Power: German & French resources
      • Prompts with Power: Dating in high school
      • KWLA Presentation: PLN-ology
      • Tweet with double objects
    •  August (6)
      • Interactive comic creator using Maya & Miguel
      • Ads of the World | Creative Advertising Archive & Community
      • Added some great new links
      • First 12 days of Spanish 1
      • My supply list
      • Scope & sequence, word list for Spanish 1
    •  July (4)
      • 5 tips for increasing (your own) target language use
      • A warm-up from @samocamila: por vs. para
      • Camila's all on board! (well, on Twitter)
      • Getting vocabulary from a tweet
    •  April (3)
      • Huge toy giveaway from SpanglishBaby
      • A case for avoiding "pet" grammar
      • Authentic audio with future tense
    •  March (2)
      • Interesting blog post about iPod as language lab
      • News article: appeal + subjunctive for influence
    •  January (5)
      • A high-interest exercise for imperfect/pasado continuo
      • A song with 17 verbs in past subjunctive
      • My corporate Spanish links, all in one place
      • "Adora la Exploradora"-the week we didn't feel like a boring past-tense review
      • My level 1 and 2 stories (for Bethanie, and whomever else)
  •  2009 (80)
    •  December (2)
      • A song with 37 repetitions of "más que"
      • Switch to a communicative set-up
    •  November (10)
      • Print & audio sources for AP synthesis essay re: efficient energy
      • Two songs for voy + a + infinitive
      • A case for free-topic blogging
      • It's 19 de noviembre!
      • Camila's new single: "Mientes" (release date 11/24!)
      • A case for pleasure reading
      • Noviembre - a popular month for songs
      • Zachary Jones's "Clozeline"
      • Two songs + resources for Ojalá + subjunctive
      • A song just for @mamitati
    •  October (13)
      • You can't buy this in a textbook
      • Cultural connections: Four songs to explore using Google Earth
      • David Bisbal's YouTube channel
      • Correction on Pin Pon in Shrek
      • Four songs for contrasting que & lo que
      • Nominados en la 10a entrega de los Latin Grammy
      • Story and songs for subjunctive: indefinite/negative antecedent
      • AP sythesis essay sources: Los indocumentados y el sistema de salud
      • Blog that does what I do, only better
      • My October playlist
      • We must not ignore the Paz Sin Fronteras (video)
      • Build your perfect tenis (en español)
      • Video with por, haber, past participles, commands, from Coca Cola
    •  September (10)
      • Latin Grammy website gets a cool makeover... and nominations!
      • Songs for the elusive 3rd pers. sing. preterite
      • I just made my first Yodio
      • KWLA Fall 09 Conference presentation
      • Found Juanes on Twitter
      • For you French teachers
      • Bilingual toy giveaway, gracias a @mamitati
      • Keeping your eyes open for gold nuggets
      • CNN launches Latino in America
      • Bob Esponja on Mundonick
    •  August (4)
      • A correction on the correction of La Frase Tonta
      • I am in technology heaven
      • An AP oral presentation, with past tense: "Consecuencias"
      • I love crossover songs
    •  July (2)
      • Raimundo, the bilingual Latin American snail
      • A song for object/refl pronoun 'te'
    •  June (6)
      • A song for your hip-hop fans
      • Developing world citizens
      • Follow me on Twitter
      • Aquí Estoy Yo: video oficial
      • A new group on my radar
      • Two months later, back to the blogosphere (with a companion)
    •  April (5)
      • A most fantastic performance at Premio Lo Nuestro
      • The heroes speak Español
      • A brilliant pair of songs contrasting por/para
      • Useless grammar I used to teach
      • Adding some links--check 'em out
    •  March (7)
      • Negative commands + culture
      • Winds of change
      • Our students aren't the only ones who have speaking problems!
      • Activity: News interaction (present perfect)
      • A new smash hit with a subjunctive benefit
      • A shout out for Jacob & Joshua
      • El campesino y la princesa (a Spanish 3 story test, with a bit of subjunctive)
    •  February (15)
      • More interactive websites, courtesy of my students
      • A product I love
      • Good stories for commands
      • a story for imperf. vs. pret. and subjunctive influence
      • Interactive websites: practicing house/location/color vocab
      • Subjunctive for doubt: Story, song, activity
      • A good story for 'tiene'
      • A song for subjunctive/nosotros commands
      • A story for demonstratives
      • Rules in a communicative class
      • Cause and effect
      • Relating everything to English
      • A correction on La Frase Tonta
      • Equipping and informing, for free
      • A project based on motivation
    •  January (6)
      • "How much is estuvo de pie?"
      • One more song for subjunctive
      • A couple more subjunctive songs
      • An example of vocab
      • Internet scavenger hunts
      • A Spanish 2 story test
  •  2008 (51)
    •  December (7)
      • Videos from Jesús Adrian Romero
      • Alex Campos's YouTube channel
      • A story test
      • A video for Navidad
      • Great new song for subjunctive
      • ¡Nueva música!
      • A fantastic blog post
    •  November (14)
      • Ever heard of Patito feo?
      • Two groups you just can't go wrong with
      • Things to be thankful for
      • Grammar learning vs. acquisition
      • Forced to give grammar tests?
      • High aptitude is a beautiful thing
      • Another Spanish 1 reading
      • New media list!
      • At the ACSI conference in Dayton
      • Story success: Huevos verdes con jamón
      • Another story source!
      • Words we don't use
      • Song success: Hace tiempo
      • El carro de sus sueños
    •  October (12)
      • Overgeneralizing, again
      • Spanish 2 Story: La llama se llama...
      • Song success: Me voy
      • Not posting lately
      • overgeneralizing
      • The outcome of Pin Pon
      • Pin Pon in Shrek?
      • Best practices
      • Reading in Spanish 3
      • SCORE!
      • My media list
      • Awesome YouTube video
    •  September (18)
      • KWLA '08: Assessing comprehension without English
      • Song success: La llave de mi corazón
      • Spanish 1 Story: Insectos grises para el almuerzo
      • Finding stories
      • How do I find the music?
      • Modeling the billingual lexicon
      • Summaries of some classroom SLA articles
      • Love/Hate Krashen
      • Another article that rocked my world
      • More sunshine
      • When it's not all coming up roses
      • What on earth is going on here?
      • So, what are the cuentos?
      • The verdict on pop test 1
      • People I love
      • A pop test
      • Some assumptions
      • Starting to share my journey

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