Speaking in Tongues

[Unkotare]

The point of my classes is to teach the students English (or to improve their academic language skills), but other interesting linguistic developments also take place. When a class is comprised of all Spanish speakers, the students tend to lean on Spanish perhaps more than they should. I start off each year pretending not to speak any Spanish for just this reason. With time, they always figure it out though. However, when a class has a few speakers of Portuguese, Creole, French, Vietnamese, or Arabic the students take to teaching each other their various native languages. The kids get a kick out of it, and in the process they actually improve their English more than they otherwise would. Some speakers of more minority languages actually become pretty good at Spanish by the end of the year. Of course many of them are taking Spanish class too, so that helps. Communication always asserts itself.

 

[The Duke]

The point of my classes is to teach the students English (or to improve their academic language skills), but other interesting linguistic developments also take place. When a class is comprised of all Spanish speakers, the students tend to lean on Spanish perhaps more than they should. I start off each year pretending not to speak any Spanish for just this reason. With time, they always figure it out though. However, when a class has a few speakers of Portuguese, Creole, French, Vietnamese, or Arabic the students take to teaching each other their various native languages. The kids get a kick out of it, and in the process they actually improve their English more than they otherwise would. Some speakers of more minority languages actually become pretty good at Spanish by the end of the year. Of course many of them are taking Spanish class too, so that helps. Communication always asserts itself.

Spanish and Portuguese aren't that much different.

 

[rampart]

The point of my classes is to teach the students English (or to improve their academic language skills), but other interesting linguistic developments also take place. When a class is comprised of all Spanish speakers, the students tend to lean on Spanish perhaps more than they should. I start off each year pretending not to speak any Spanish for just this reason. With time, they always figure it out though. However, when a class has a few speakers of Portuguese, Creole, French, Vietnamese, or Arabic the students take to teaching each other their various native languages. The kids get a kick out of it, and in the process they actually improve their English more than they otherwise would. Some speakers of more minority languages actually become pretty good at Spanish by the end of the year. Of course many of them are taking Spanish class too, so that helps. Communication always asserts itself.

i'm sure that's true. you deal mostly with adults?

 

[Unkotare]

Spanish and Portuguese aren't that much different.

Portuguese speakers tend to understand Spanish very well, but Spanish speakers often don't understand Portuguese well at all.

 

[Unkotare]

i'm sure that's true. you deal mostly with adults?

High school most of the time.

 

[Rambunctious]

My dad and his parents spoke Spanish so I learned to speak Spanish from a young age.... especially the swear words... lol

 

[The Duke]

Portuguese speakers tend to understand Spanish very well, but Spanish speakers often don't understand Portuguese well at all.

That's odd because I can understand Portuguese pretty good. Speaking it is a different story.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Portuguese speakers tend to understand Spanish very well, but Spanish speakers often don't understand Portuguese well at all.

I've noticed when in Portugal almost everyone there seems to understand Spanish as well, but the inverse is not true in Spain.

 

[Unkotare]

That's odd because I can understand Portuguese pretty good. Speaking it is a different story.

The pronunciation can be tricky.

 

[The Duke]

The pronunciation can be tricky.

In my redneck-ass opinion, it's somewhere between Italian and Spanish.

 

[Unkotare]

In my redneck-ass opinion, it's somewhere between Italian and Spanish.

That's about right!

 

[jwoodie]

Portuguese speakers tend to understand Spanish very well, but Spanish speakers often don't understand Portuguese well at all.

Same with Catalan in Barcelona.

 

[ScorpioRising007]

The point of my classes is to teach the students English (or to improve their academic language skills), but other interesting linguistic developments also take place. When a class is comprised of all Spanish speakers, the students tend to lean on Spanish perhaps more than they should. I start off each year pretending not to speak any Spanish for just this reason. With time, they always figure it out though. However, when a class has a few speakers of Portuguese, Creole, French, Vietnamese, or Arabic the students take to teaching each other their various native languages. The kids get a kick out of it, and in the process they actually improve their English more than they otherwise would. Some speakers of more minority languages actually become pretty good at Spanish by the end of the year. Of course many of them are taking Spanish class too, so that helps. Communication always asserts itself.

I have always wanted to get fluent at Spanish. I learned some Spanish on vacations to Mexico, learned Spanish from audio tapes, and visiting other Spanish speaking countries. It is a language that is so easy to figure out what someone is telling you in Spanish just because it sounds so similar to English. One of these days I am going find a way to live in Mexico so I can really pick up the language. I been musing with the idea of living in Tijuana and getting a job in California close to the Mexican border. Maybe I can get a job teaching English in Mexico.

 

[DGS49]

Should the U.S. formally adopt English as its national language? Stop catering to those who don't speak English in government offices and programs?

This was proposed in the '60's by a Senator from Hawaii. He was mercilessly ridiculed for it.

If you can't pass a simple Civics test IN ENGLISH, you should not be voting.

What do yinz think?

 

[GMCGeneral]

Spanish and Portuguese aren't that much different.

Neither is Italian as all three come from the same root language.

 

[GMCGeneral]

Should the U.S. formally adopt English as its national language? Stop catering to those who don't speak English in government offices and programs?

This was proposed in the '60's by a Senator from Hawaii. He was mercilessly ridiculed for it.

If you can't pass a simple Civics test IN ENGLISH, you should not be voting.

What do yinz think?

Well, Samuel L. Jackson's character in "Pulp Fiction" said it best:

ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKER, DO YOU SPEAK IT?!?!?!

 

[The Duke]

Should the U.S. formally adopt English as its national language? Stop catering to those who don't speak English in government offices and programs?

This was proposed in the '60's by a Senator from Hawaii. He was mercilessly ridiculed for it.

If you can't pass a simple Civics test IN ENGLISH, you should not be voting.

What do yinz think?

I'm with ya, brother.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Should the U.S. formally adopt English as its national language? Stop catering to those who don't speak English in government offices and programs?

This was proposed in the '60's by a Senator from Hawaii. He was mercilessly ridiculed for it.

If you can't pass a simple Civics test IN ENGLISH, you should not be voting.

What do yinz think?

I think that ALL government business should be conducted solely in English. If you do not speak and/or read English, that's YOUR problem, and if you need an interpreter, that is on you.