Today's post is by my first guest blogger, La Guera (The Blond). She's not a native Spanish speaker, but she's studied abroad in Spain during college and later took a course in Mexico. She continues to learn as she teaches her son to speak Spanish.
My almost three year old son is consistently interrupting conversations to share his excitement about something or to get attention when I am not focusing on him. I was talking to his maestra at his Spanish Immersion pre-school about the difference between "Perdon" and "Con Permiso or Permiso" in Mexico. She gave a concise explanation that I'd like to share.
Use "Perdon" if you have already done something. For example, bumped into someone.
Use "Con Permiso" or "Permiso" if you would like to do something. For example, interrupt a conversion, leave the table or ask them to move so you can pass by someone.
I would appreciate any other opinions on this explanation.
When my son interrupts, I am currently teaching him to say "con permiso" first.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
"Speaking in Tongues" documentary
A few months ago, I went to a screening of the documentary "Speaking in Tongues" about four students who attend public school in San Francisco where the primary language of instruction is not in English. Two of the students learn to speak, read and write in Mandarin, one learns in Cantonese, and one student learns in Spanish.
The two students learning in Mandarin come from families that are non-Asian. They get exposed to a new community and culture, among other things. The girl learning in Cantonese deepens the connection with other members of her family, particularly her grandmother, in a way that her English-only speaking parents and siblings do not. The boy learning in Spanish comes from a family where Spanish is the main language spoken at home.
I was most surprised at how he benefited from learning in Spanish at school. Apparently, many kids who speak a non-English language at home will lose fluency in their native language. Studying in Spanish helped this boy not only strengthen, but also increase his proficiency in both Spanish and English.
The "Speaking in Tongues" web site has a bunch of short videos "highlighting key issues in multilingualism". They seem to touch on many of the topics the film addresses. There are also a couple of pages listing Myths & Realities about bilingual education. The site has a link for finding screenings of the film, but there aren't that many upcoming screenings.
The two students learning in Mandarin come from families that are non-Asian. They get exposed to a new community and culture, among other things. The girl learning in Cantonese deepens the connection with other members of her family, particularly her grandmother, in a way that her English-only speaking parents and siblings do not. The boy learning in Spanish comes from a family where Spanish is the main language spoken at home.
I was most surprised at how he benefited from learning in Spanish at school. Apparently, many kids who speak a non-English language at home will lose fluency in their native language. Studying in Spanish helped this boy not only strengthen, but also increase his proficiency in both Spanish and English.
The "Speaking in Tongues" web site has a bunch of short videos "highlighting key issues in multilingualism". They seem to touch on many of the topics the film addresses. There are also a couple of pages listing Myths & Realities about bilingual education. The site has a link for finding screenings of the film, but there aren't that many upcoming screenings.
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