A su gusto
A program for Native
Spanish Speakers
Objectives
Encourage the formation of classes for
Native and Heritage Spanish Speakers
Describe the program at Harrisonburg
City Public Schools for Native and
Heritage speakers of Spanish.
Identify attitudes and perspectives that
have proven beneficial.
Provide resources and ideas.
Where You From?
by Gina Valdés
Soy de aquí
y soy de allá
from here
and from there
born in L.A.
del otro lado
y de éste
crecí en L.A.
y en Ensenada
my mouth
still tastes
of naranjas
con chile
soy del sur
y del norte
Crecí zurda
y norteada
cruzando fron
teras crossing
San Andreas
tartamuda
Y mareada
where you from?
soy de aquí
soy de allá
I didn’t build
this border
that halts me
the word fron
tera splits
on my tongue
Testimonials - Camila Pandolfi
Testimonials - Alejandra
Gutierrez
Definitions
Native Speaker
Hispanohablante
Heritage Speaker
Harrisonburg City Public
Schools - Diversity
HCPS has one of the highest Limited English
Proficient (LEP) percentages in Virginia.
HCPS is a small division of approximately
4,400 total students
38% of those students are LEP.
48 different countries and 52 different
languages are represented.
Of our LEP population, 62% was born in the
United States.
50% of our kindergarteners through 3rd
graders are LEP.
Harrisonburg City Public
Schools - Native Languages
7%
2%
4%
4%
Spanish
6%
Russian
Kurdish
Arabic
Otomi
Other
77%
History of our program
Native Spanish speaking students signed up
for Spanish classes
– Regular Spanish classes did not met their needs.
– Students and teachers were frustrated.
– Native Speakers often received bad grades and lost
motivation.
– Native Speakers genuinely wanted to study Spanish
ESL learners had no classes that challenged
them to think critically and analytically.
Latinos were/are among the highest in
dropout risk.
History of our program adding classes
200
NS 1
180
NS 2
160
NS 3 AP
140
totals
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
NS 1
19992000
20002001
20012002
20022003
20032004
20042005
20052006
20062007
20072008
20082009
20092010
20102011
23
47
20
16
49
50
44
73
38
63
77
88
7
8
19
28
36
41
26
59
58
18
14
14
19
27
43
90
123
93
108
163
189
NS 2
NS 3 AP
totals
23
47
20
23
57
69
History of our program number of sections
12
10
8
NS 1
NS 2
6
NS 3 AP
totals
4
2
0
1999- 2000- 2001- 2002- 2003- 2004- 2005- 2006- 2007- 2008- 2009- 20102000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
What we have today -- classes
Harrisonburg High School
– Spanish for Native Speakers 1
• Assumes a 3rd grade reading/writing level in
Spanish
– Spanish for Native Speakers 2
• SNS 1 is required
– Spanish for Native Speakers 3 AP
• Prepare for the Spanish AP language exam
– Spanish Literature AP (independent study)
What we have today -- classes
Three teachers who currently teach at least
one Spanish for NS class
– two Native Speaks
– one hispanohablante
ESL offers Spanish literacy.
World Language Studies
– Rosetta Stone based
What we have today -- classes
Middle schools
– Spanish 1 for Heritage Speakers
• Regular Spanish 1 text and material, but students are
only native or heritage speakers
• Students receive high school credit for Spanish 1
• Teacher recommends student for Spanish 2 or NS 1
– Spanish for Native Speakers
• Semester course with no high school credit
Elementary school
– Spanish/English bilingual program
• first kindergarden class this year
What we have today -challenges
Placement of students in the appropriate level
– Spanish ability
– Confidence in their abilities
– Matching abilities with scheduling
Large number of heritage speakers
– Major limitation in writing, vocabulary, speaking, or
reading
– Don’t belong in the regular Spanish 1 class
– However they need the basics beginning with
alphabet, vowels, conjugation, agreement etc.
What we have today -- clubs
Spanish Club
•
•
•
•
•
•
100-150 members
Student directed
Latino dances
Beca Carmen Flores
Field trips to amusement parks
Trips to NYC and Florida
Men of Character
• Specifically for young men
Habla
• Club for young women (2nd year)
Vision of You
What we have today -support staff
Home-school liaisons (2 Spanish speaking
liaisons)
Spanish speaking secretaries in attendance
and guidance
Interpreters for parent/teacher conferences
– Training
– Community service
Our perspectives
What the students possess is an asset
that can and should be developed.
Students can be proud of their heritage
and need strategies to preserve it.
We strive for appropriate
communication for a wide variety of
contexts.
Our perspectives
We create and adapt according to the
students’ needs.
– Willingness to change
– Openness to invent
We seek allies (adults with the same vision).
– JMU professor in residence, Dr. George Font
Our perspectives
We want a positive environment and
experience for our students.
– Caught in between cultures and receive negative
messages from representatives of both sides
– Value and respect everyone and every country
– Tell them what they do well
We talk about college, careers and the future.
– Most people don’t want to be doctors or lawyers.
– Teaching is a great profession also!
“Consejos” for teachers
Be willing to learn
– Allow the students to share what they know.
– Non-native teachers allow the students to respectfully correct
pronunciation and grammar.
Find material that they know nothing about
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Spain!
Current events in Latin American countries
Art
Literature
History
Do what you love to do.
Anything is a potential platform to work on language development.
“Consejos” for teachers
Teach them how to succeed in this culture
and in our educational system.
Be an advocate.
Accept the noise.
If you are not a Native Speaker, don’t take it
personally.
– At least six weeks to establish/create a working environment
Design activities and assignments so that
students will succeed.
– Projects and assignments in class
– Reajust academic expectations
A few methods
Journals “diarios”
– NS 1 -- 75 words
– NS 2 -- 100 words in 7-8 minutes
– NS 3 AP -- 150 words in 7-8 minutes
Students need to write every day.
– They need to write much more than we can
possible grade.
– Open ended questions
A few methods
Read a great deal
–
–
–
–
–
–
Students read out loud
Teacher reads to the students
Recorded books
NS 1 -- adapted readers, La ciudad de las bestias
NS 2 -- Leyendas, Señor Presidente, novel
NS 3 AP -- short stories, dramas
Students need to read every day.
A few methods
Venn diagrams
– Sections of books
• Compare the houses in El amor en los tiempos de cólera and
La casa de los espíritus
• Compare your house with the house in La Casa en Mango
Street
– Literary genres
• Compare poetry with narrative
• Compare drama with short stories
– Characters or locations in movies or stories
• A Bronx Tale -- compare the Italian neighborhood to a Latino
barrio
• Compare Sonny with C’s father
• Compare the fathers in El hijo, El caballo mago, and No oyes
ladrar a los perros
A few methods
Analyze
–
–
–
–
Short stories
Poems
Movies
News reports
Create
– Poems
– Stories
– Autobiographies
A few methods
Cornell notes
– Organize and study from their notes
– AVID
Organized notebooks
Talk about origins and identity
– Latino, Hispanic, nationality?
– Is George Lopez Latino?
– Is Cameron Diaz Latina?
Resources - Textbooks
Tu mundo -- McDougal Littell
Dime -- McDougal Litell
Nuevas Vistas 1 & 2 - Holt, Rionehart and Winston
El español para nosotros 1 & 2 -- Glencoe
Abriendo Puertas Tomo 1 y 2 -- Nextext
Resources - Readers
El Cid (adaptada)
La cruz del diablo Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (Santillana)
El Señor Presidente - Miguel Ángel Asturias (Santillana)
Sangre y arena - Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (Santillana)
La ciudad de las bestias - Isabel Allende
Leyendas Latinoamericanas - McGraw Hill Glencoe.
Álbum - D.C. Heath and Company
Abriendo Puertas Tomo 1 - Nextext
Resources - Plays
Bodas de Sangre - Federico García Lorca
La casa de Bernarda Alba Federico García Lorca
El delantal blanco - Sergio Vodanovic
Mañana de sol - Serafín y Joaquín Álvarez Quintero
El anillo de General Macías - Josefina Niggli
Entremés del mancebo que casó con mujer
brava
Significant projects
Read children’s
books to a Spanish
speaking child
Interview Latinos in
the community
Book report/analysis
Autobiografía
“Fiestas patrias”
Comidas típicas
El día de la raza
Resources - Movies
El norte
La historia oficial
Milagro en Roma
Golpes a la puerta
Al otro lado
La misma luna
Stand and Deliver
Real Women have curves
La Bamba
Selena
Walkout
Zoot Suit
Almost a Woman
Something the Lord Made*
A Bonx Story*
Motorcycle Diaries
María llena de gracia
La luz prodigiosa
Mar adentro
Bola
Goya
Don Quijote
La casa de Bernarda Alba
Machuca
Resources -- Internet
spanish.yabla.com
quia.com
Cine con clase
– hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu
www.cervantes.es
– www.cervantestv.es
www.learnspanish.com
Newspapers and
magazines online
bbcmundo.com
Rosetta Stone
Resources -- Computer Labs
For internet
Rosetta Stone
Listening and speaking
AP test preparation
AP testing
Field trips
Universities (JMU,
EMU, BRCC, UVA)
Prepárate (BRCC)
Washington D.C.
Hispanic Heritage
Month
Local restaurants
Local businesses
An alegoria
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Contact information
Philip Yutzy
– pyutzy@harrisonburg.k12.va.us
– http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~pyutzy/
Patrica Rojas
– crojas@harrisonburg.k12.va.us
– http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~crojas/
Edson Arango
– Earango@harrisonburg.k12.va.us
– http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~earango/
Reflection
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