THE LANGUAGE BARRIER
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The language barrier is a challenge encountered by many ethnic groups which have immigrated or migrated to mainland America. It is estimated that today, more than 70% of Puerto Ricans living in the continental United States grow up in homes where Spanish is the only language spoken. As a result most Puerto Ricans do not perform well in our American public schools and drop out before completing high school.
PURPOSE—
The students will become aware of some of the learning problems experienced by non-English-speaking Puerto Rican students that attend American public schools.
MATERIALS
1.
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A teacher or an adult who is bilingual in English and Spanish.
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2.
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Several students who are bilingual in English and Spanish.
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3.
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Students who speak English only.
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PROCEDURE
1.
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The students will pretend that they find themselves as English-speaking students in a Puerto Rican school classroom.
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2.
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The bilingual teacher and the bilingual students will converse in Spanish only.
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3.
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English-speaking students will try to participate in the classroom discussion. The teacher and the bilingual students are instructed not to show any empathy for the English-speaking students.
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4.
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All the students will be required to take a quiz, in Spanish, at the end of the lesson.
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5.
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Through discussion, the English-speaking students will share their frustrations from this role playing activity.
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