Regardless the fact that my students are Spanish speakers, the subject is often taught to maintain the language more so than teach it as a foreign language since my students are very advanced in their communication skills. However, the teaching of world languages in the City of New Haven is founded on five ACTFL standards: culture, communication, connection, community, and comparison. Connection is one of the standards that serves as the link between Spanish and other subjects such as social studies, or English Language Arts. The unit connects to the social studies and brings the Civil Rights Movement in a larger spectrum as solidified efforts to change the lives of people of color and the minorities in the United States.
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From the language outlook, the unit will enable students develop and connect the vocabulary and key words from other subjects and apply them in Spanish to show growth. Also, it will help the students to develop oral proficiency. Traditionally, bilingual and ELL students lack vocabulary all across the subject areas, which makes the subjects very difficult to understand. The lack of academic English language skills and proficiency might hinder students’ efforts to learn about their ancestry and their integration efforts in the Unites States. Spanish can serve as a bridge to make this connection and to enable students to understand the history. Besides, since some of our children speak fluently both languages, they will easily transfer the academic language from Spanish to English, and vice versa.
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