I read Los Viajes which is a Spanish text I found online about travel. The first time I read it, I didn't really understand anything except a few words here and there. Some Spanish words are similar to English words such as familia (family), pasaporte (passport), and camara (camera). I knew I would have to "dig" deeper in order to comprehend this text. The text had 10 paragraphs in total and my goal was to work on comprehending each one individually. I began with paragraph one and dissected each word until I was able to make meaning out of one sentence. I was able to figure out on my own a few of the words, and was able to make some more sense out of the sentence when using a Spanish dictionary. I knew it would take too long to look each word up in the dictionary, so I would only look up what was needed. Once I figured out what paragraph one was talking about, I read it over on my own 2-3 times in order for the meaning to really stick. I did this with each of the 10 paragraphs which took a long time! For each paragraph that I made meaning out of, I would go back to read not only the paragraph again, but also the whole text up to that point. I was easily frustrated because I would forget the meaning of a certain phrase or word and have to look it up again. I looked up por lo tanto which means although in English at least 5 times! The vocabulary words that were used throughout the text and typed in bold ink were helpful because once I knew the definition, it helped with making meaning of the text. An hour and a half later, I finally comprehended the whole text.
List of strategies that were used during my reading:
- Repetition-rereading each paragraph I made meaning out of and then rereading the whole text
- Using a Spanish dictionary only when needed
- "Dissecting" each word, sentence, paragraph
- Defining each of the vocabulary words
While doing this reading, I thought about students who experience this level of frustration everyday when exposed continuously to a language that is unfamiliar to them. I work at a school where about 65% of the students are English Language Learners. Students are sent home homework that has English on one side and Spanish on the other. Any information (letters, newsletters, menus, etc.) that is sent home is in English and Spanish. Students are encouraged to read books that are in English and Spanish. Furthermore, after doing this reading, I realized how important the gift of time is and to provide ample time for students to read and write when being exposed to a new language. Also, keep the reading or writing short and build upon it over time.
"One implication of this for teaching is that language that would normally be beyond students' comprehension is much more likely to be understood when students can bring their experiences and understandings as a basis for intrepretation" (Gibbons, p.49). I was able to comprehend the reading more when I could use some of my experience with preparing for a vacation while reading the text. If the text would have been in an unfamilar language and about an unfamilar subject, it would have been very difficult to comprehend.
"One implication of this for teaching is that language that would normally be beyond students' comprehension is much more likely to be understood when students can bring their experiences and understandings as a basis for intrepretation" (Gibbons, p.49). I was able to comprehend the reading more when I could use some of my experience with preparing for a vacation while reading the text. If the text would have been in an unfamilar language and about an unfamilar subject, it would have been very difficult to comprehend.
References
Gibbons, Pauline. Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2002. Print.
Los Viajes - Lectura. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2015, from http://www.spanish.cl/Vocabulary/Notes/Viajes.htm
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