Accommodations
“Preserving home language and culture is an asset, which
should be fostered.” (Spanish for Native
Speakers, NC). Native speakers who can communicate fluently in Spanish with
their families and feel more confident about themselves.
When a student develops literacy skills in their native language, it
helps them learn English quickly and increase
abilities in other subjects.
It’s important that the Hispanic/Latino students keep their original culture and
language because it’s part of their identity. When students develop a positive national
civic culture about their country of origin, they become a voice for the
diverse ethnic, racial, language and religious communities. Those students will be
able to help others to “clarify attitudes toward other nations, and to clarify reflective identifications with the
world community.” (Stern and Kysilka, 2008)
When researching and creating materials
for the Hispanic/Latino students, a professional needs to choose themes to help
maintain attachments to students’ cultural community and at the same time to
promote citizenship attitudes towards their new country.
During Reading Comprehension
assignments, students can work on a Reading passage that contains vocabulary
that they can relate to, intended for the native speaker of the language.
When working with vocabulary, as the rest of the class works with translations
and images, or textbook activities, these students can find the synonym and
antonym of each word and write a sentence. When assigning homework, the assignment
needs to be differentiated from this type of student.
When a regular homework assignment is given to draw a picture using the word or ordering the words in alphabetical order, the native speaker can practice reading the vocabulary in context from a PowerPoint, write sentences with the words, or put the words into categories such as adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc. This strategy is called bucketing.
If the class is going to be working on an activity that will be too easy for the native speaker, the teacher can send those students to the library or provide a set of computers to complete research on a cultural topic of their choice that they will have to present to the class. There are many ways in which the teacher can engage these students, but the teacher must have proper Professional Development training.
ACTFL - Classroom challenges and activities
Spanish for Native Speakers II Program at Prince William County, Va
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
