Learning to Read and Write Represented a Giant Step for Me

From Elaboration to Collaboration:

Understanding and Supporting

Second Language Writers

UTEP Students’ Literacy Narratives

Mariana:

When I entered UTEP . . . I did not know any English. I can gladly say that I have improved a great deal in my English learning, thanks to my strong literacy background in Spanish. My first year experience learning English was tough but it was key to my English learning. Since I hardly understood most of my professors, I rarely had any notes. I relied on my textbooks to know what was being covered in my classes. The good thing is that I had strong reading skills in Spanish so it was not so difficult for me in read in English.

Melina:

In Kindergarten, I was in a Bilingual classroom. I learned to read and write in English very easily because I had fluency in reading and writing in Spanish, not just in speaking it. In third grade, I was put in an English speaking class where Spanish was prohibited. I was pretty comfortable with the reading and writing part, but I dreaded speaking English. I have always been more fluent in Spanish because I practice it more at home and with friends.

Monica:

Learning to read and write represented a giant step for me. Little did I know that my schooling would be cut short. I was fortunate enough to finish fourth

grade. . . . During the time that we lived in Mexico, education was not mandatory. Life in the sierra was hard. There was scarcely any money for food much less for books or schooling.

Silvia:

I was 14 years old when I had my first exposure to English. During the next three years I was “learning” English. Can you imagine learning English in a little Mexican town? There was no way to learn it because I had no chance to practice. Anyway, when we moved to United States, was very hard to me. By this time I was 22 years old and I . . wanted to be independent. I registered myself in Project Bravo in order to learn English and get my GED. Since then, I have been learning a word or two every day.

Pat:

When I was growing up both my parents knew English. They were both born in the US and had been to high school here in El Paso. They both say that their teachers were all anglos who spoke English only. They both kept the knowledge of their first language while utilizing English on a daily basis. In raising their three daughters they had no real strong idea as to what their children should speak. Our neighborhood was a new subdivision which had anglo families as well as Hispanics. We conversed in English and Spanish on a daily basis. We learned both languages by the time we entered kindergarten. We knew both languages extremely well and had no problem communicating in either language.

Although I should mention that speaking Spanish was not allowed in school, not even during our lunch time. In looking back I realized that I may not necessarily have been one of the smartest in the classroom. I was led to believe this by my elementary school teachers. Other students may have been smarter, but there could have been a language problem, a lack of communication. Now that I am in the process of becoming a bilingual teacher I am becoming increasingly aware of the injustice my other classmates were dealt.