As I mentioned in my previous ICR reflection, I have been volunteering at the IPS Newcomer Program, where many of the students are of hispanic heritage.
When talking with the music teacher today, I asked if all of the classes were taught in English, or if there were some in Spanish. She herself does not know Spanish, so I’ve noticed her resort to hand gestures and pointing in some circumstances. I thought that maybe there were no bi-lingual requirements for the position. However, I was surprised when she told me that all of the classes are taught in English. This is surprising because all of the students I have interacted with will not attempt to speak english to me or each other.
I understand that I would also prefer to speak Spanish if it was my native language, but the fact is many of these students will be moving on to high school soon, where everything is in English. In their position, I would worry that it would make further learning difficult… but then again, many of the students were perfectly singing along to “I don’t care” by Ed Sheeran, and “Let it be” by the Beatles. So maybe they understand more than they let on.
I hope I can find ways to encourage and help the students in their learning of English.