¿Comprendes o no comprendes?

When I first began teaching I had very little experience with students who did not speak my own language. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that even after 5 years of Spanish classes in college and high school; I would not be able to hold an intelligent conversation with someone in my "second" language. The frustration in this knowledge brings to light a new understanding of students who do not speak English as their native tongue. In the majority of classrooms at the school I teach at has at least one student who is fluent in a language I cannot understand. One fourth (5/20) girls on the soccer team I coach speak English as their second language (four speak Turkish and one speaks Portuguese). In the past 5 years I have been exposed to more diversity in a classroom than I would have ever imagined.



Even with this exposure, teaching a student who does not speak the language that you are fluent in never becomes easier. In terms of strategies I have used, the best and most helpful to the student is inserting pictures into everything we do. Using a storyboard technique to explain a concept can facilitate more understanding than a dictionary. Allowing students to draw a process or their understanding gives multiple perspectives and allows the student to communicate on an even playing ground.



Another piece of software the school has is a test maker. This particular program allows the teacher to change the language so the student is not immediately put at the disadvantage to the rest of their classmates. In most cases there is a teacher that can translate the answers after the test has been taken. On this note I have used Microsoft Word as a piece of assistive technology. If available, students can be given a computer and be allowed to type a question or answer in their native language. Word has a translator built into it so with a few clicks the entirety of the students work can be translated into multiple languages. Any handouts can be done the same way to ensure the student is receiving the same education as the rest of the class.



In order to write this blog I spoke with a Spanish teacher here about the title. The upside down question mark is a few keystrokes for a single symbol. If you hold down alt and type in 168 with the number lock on ¿ will appear. Here are a few more examples:

Type of Character	Character	Value	Type of Character	Character	Value
Accented a	á	Alt+160	Tilde n	ñ	Alt+164
Accented e	é	Alt+130	Tilde N	Ñ	Alt+165
Accented i	í	Alt+161	Inverted !	¡	Alt+173
Accented o	ó	Alt+162	Inverted ?	¿	Alt+168
Accented u	ú	Alt+163	Left angled “	«	Alt+174
Accented E	É	Alt+144	Right angled ”	»	Alt+175
Dieresis u	ü	Alt+129

Found at: http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/ascaccnt.htm

This can be tedious when typing in the English language. But if there is a small amount of work needed to be done to make a student feel more comfortable or have an easier transition into the classroom it is the teachers responsibility to make that as seamless as possible. I have actually contemplated writing this blog in English and then translating it in word and posting the Spanish version with directions how to retranslate it. Imagine the frustration you would feel having to go through the process and not simply being able to understand. The most important idea to keep in mind when teaching a student who does not speak English is understanding and patience.