“Speak to us en inglés”

Connections

“Speak to us en inglés". This sentence sounds all too familiar to me but instead of inglés I hear “Speak to us en espanol” Every Monday and Wednesday night I know exactly how Richard Rodriguez feels. Like probably every other RIC student I’m required to take at least two semesters of a foreign language. This year I’ve been busy fulfilling this requirement with Spanish 101 and Spanish 102.




After having taken Spanish 101 last semester, I thought returning to Spanish again this semester would be a fairly easy transition. However I was entirely all wrong. “Speak up. Speak to the entire class, not just me!” All these phases that Rodriguez recalls the nuns saying to him in Catholic School seem identical to those of my Spanish professor. Walking into Spanish class is somewhat intimidating. I sit in the back of the class so as not to be detected when class participation begins. Hiding behind my laptop screen I silently pray that my name isn’t called. The thought of potentially not understanding her questions and looking like a fool in front of the class crosses my mind every time her eyes scan the room for her next participant.

               When reading Aria, by Richard or should I say “Ricardo” according to page 35, Rodriguez I couldn’t help but identify with the feelings that Rodriguez describes on the first page when he talks about speaking in class. When I’m in Spanish class I feel alienated, like I have no clue what’s going on. I can only assume that that’s what Rodriguez must have felt like during the beginning of his schooling before he was fully able to comprehend English. Because the reading was so short I found that it was easy to quickly read through the passage without fully taking into account just how much Rodriguez’s life changed that day the nuns came to visit his parents. To me that was like thinking if my Spanish professor came to my house and told my parents I wasn’t participating enough and that I need to start speaking Spanish at home too. I would be mortified. The two hours I spend in class is terrifying enough to try and speak a different language, let alone trying to do it all day, even at home where you’re supposed to feel relaxed and have time with your family. I guess the point I’m trying to get at is that even though English is my first language and I’ve never had a problem with speaking in my regular classes, my experiences in my Spanish classes have given me an insight as to some of the emotions that Rodriguez must have been experiencing throughout his early schooling. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been. 

While on Huffington Post I stumbled upon this article that discusses language in schools, I wonder would Richard Rodriguez would have to say about it: 

Huffington Post - Why You Shouldn't be Afraid to Speak Spanish in School