I really have to work on remembering to do these things. So for this one I guess I'll just talk about my editorial. I wrote about an article that was published in "El Gallito Luis" (direct translation, The Little Chicken Luis). It's a local community paper published here in Lafayette for, but not closed off to, the Latino community. Paper consists of ads for the local Latino grocery stores, local concerts, community events, L.A.R.A (Lafayette Adult Resource center), and Ivy Tech programs.
The article I chose to write about was written by one of the English teachers at L.A.R.A, Denise. In her article she talks about all the resources L.A.R.A has to offer, especially the English class she teaches for people wanting to start learning English. I tried my best to write something that looked like an editorial that supported the resource center and incorporated my own ideas about more Purdue students for other majors using their skills to volunteer there. So hopefully it turned out ok. I really wish they had a word counter on here so I'd know right when I hit 300 and then I wouldn't have to keep writing mindless nonsense.
Anyway, so I really do think that more students from different majors should come to help volunteer at L.A.R.A. I mentioned in my paper that they don't just help with people who want to learn English. They also have classes for people who want to pass the test to get there G.R.E. L.A.R.A needs math majors to come help people who want better themselves in that way. Aside from English classes they also have classes for people trying to improve their reading and writing comprehension skills and so they need English or literature majors to help people become better writers for themselves and to get to a higher level on their job.
So I think that's about 300, if not it should be right now, I just gonna add a few more words here to ensure I hit 300. I think that's it yep. I think I got it now. :)
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Thursdays at LARA
I am currently doing the rest of my volunteering service at LARA (Lafayette Adult Resource Center). It's a total of 20 hrs. of service. While there I work with native Spanish speakers who are trying to learn English. While working with them I also get to practice and improve my Spanish speaking skills.
The student I work with regularly is an woman in her mid to late- 40s from Guatemala. I wouldn't say she can speak broken English. It's more like Spanish with a few English words sprinkled on top. I don't mind that fact that she can barely speak English. I prefer it in fact because it forces me to use Spanish to explain things for her which then increase my vocabulary.
The instructor of the class is an extremely patient woman with a true talent for teaching. I only come to the classroom one day out of the week but each time I see how difficult it is to explain an aspect of English grammar using another language. You have to think on two different levels. On one level you have to understand why something is the way it is in English. It might sound easy to do because you speak English, but you just can't tell your student, "you say it this way because it sounds better". You have to explain the specific rule behind why something is said the why it's said.
On the second level you have to think of a simple way to explain the rule for English grammar but while using correct Spanish grammar so that your student can understand you. If you explanation isn't correct your student will be even more confused than they were before they asked you the question.
It's a serious challenge, but I will gladly take it.
The student I work with regularly is an woman in her mid to late- 40s from Guatemala. I wouldn't say she can speak broken English. It's more like Spanish with a few English words sprinkled on top. I don't mind that fact that she can barely speak English. I prefer it in fact because it forces me to use Spanish to explain things for her which then increase my vocabulary.
The instructor of the class is an extremely patient woman with a true talent for teaching. I only come to the classroom one day out of the week but each time I see how difficult it is to explain an aspect of English grammar using another language. You have to think on two different levels. On one level you have to understand why something is the way it is in English. It might sound easy to do because you speak English, but you just can't tell your student, "you say it this way because it sounds better". You have to explain the specific rule behind why something is said the why it's said.
On the second level you have to think of a simple way to explain the rule for English grammar but while using correct Spanish grammar so that your student can understand you. If you explanation isn't correct your student will be even more confused than they were before they asked you the question.
It's a serious challenge, but I will gladly take it.
Monday, October 10, 2011
My First Blog
So I'm finally posting my first blog. I really don't see the point of blogging for this class. It really just seems like a waste of time. I really don't expect anyone to comment or post on my blogs because my the extent of my writing will just be mindless boggle for the sake of getting points.
Now that I've gotten that off my chest I'll get into some mindless boggle about my service experience. For the first seventeen hours I volunteered at a no kill dog shelter. I really loved working with the dogs and they seemed eager to get out and stretch their legs after being in cages all day. The people who work there however didn't seem so happy to have me as a volunteer. I didn't take it personally, it just seemed like they were friendly people. There was an old man who looked he ran on nothing but cigarettes and monster energy drink. Judging by the heavy bags under his eyes and deep wrinkles in his face I could tell he had a hard life.
There was also a woman who is always there. I wouldn't say she 's old but maybe the lifestyle she had cause her teeth to fall out and her eyes to sink in.
When I first arrived to the shelter i was excited to be there, but my excitement soon turned to desperation, desperation for air as I stood inside the shelter inhaling clouds full of smoke from the cigarettes of the old man and lady. I stepped outside pretending that I was talking with someone on my phone while I was really sucking in fresh air. I soon realized that it would be a difficult feet to show up everyday in order to work with the dogs everyday while putting my lung health in jeopardy.
Now that I've gotten that off my chest I'll get into some mindless boggle about my service experience. For the first seventeen hours I volunteered at a no kill dog shelter. I really loved working with the dogs and they seemed eager to get out and stretch their legs after being in cages all day. The people who work there however didn't seem so happy to have me as a volunteer. I didn't take it personally, it just seemed like they were friendly people. There was an old man who looked he ran on nothing but cigarettes and monster energy drink. Judging by the heavy bags under his eyes and deep wrinkles in his face I could tell he had a hard life.
There was also a woman who is always there. I wouldn't say she 's old but maybe the lifestyle she had cause her teeth to fall out and her eyes to sink in.
When I first arrived to the shelter i was excited to be there, but my excitement soon turned to desperation, desperation for air as I stood inside the shelter inhaling clouds full of smoke from the cigarettes of the old man and lady. I stepped outside pretending that I was talking with someone on my phone while I was really sucking in fresh air. I soon realized that it would be a difficult feet to show up everyday in order to work with the dogs everyday while putting my lung health in jeopardy.
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