No Hablo Espanol...

Our love for, and interest in, horses has allowed us to cross paths with people from different backgrounds, races, and cultures. As a result, we have had the privilege of becoming friends with families from Zacatecus, Mexico. I was honored at the way they introduced us to their culture, and welcomed us as if we were part of the family. We even hosted a coleaderos, or rodeo, at our ranch. The more we got to know the families, the more I understood the difficulties they faced daily regarding the language barrier. Most of the women in their culture did not speak any English, so Spanish was almost always the language used at home. Also, even the men and children who spoke very good English often did not read or write, not only in English, but also in Spanish.

As a result, when I began working in a middle school who had a Hispanic population of 45%, I was not surprised at how difficult it was for these children to speak English, and then have to learn new material in English as well. My husband and I have been in the situation where we cannot understand the dominant language in a group of people, and it is a very helpless feeling. As a result, I feel that experience has made me more empathetic to the English language learners in my classroom.