How do you...?

Whenever people hear that I teach English as a second language, they assume I speak Spanish. Recently, I coordinated a Spanish class for English speaking employees of a major Las Vegas hotel. The training department called me not once, but twice, confused as to what would be taught.

"So is the class for Spanish speakers or people who want to learn Spanish?"
"It's a Spanish class for people who want to learn Spanish."

Likewise, many supervisors and managers refer to my ESL classes as "Spanish classes." Nevermind that there is usually one student who doesn't speak Spanish. In Vegas's job rich environment, there are plenty of refugees from Eritrea, Somalia, Bosnia, and China. There's always a random Bulgarian or Armenian.

People look at me in awe when I say I don't need to speak the students' langauge in order to teach them. In fact, I'd made a strict policy of never speaking anything other than English in class.

Until recently.

Maybe other ESL teachers have noted how their methods and styles of teaching change depending on the cultural group they're teaching. The way I taught Japanese students is radically different than the way I teach Spanish speakers. I couldn't get the Japanese to "dance" out a word or laugh hysterically. Spanish speakers do not demonstrate the same discipline or independence when completing activities.

Moreover, many of my spanish speaking students never completed more than 6 years of schooling, whereas my Japanese students were college bound. Japanese students picked up easily on patterns and structures when presented in English, whereas many of my middle aged housekeepers remain confused for weeks on end, relying on one sharp student to translate if I use the same methods.

So lately, I've taken to "Spanglish" when describing larger concepts like "Do you" and "Did you." It hasn't been enough to simply present the pattern and practice the pattern in context (by which I mean the lesson will revolve around how to answer guest questions, but students will ask me "What is 'Do'?")They focus on the fact they didn't understand "Do" which leads a compelte lack of confidence.

"Teasher, No entiendo nada!"
(Teacher, I don't understand anything!)But they undestand everything (!), except for the word "Do." It's not a matter of language or English, it's a matter of the student feeling as though she's made progress or is receiving comprehensible input. She focuses on the 5% she doesn't get, and ignores the 95% which is completely clear.

And then I've lost them to a sea of "No puedo, No puedo, No puedo." (I can't)

But with the Spanglish, they're getting it more. You can feel the braincells buzzing, as they nod, and you can hear them in pair work discussing the situation and not last night's soap opera...even if the discussion is in Spanish.

One small step for Maria, one giant leap for Maria-kind?