I have worked with many Latino families and children when I first started teaching. It was very difficult in that some knew some English but others did not know any. There were many challenges along the way. Thankfully, I had an assistant teacher who was from the Dominican Republic and she spoke Spanish.
Three strategies I used then and now to communicate with families from different cultures:
1. Model to children by showing them what I would like them to do while telling them in English.
2. Speak to them in their language (what I know) as well as English.
3. Translate letters into their language.
4. Have a translator come to meetings with the family or have a family member to translate.
Hi Crystal,
ReplyDeleteI agree with saying I do the same thing with my Latino family . I found it make them feel welcome in the classroom. It also open the line of communicate with families . Thank you for sharing .
Crystal,
ReplyDeleteI am sure it was a challenge working with children who could not speech English. What was the most challenging part of this experience for you? In our field, we will face many challenges dealing with language and culture; we must remember the importance of breaking this cultural barrier to ensure that all children are being served well. I had a child in my previous classroom who spoke English and Serbian; most of the time I had to remind her that I was not able to understand her words. She would smile and then translate the words in English. It can be a fun experience learning a different language from your own; in early childhood, children often teach us a lot.
Lah-Lah
Crystal,
ReplyDeleteI think that these are all excellent methods of communicating with children and families that have varying levels of understanding of each other's languages. Do you notice that different families prefer to have materials translated in writing while other families prefer an interpreter? What other strategies did you find especially helpful?