Serving in the Peace Corps

I had the good fortune of serving in the Peace Corps in El Salvador.  That's where I was first introduced to Spanish.  I quickly learned conversational Spanish as I would have had NO ONE to speak with in English in my village of Victoria, Cabañas, El Salvador.  It was a great time of my life as I was young , energetic and ready to make a difference.  Little did I know!!!  I quickly learned that I knew NOTHING in my new environment.  You see, I was part of a group that work in Agriculture Extension.  We all had some background in 4-H or FFA or lived in a rural area, etc.  We were suppose to know something about homemaking and agriculture.  I had worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken so when the women asked me to show them how to make "American chicken" I remember thinking that I could do that.  The end result disastrous!!!  I had never cleaned and dressed a chicken.  In the states, they are delivered all ready to go.  I was not skilled at controlling the temperature of an open pit fire, nor did I know anything about frying in a clay round pot!!!  Finally I admitted that the women should take over and add tomatoes and whatever else to salvage the chicken, a prized commodity. 

My initiation into the Salvadoran culture helped me  to listen and learn from others.  The Salvadoran people changed my life and they continue to teach me about life.  I am grateful for my Salvadoran community.   

I was successful at teaching the children to do some sewing and public speaking through demonstrations.  But even sewing was a challenge.  I was an accomplished seamstress having made my clothes throughout high school BUT I sewed on an electric sewing machine and I used a pattern to cut out the fabric.  In El Salvador the seamstresses sew without a pattern and they can make any dress you ask them to make from a picture!!  I was able to buy patterns in the capital and borrow a treadle machine to make my own clothing but I was only able to help the children make a skirt by hand. 

So you might ask, did she do anything constructive in the Peace Corps?  I do consider myself a successful Peace Corps Volunteer.  According the  Peace Corps website are:  1)  Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women, 2)Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served, and 3)Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. 

I can proudly say that I accomplished all of the mission to some degree.  As a result of my understanding that culture and customs are different from country to country and sometimes from region to region, I see that teaching culture along with teaching language is an important component to world understanding.  I created BiLingo Kidz, a Spanish software program for ages 7-14, that has culture embedded into the mini stories of children from Latin America.  This software program is unique.  According to HISPANIA, a Journal of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Sept. 2008, "all narrators are native speakers from the featured countries.  BiLingo Kidz is a fun way to learn not only Spanish, but also Latin American culture in general.  The stories, photos and films, self-pacing features, and recycling exercises make this language learning software a pleasure and will please, instruct, and challenge kids of all ages."

 

Spanish and Golf: What they have in common

At first glance Spanish and golf don't seem to have anything in common but indeed they do, they are both skill based.  That means that only through constant repetition does one acquire the language or the sport.  All languages and sports are skill based but I believe that golf is the best analogy to learning a second language. 

Golf like language learning is an individual endeavor yet it is very social.  Initially there seems to be too much to remember; what club to use, how to hold the golf club, the stance, swing, head position, etc.  In language acquisition the new Spanish vocabulary seems overwhelming, the sentence structure is different than English, and just having the nerve to try to speak is unique to language. 

Many of us just learned to speak English without learning or remembering the parts of speech.  Most of us can remember nouns and verbs but who remembers the difference between an adjective and an adverb, or a direct or indirect object? The good new is;  It does not matter much if we know the parts of speech to begin to learn Spanish.  The fluency and pronunciation is key to beginning. 

Once the initial feelings of being overwhelmed pass, one starts to have fun learning.  While playing golf, some drives actually go down the center of the fairway and similarly one begins saying some simple learned phrases in Spanish.  The more one plays golf and repeats the movements, the more consistent one becomes.  Additionally the game becomes more and more fun.  One seeks out friends and tee times to play.  Equally, when one begins practicing their newly acquired Spanish they become more and more excited about learning more.  Once a student begins using their newly acquired Spanish, the more they want to practice and learn.  Speaking  Spanish is very social like playing golf and it is up to an individual to increase their skill level.  One will seek opportunities to listen to, speak, and read Spanish.

BiLingo Kidz teaches Spanish in complete sentences using 5 different native speakers to tone our listening skills.  And since most of us are visual learners, a student can read along in Spanish while listening.  A license agreement for a CD-ROM is for the whole family.  Each family member can track their individual progress.  BiLingo Kidz is a perfect gap program between songs and simple vocabulary and adult programs that are grammar and workbook based.  Check us out.  You will be glad you did!!