Speaking Spanish in Los Angeles

 

Renan Almendarez Coello hosts a Spanish language radio show

Overview: How has the Latin population changed the look and sound of Los Angeles? Discuss how some individuals live and work in the Hispanic community. Use this article and questions to have students discuss origins of words in the English language and have students speculate about Spanish words and phrases that may one day be part of everyday English.

Curriculum Connections: Communications, Language Arts, Sociology

After students read the CNNfyi.com story, "Will Spanish become America's second language?," ask the following questions:

1. Where is the largest Hispanic concentration in the U.S.? Approximately how many Latinos live in Los Angeles? How has the Latin population changed the look and sound of the city?

2. Who is Renan Almendarez Coello? What is his nickname? What is his native country? For how long has he been on the air in the U.S.? How does the size of his audience compare to that of L.A.'s top English language station? Why is Almendarez's audience so much larger? Why does Almendarez think Americans should "get used" to the sound of Spanish?

3. What is U.S. English? Who heads this organization? Why does he believe that English should be mandated as the official language of the U.S. by law? How does language divide L.A.? Does language divide your community, or give it a sense of identity? Do you agree or disagree with the aim of U.S. English? Explain.

4. Where does Olivia Marroquin Galeno live? What kind of business does she operate? Does she speak English? Has she ever tried to learn English? What prevented her from learning English? What is an enclave? According to experts, are immigrants who live in linguistic enclaves likely to assimilate into American culture? Explain. What is different about today's Spanish-speaking enclaves? Why?

5. What kinds of Spanish-speaking businesses are thriving in Los Angeles? Are all the Spanish-speaking businesses thriving? Explain. Why are so many Spanish-speaking immigrants interested in learning English? When do they typically resort to speaking Spanish? According to Gregory Rodriguez of the New America Foundation, what is the "myth" about immigrants and American culture? Do you agree or disagree with him? Explain.

6. The English language relies on words from many other languages to express thoughts and actions. Challenge your students to identify as many commonly-used English words and expressions as they can that English "borrows" from other languages. Some examples to consider are: coup, ballet, foyer, and inferno. Direct students to research the origins of these words and the languages that have "loaned" them to English. Have each student present his/her list to the class. Point out that Gregory Rodriguez speaks of the influence of Spanish on the English language in the U.S. In class discussion, have students speculate about Spanish words and phrases that may one day be part of everyday English.

Have students watch the video, "CNN's Joel Hochmuth talks with police officers about the importance of Spanish in St. Louis," and ask the following questions:

1. What are public service workers in St. Louis, Missouri, doing to accommodate the city's growing number of Spanish-speaking citizens? Why is it important that the city's police officers learn to speak Spanish?

2. Do you speak Spanish as a second language? If so, how difficult was it to learn Spanish? What problems did you encounter? What are the benefits of being bilingual? Discuss.

3. Help students brainstorm a list of public service jobs. Examples of these positions include social workers, postal workers and EMT paramedics. Next, group students and assign each group one of the jobs from the list. Have each group research the responsibilities of the position and develop a series of questions a person in the position might pose to a client, such as: What is your name? Where do you live? What do you need? How can I help? Instruct students to also write down a possible answer for each question. Then, challenge each group to find out how to say these questions and answers in Spanish. Are there differences between slang and textbook Spanish? What are some of the different idioms that are used?

4. After students share their information, invite a Spanish-speaking public service worker to speak to your class about the problems a non-Spanish-speaking public service employee might encounter if he/she had to speak Spanish. Following the discussion, ask: Do you think all public service workers in the U.S. should have to be able to speak Spanish? Discuss.