English is taught from about Grade four up, but most of the teachers teaching it don't know the language.
- Thread starter Dolores
- Start date
Ministry of Education launches English as a second language program in public schools
Unless of course the person may be moving or spending time in a French speaking country. My Canadian friend now lives in Canada with her daughter. She still speaks 3 languages. Kudos to her.
This is more of a marketing ploy than an intent to create positive change.
Fulcar is (apparently) trained in the field of education, and he should know that earlier is better in regards to language acquisition.
This has already been explained on this thread. Most research shows that children learn new languages best at age 3-4.
A general consensus is that if a new language is not learned before the age of 10, the speaker will always struggle with aspects such as grammar and accent.
This does not mean that a teenager or adult cannot learn a new language. It is just more difficult for most individuals the later in life a new language is presented.
The Best Age for Kids to Learn a Second Language
The more research done in this subject, the more “younger is better” is learned. But it’s common knowledge .
I suppose it has to start somewhere, but many Dominican children start some form of school at age 3. Imagine if the announcement targeted that age group, Kindergarten, or the first grade.
Fulcar is (apparently) trained in the field of education, and he should know that earlier is better in regards to language acquisition.
This has already been explained on this thread. Most research shows that children learn new languages best at age 3-4.
A general consensus is that if a new language is not learned before the age of 10, the speaker will always struggle with aspects such as grammar and accent.
This does not mean that a teenager or adult cannot learn a new language. It is just more difficult for most individuals the later in life a new language is presented.
The Best Age for Kids to Learn a Second Language
The more research done in this subject, the more “younger is better” is learned. But it’s common knowledge .
I suppose it has to start somewhere, but many Dominican children start some form of school at age 3. Imagine if the announcement targeted that age group, Kindergarten, or the first grade.
To be fair, nobody becomes bilingual by studying a 2nd language a couple of hours per week at school, be it at the age of 6, 12 or 21.
So I suppose its a start, and cant do any harm.
P.S. a bilingual person dreams in both languages, is what i was told.
Like, i am (really) bilingual french/english. And even though i now speak good--- well i like to think 🤗-- Spanish ( as in, now on the phone i sometimes have to get them to calm down, as they dont realize they are not speaking to a native spanish speaker ), i do not consider myself trilingual.
P.P.S lots of Dominicans i meet ARE bilingual: they cant read or write in spanish nor in another language 🤣🤣🤣🤣
So I suppose its a start, and cant do any harm.
P.S. a bilingual person dreams in both languages, is what i was told.
Like, i am (really) bilingual french/english. And even though i now speak good--- well i like to think 🤗-- Spanish ( as in, now on the phone i sometimes have to get them to calm down, as they dont realize they are not speaking to a native spanish speaker ), i do not consider myself trilingual.
P.P.S lots of Dominicans i meet ARE bilingual: they cant read or write in spanish nor in another language 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I sometimes dream in Spanish, but in my dreams I’m totally fluent and the words flow quickly and smoothly.
In reality, not so much. 🤣 I speak quickly and everyone understands me, but my verb conjugations give me away. I’m hopeless with past and future tenses. (But I’m told I don’t have an accent???)
I really admire people like you who can truly accomplish a second language.
All the credit lies with my mother, I attended kindergarten in France, but only mornings. Afternoons were intensive English at home.
I think school/classes can give someone a solid base in a language, but then it is up to them to build on that---- and imho, reading is the way to go.
I have given up on spanish 😕, my bases were wrong to start with, ie campesino spanish. I will never be able to switch from "street talk" to formal speech, like i can in french and English.
However, anything that can give dominican kids more tools in their kit is a win in my eyes.
Will all Dominican school kids read/write English in the near future ? certainly not
But to give them the possibility to be interested in speaking another language, is a step in the right direction.
What dominican education really needs is to get kids to WANT to read. It all boils down to that. This has to be the country with the lowest count of bookstores and newspapers per person that i have stepped foot in. 😖😖😖
My husband says I don’t have much accent and that I sound Mexican.
I also struggle with conjugations and any tense but the present. I just got the Michel Thomas Advanced Spanish and I’m hoping it helps.
We mostly speak to our children in English by default. I am a native English speaker, their father Dominican. We have made an effort to include Spanish often. We have a lot of Spanish children’s books, my husband uses it but reverts to English often. I had felt like we hadn’t included enough Spanish and they weren’t learning it. They have understood it but never made a strong effort to speak it.
Last trip that was a duration of 2 weeks, they came back speaking basic Spanish. I think it because the majority of children they played with daily spoke only Spanish, and most of the adults (by choice) only spoke to them in Spanish as well.
Immersion helped me the most. But when that’s not an option, start young.
We have our kids in a French immersion school and I worry they will struggle with English and Spanish. Most of the reading I’ve done on language education is that they won’t struggle, but I still worry.
My Dominican sister in law is an early years teacher. About 5 years ago, I asked her where I could find Spanish children’s books. She told me there was a store near Parque Enriquillo, in SD, an hour away. There was nothing local. That has not changed.
She said local access to books is limited to textbooks for school, and she orders hers from Amazon.
I have no idea if I dream in Spanish because I seldom remember my dreams.
I do know, however, that I woke from anesthesia after an out-patient surgery in the US speaking Spanish. My poor doctors looked at me and said, "We can't understand you." I find myself sometimes struggling for a word in English, too.
I studied Spanish (and Latin) from freshman year in high school. Never used it after high school, but when I arrived in the DR in 2001 I discovered that the basics of grammar, speech and pronunciation were still firmly embedded in my brain. It made achieving a sort of fluency a little easier.
While dreaming in an acquired language may be a sign of being bilingual, understanding puns and word play has to be the ultimate achievement in language acquisition. That's when you know you've arrived.
"Knock! Knock!"
Who's there?
"To"
To who?
"No. To whom."
"Knock! Knock!"
Who's there?
"To"
To who?
"No. To whom."
I had an English friend who was married to a Belgian....they spoke French - she had no English
We skied together in France..... the bartender was Jean-Loup
I said to my Friend....
Let's go and have WolfMan get us a drink....
He didn't get it.... The French was so ingrained in him that he missed my little joke
So - I disagree with Lucifer.....
We skied together in France..... the bartender was Jean-Loup
I said to my Friend....
Let's go and have WolfMan get us a drink....
He didn't get it.... The French was so ingrained in him that he missed my little joke
So - I disagree with Lucifer.....
Totally agree. When I started correcting Haitians on Kreyol spelling errors I knew I had arrived.
Although not an authority on Middle English or all things Chaucer, and possessing no clue to understanding meter with Ovid, or the Bard for that matter, I always recommend reading material written above one's own level. And, of course, I try to emphasize to friends and family the importance of making a conscious effort to put into use the newly acquired words and phrases until they flow naturally and effortlessly.
I am the same. I sometimes dream in Spanish. When not sleeping my Spanish grammar is not so good. People in the DR have told me I speak Spanish with a Boston Accent. For example I always said Santa Domingo. I knew it was Santo Domingo. Santa is the way a Bostonian would pronounce it. It really irritated one friend a lot. LOL After a while they also told me I spoke English with a Spanish accent.
Perphaps they should first focus on teaching these children to speak proper Spanish?
its all the person learning i know many dominican speak perfect english after they went to school then i know more that went to school to learn and cant speak 3 months after they spent 2 years learning if you want to learn you will if not oh well
Judging by the way many communicators and commentators express themselves daily on TV talk shows and radio broadcast, I'd say that teachers, too, are lacking in the proper use of the language of Cervantes. Some of these communicators are college professors, and/or profess to having multiple advanced degrees and beaucoup "diplomados".
<<La corrución es endémica en e'te paí>>.
<<Aquí en e'te paí hay mucho corructo>>.
<<Lo' corruto se roban del erario público>>.
CorruPción, señor, CO-RRUP-CIÓN. No "currución".
CorruPto, profesor, CO-RRUP-TO. No 'corructo', ni tampoco 'corruto'. Pluralícenlo, por lo menos.
En eSte paíS, sí, sí: en ES-TE PA-ÍS y en toda América Latina, España y Guinea Ecuatorial, el erario es eso: público
The 'erario púbico' utterance is akin to 'VIN number' and 'PEC code'. But the vast majority of politicians, talk show hosts, radio personalities, or virtually anyone in front of a microphone, fail to see the redundancy.
I've met many teachers, and even have close family members exercising the craft, but I bet few, if any, could utter a whole 10-word sentence error-free.
A fact of Dominican life: once the basics are out of the way, kids have to motivate themselves beyond the assigned homework and test scores.
If these chilren were properly educated it would be a lot more difficult for those who run the show hence the way things will remain. This country is not as poor as the average Dominican has been lead to believe it is.
Interesting. I have a Haitian friend and she believes that's the reason they keep French as the official language of Haiti for banking and govt.
I would love for them to educate their children and prove me wrong. I hope I live long enough to see it happen.