I haven't finished it - and I'm not going to - but so far all the interviews involve Latino players saying things about their culture that would be called racist if outsiders, black or white, said it about them.
I did not like the way the article forced the reader to click on a picture to get written content. That being said, the first one I clicked on was Speaking English. That reminds me of an article I had read about Manny Ramirez when he was an up-and-coming star for the Cleveland Indians.
The article, written circa 1995, informed its readers that Manny Ramirez was taking English lessons. Good for Manny, I thought- until I found out WHEN he came to the US. Manny came to the US when he was 13, and by the time of the article, had been in the US for ten years. Yet after TEN YEARS in the US he still needed English lessons. Why didn't he learn English when he was 13-14 years old? That would be the best time to learn.
My brother-in-law came to the US from Germany when he was 12 years old. He arrived in June, and after an intensive three months of learning English, he entered 7th grade in September, with the same classes as those born in the US. He learned English in the Cincinnati area, but courtesy of a half century in the Boston area, his speech has picked up some of the Eastern Massachusetts accent.No German left in his accent. Compare that to Manny.
The responsibility for Manny Ramirez's not learning English when he came to the US lies with the NYC educational system. The "bilingual" system instead kept him trapped in a Spanish language ghetto. It should be called monolingual instead.
If done correctly,as in many parts of Texas, bilingual education transfers students to all-English classes within a year or two. Bilingual education should not be a monolingual Spanish language ghetto.
Thirteen is the general breakpoint for whether one has an accent or not. Henry Kissinger has a younger brother with no accent, for example. My two Romanians came at 16 and 14 and have accents. The younger's experience mirrors your BIL. He came May 25, knowing some English, and entered regular 7th grade at Concord Christian School in the fall. (Both boys did not start school in Romania until they were 8 because they were sent out to be shepherds and goatherds so that their father could have palinca and cigars.) We were not impressed with what the local school was offering.
I had not thought of that angle, that if you don't get them into English-speaking before age 13, they will have accents forever, which will harm their chances in some circles.
2 comments:
I did not like the way the article forced the reader to click on a picture to get written content. That being said, the first one I clicked on was Speaking English. That reminds me of an article I had read about Manny Ramirez when he was an up-and-coming star for the Cleveland Indians.
The article, written circa 1995, informed its readers that Manny Ramirez was taking English lessons. Good for Manny, I thought- until I found out WHEN he came to the US. Manny came to the US when he was 13, and by the time of the article, had been in the US for ten years. Yet after TEN YEARS in the US he still needed English lessons. Why didn't he learn English when he was 13-14 years old? That would be the best time to learn.
My brother-in-law came to the US from Germany when he was 12 years old. He arrived in June, and after an intensive three months of learning English, he entered 7th grade in September, with the same classes as those born in the US. He learned English in the Cincinnati area, but courtesy of a half century in the Boston area, his speech has picked up some of the Eastern Massachusetts accent.No German left in his accent. Compare that to Manny.
The responsibility for Manny Ramirez's not learning English when he came to the US lies with the NYC educational system. The "bilingual" system instead kept him trapped in a Spanish language ghetto. It should be called monolingual instead.
If done correctly,as in many parts of Texas, bilingual education transfers students to all-English classes within a year or two. Bilingual education should not be a monolingual Spanish language ghetto.
Thirteen is the general breakpoint for whether one has an accent or not. Henry Kissinger has a younger brother with no accent, for example. My two Romanians came at 16 and 14 and have accents. The younger's experience mirrors your BIL. He came May 25, knowing some English, and entered regular 7th grade at Concord Christian School in the fall. (Both boys did not start school in Romania until they were 8 because they were sent out to be shepherds and goatherds so that their father could have palinca and cigars.) We were not impressed with what the local school was offering.
I had not thought of that angle, that if you don't get them into English-speaking before age 13, they will have accents forever, which will harm their chances in some circles.
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