Once again, I met up with two of the preschool teachers for an intercambio (language exchange). This week, we went to eat at a tapas restaurant near the school.
We ate croquetas (not as good as mine!), a paté that also had cooked apples, and ensalada rusa (potato salad).
For dessert, we had a vulcán de chocolate which was sort of a chocolate brownie filled with hot chocolate with a side of ice cream. YUM!
This week, we talked a lot about language, and the way that it is taught in schools in the United States and in Spain. I had to admit to the teachers that language education in the United States is not nearly as big as in Spain.
Typically, students in the United States start learning a language in high school--though some start in middle school. However, it is a rare school that offers a language in elementary school.
I went to college in a community that had Spanish/English immersion programs in each of the schools in the district. Nevertheless, I wouldn't say that this is typical in the United States--mostly because people see other languages as a threat to "American" culture and the English language. I think there is also a deeply ingrained idea--harkening back to periods of high immigration--that people need to change to conform to the idea of what it means to be American rather than the other way around.
My teachers were shocked to find this out--as have many of the Spaniards I've talked to about the subject. They see the United States--as the beckon of democracy--as a place where people would be more open-minded than that.
The opposite attitude is taken here in Spain. In the Community of Valencia, students start Spanish, Valencian, and English in primary school--with the expectation that they should be fairly fluent by the time that they graduate. This is true across Spain. In Communities where another regional language is present (such as Galicia and Catalunya), the regional language is taught alongside Spanish.
In addition to this conversation, I learned a few of the following phrases:
Que no nos dejes tiradas--don't bail on us.
Es un rollo--It's a disaster or mess.
Picture of the Day:
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| Castillo de Santa Bárbara |
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