Small differences.... Handwriting

14 May 2012

Even though I don't typically work on Mondays, I went to school today to prepare my students for their skype session with the US tomorrow and to give them their pen pal letters from their American friends. This led to an interesting discussion about things that they've noticed about their letters.

Some of their observations are the things you would expect (like "have got" versus "have" and "football" versus "soccer"). However, there were also little differences that you take for granted as being the same everywhere--such as handwriting.

First, a number of students were a little annoyed that their American friends had spelled their names wrong--though I assured them there were an equal number of letters I sent to the US with American students' names spelled wrong. I asked them if they had any difficulty reading their pen pal letters or if they noticed any differences in how letters were written. One student noted that a lot of the American students write in print--while the Spanish students write in cursive.

A number of students said that they thought that some of the letters were written differently, but they had trouble pinpointing which ones. I told them that when I read their work I often have trouble with the letters: r, s, k, h, and the vowels. It's the reason why I sometimes have to ask them to tell me how they've spelled something because I can't decide which one it is.

One student was particularly put out about how his name was spelled in his letter. I told him that he should tell his friend that he misinterpreted his name and that he should write his name VERY clearly in his response to his friend. A little while later, he turned in his reply to me. I start reading the letter and immediately notice he's butchered his American pen pal's name. I asked him if he did it on purpose (you never know!), but he told me that was how his friend wrote his name in his letter. In looking at the original letter, I could see how the Spanish student could misinterpret his American friend's name, and I helped the student to see how it was actually written. It seemed to drive home the idea that just as he couldn't read his American friend's name his American friend might have trouble with his name.

Eventually, I got the chance to sit down and read the rest of the letter. Unfortunately, my Spanish student didn't write his name any clearer this time and I could see exactly why the American student interpreted his name wrong.