wanna help me out? I am taking ESOL classes to better understand my students I have some ?

[greenbriar]

Where were you born?


Were you educated at any time outside the USA?



How many languages do you speak?


What is your L1 (primary language)


Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?


What education level did your parents have?


Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Sure

Where were you born?

Mexico City


Were you educated at any time outside the USA?

All the way to first semester of College

How many languages do you speak?

Spanish, Hebrew, English, American, and some Jewish. Yes, there are enough differences between Queen's English and American English due to regionalisms, localisms, spelling and all that. I mean write in British English, you will use far more complex sentences, and all those extra "u". Oh and that period is not a mistake, at least not in Queen's English.


What is your L1 (primary language)

Spanish


Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?

Speak equally well in Spanish and English, sadly, I write better in English. One of these days I should try my hand back in Spanish.


What education level did your parents have?

Dad, primary, his schooling and childhood was interrupted by WW II back in the old country (Poland). Mom College Degree in Mexico. She was born and raised in Mexico City.


Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?

Yes, but not what you'd think. I have a pretty Eastern sounding accent... that Queen's English. So people assume I am from somewhere in Eastern Europe. I speak Spanish and it is the... no, you could not be FROM MEXICO... I am very white. Do you need more, PM me.

[greenbriar]

2. Thank you. This is AWESOME

I won't use your name in my research


If I need more can I PM you later?

thanks

[greenbriar]

3. any more?

truly this will be totally anonymous

[Bandit]

25. Couldn't you say the same about Spanish and Mexican

They are pretty much as different from each other as English is to American..

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. Depends, hi brow, that is very well educated

Mexicans in MEXICO CITY actually still speak Castillian. It is a point the very well to do make. Granted not with the correct accent, but the Spanish the high brow learn is very close to the mother tongue. And The Academy of Languages in Spain actually puts a dictionary that is the official dictionary and grammar guide for the language. This is something the UK has never done. Granted, there are enough differences, but still less than between oh Boston and London.

Now street Spanish is a whole different matter. And do not get me started with Border Spanish.

True story, I go on my first call in TJ as a young EMT... my patient is a tad intoxicated... in a bar on Revolucion... he was speaking "Spanish" I was speaking "Spanish," I am sure we were not speaking the same language. There were so-many localisms used that it took me a month to learn the local lingo. It is as different from even Mexico City street Spanish to qualify as a dialect.

Another true story, I was doing an observation at a local hospital in San Diego. Medics brought in a patient who spoke that street Spanish. The local intern is trying to do a patient history with the Spanish he learned back in New York City, at City College, without too much success. I come along and start asking the patient the same questions in street lingo... the poor intern used me the rest of the night for ahem translating... street Spanish to English.

So I guess you could add to my list of languages street Spanish, Mexico City and Tijuana variants

:-)

[pkdu]

4. Sure..

Where were you born?
Northern Ireland

Were you educated at any time outside the USA?
Yes - Ireland , Scotland


How many languages do you speak?
Two - Queens English and Gibberish

What is your L1 (primary language)
Queens English

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?
No - unless you count Gibberish

What education level did your parents have?
Grade School equivalent in UK

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?
Yes - all kinds!

[greenbriar]

5. can you expound on the assumptions

thanks

[Tangerine LaBamba]

33. What assumptions?

I answered the questions asked.

They were very simple questions with simple answers.

What other information do you want?

:shrug:

How's that Ignore thing working, hmmm?

[greenbriar]

39. Um the post was not addressed to you can you not read

and I decided not to ignore but instead to watch how stupid you can get

you have not disappointed me :)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

46. I decided to respond to you,

the way you do to me - by responding to another's post.

It's very simple. Even you can follow it. See how that works?

Interesting that you were unable to Ignore me. Needy and wanting people, the kind who are desperate for attention, will feast on anything, positive or negative.

Just another story you told that wasn't true, that bleating about Ignore.

Those questions, by the way, were so badly framed as to be laughable. Whoever came up with them had absolutely no idea how to do a survey. It would have earning a failing grade in any basic class.

Now, about that "story" you mentioned. The one you said was a mistake.

What on earth was that about?

Did it have something to do with this imaginary ESL class? Or was it about someone leaving an alcoholic husband? Maybe that second job at McDonald's?

People have such long memories, especially when they're put off by the storyteller.

But, for now, another angel got her wings because you're calling me names again.

You can't seem to help yourself, and that's unfortunate. If you were a teacher - I mean, in real life, not just in your head - you'd have some serious troubles keeping your composure - that "impulse control' thing that seems to be a hallmark of some many unfortunate pathologies.

The angel thanks you.....................................

[greenbriar]

47. seriously dude you need help

http://www.wellness.com/find/Psychiatrist

[Tangerine LaBamba]

48. Uh-huh -

Now, about that "story".

Do tell.

Your mention of it suggested guilt and shame, two terrible burdens to have to carry, along with a daughter who left you and an alcoholic husband who prefers to drink with your unwelcome lodger rather than be alone with his wife. That's a terrible picture of a terrible life, even if it's not true. Which, given the guilt and shame and aversion to truthiness, is still a sad portrait.

If you'd like to unburden yourself of that grievous weight, feel free to do it here.

After all, here is where it happened.

So why not close the circle, cleanse your soul, make a new beginning, find some peace.

I'm here to help you - dude......................................................

[greenbriar]

6. and this thread is neg repped why?

Oh it is probably my DU stalker :)

[uppityperson]

7. neutral now. Are you looking for only esl people to answer?

[greenbriar]

8. No I need a cross section of people

anyone is free to answer

[uppityperson]

10. OK, am pming you. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. You got those too?

[greenbriar]

11. oh yea

and is really making an ass of him/her self on my thread about my student

I posted an honest discussion we had in class the other day a comment that one of my students made that really made me stop and think

and this person has called me a liar, accused me of "lifting" it from god knows where


and all kinds of other things


said poster has appeared regularly in many of my threads to neg comment and also points out any grammar issues too

[uppityperson]

12. did you know you are missing several periods there?

sorry, had to do it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Grammar Police

Naughty.

[uppityperson]

14. I'm missing several brain cells here

[greenbriar]

15. thats okay I really don't mind

except in this one instance :)

[cliffordu]

29. Sigh. I don't have one, regrettably.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

16. Sure....................

Where were you born?
United States.


Were you educated at any time outside the USA?
Yes.



How many languages do you speak?
Three.


What is your L1 (primary language)
English.


Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?
No.


What education level did your parents have?
High school graduates.


Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?
I don't know.

[OswegoAtheist]

17. My answers:

Where were you born?
Toronto, Canada

Were you educated at any time outside the USA?
K-5 in Toronto; some college in Japan


How many languages do you speak?
Technically, I'm monolinguistic, but I can speak a little bit of 4 languages other than English (French, German, Japanese, Spanish)

What is your L1 (primary language)
English

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?
No.

What education level did your parents have?
Mother - Bachelor's Degree (USA)
Father - Secondary School Diploma (Canada)

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?
People are shocked to discover I can't ice skate!

Oswego "nor do I know your cousin Dennis in Edmonton" Atheist

[HamdenRice]

18. OK

Where were you born?
Brooklyn, USA

Were you educated at any time outside the USA?
I guess so, but I'm not sure. I did a two year fellowship in Johannesburg, South Africa, but since I wasn't taking courses, not sure that counts as education. It was research.

How many languages do you speak?
At this point, English, Spanish and Portuguese. As a former grad student, though, I learned to read some languages without speaking, and during my research period, I spoke languages that I've now forgotten. So I used to speak French, Afrikaans, SeTswana, SePedi, and read German. At this point, I can still read and understand spoken French but not speak it.

What is your L1 (primary language)
English

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?
No

What education level did your parents have?
Father -- 7th grade in a one-room schoolhouse in the south (plus GED and some college courses when he was middle aged here in New York).
Mother -- high school at a vocational school for seamstresses.

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?
Yes, I'm African American, so they can tell my heritage just by looking at me.

[Are_grits_groceries]

19. Here you go:

Where were you born?
Hemingway, SC


Were you educated at any time outside the USA?
No.
However, some people here would say I was since I grew up in SC.


How many languages do you speak?
One


What is your L1 (primary language)
English

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?
N/A

What education level did your parents have?
Mother: BA with some graduate work
Father: High school diploma

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?
Yes.
When they hear my Southern accent or know where I'm from, they drop my IQ by 100 points and assume I have a supply of hoods and crosses(ready to burn).

[armyowalgreens]

20. Yep.

Where were you born?
Burbank, California

Were you educated at any time outside the USA?
No (Although I am still in school, so who knows.)

How many languages do you speak?
One ( I am in the process of learning french)

What is your L1 (primary language)
English

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?
I really only know one language

What education level did your parents have?
Mother was a college graduate. Father was a first semester college drop out

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?
Not that I know of.

[CurtEastPoint]

21. response

Where were you born?
Charlotte

Were you educated at any time outside the USA?
No

How many languages do you speak?
English, French, Spanish, Italian

What is your L1 (primary language)
English

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?
No

What education level did your parents have?
High school

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?
I don't think so.

[rug]

22. OK

Where were you born?
NY, NY

Were you educated at any time outside the USA?
No

How many languages do you speak?
One

What is your L1 (primary language)
English

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?
No

What education level did your parents have?
8th grade and 12th grade.

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?
I assume not.

[yowzayowzayowza]

23. Ok...

Where were you born?

Southern Georgia

Were you educated at any time outside the USA?

Yes, HS in Japan & Ontario.

How many languages do you speak?

1+math

What is your L1 (primary language)

English

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?

No.

What education level did your parents have?

AA & BA

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?

Southern, white, blond haired, blue eyed male, yea I 'posed to be a redneck.

On three occasions visiting a new doctor they've suggested liver tests due to the cast of my skin which is actually caused by Native American ancestry.

[MiniMe]

24. Here you go

Where were you born?
Schnectady, New York

Were you educated at any time outside the USA?
no

How many languages do you speak?
One

What is your L1 (primary language)
english

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?
no

What education level did your parents have?
both have masters

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?
not that I'm aware of

[DireStrike]

26. Answers

Where were you born?

USA, and so were my parents and one grandparent. Malden, MA to be specific. New Yorker now.

Were you educated at any time outside the USA?

Nope.

How many languages do you speak?

1.2 (English, .1 Spanish, .1 Japanese. The fruit of 6 years of forced HS education, and 6 months of voluntary college courses, respectively.)

What is your L1 (primary language)

English.

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?

No.

What education level did your parents have?

BS, Some College

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?

I get more about being white than about any specific element of my heritage. Occasionally people will hit me with italian jokes (I'm 50%).

[Lydia Leftcoast]

27. I wonder where all the immigrants and second-generation people are

Where were you born?

Minneapolis


Were you educated at any time outside the USA?

Yes, part of my graduate work in Japan


How many languages do you speak?
English and Japanese, with varying degrees of proficiency (at least tourist level) in German, French, Spanish, and Chinese

What is your L1 (primary language)

American English

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?

No
What education level did your parents have?
Mother: BA, Father: BA + seminary


Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?

Only when I'm in Japan! When I first went there thirty years ago, everyone assumed that I couldn't speak Japanese, but now, few people make that assumption, because there are so many foreigners living in Japan now. When I was younger, Japanese men who had read too many porno comic books assumed that I would be available to anyone who asked. One of the advantages of growing older is that this doesn't happen anymore. :-)

[greenbriar]

31. thank you

I too wonder

I thought I would get more responses


I tried to make this non-threatening

[tjwash]

28. Mine if you are interested...

Where were you born? Jacksonville Florida, but went to school Fredonia PA, GTMO Bay Cuba, Memphis TN, and graduated HS in San Diego.


Were you educated at any time outside the USA? Yes and no...technically I was outside the US in Cuba, but on the U.S. base in GTMO.


How many languages do you speak? 3 and a half...lived for several years in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Middle East so I speak English, Malay, enough Farsi to get by, and a smattering of Banjar


What is your L1 (primary language)English


Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one? Yes...(tangent)one of my biggest regrets, is that I never did get the full hang of the writing the Farsi letters and the rest of the Persian alphabet. It is one of the most beautiful written styles I have ever encountered. (/tangent)


What education level did your parents have? Mom...HS, Dad...MS

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?Yeah...they tend to take a look at the rough around the edges white dude and assume that I am either a stoner, or a biker.

[greenbriar]

30. Thank you all and keep it coming

in class we talked about the assumption that all hispanics could speak spanish


we also talked about the diservice we were doing to our non english speaking students that are fairly new to the US by sticking them in newcomers or lower classes without taking the time to see what they took in their native country.

For example, they may have been taking trig or chem but because they don't speak our language we assume they are low so they get stuck in basic math ect..

opened my eyes as I don't have much to do with student placement but I never really questioned it either

[michreject]

32. You have 11/12 YO taking Trig?

Yikes!!!!

[greenbriar]

34. no, that was a general statement..the class is for secondary ed

encompasses 6th grade through 12th grade

[nadinbrzezinski]

45. Here is what I took at first grade Junior High

Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Algebra, History, Spanish (literature and Grammar)PE, and since this was a Private Jewish School we also had that other program...

Hebrew, Tora (for history), Jewish History.

Hell my last year of HS I took ethics, Sociology, History, English (which included quite a bit of Shakespeare), Ethics, art history, Latin... and I don't remember what else. This was a preparatory school, so this was the humanities area. My sis, took the biological area, so she took organic chemistry, advanced physics, calculus and a of course civics, history, and a couple other classes.

In my view we really do not push American kids far enough, not all kids are going to go to college so we should have schools to prepare them for that other tract in life, and we should challenge our kids a little more than we do.

Oh and forget about NCLB... teaching to the test sucks ass... in a major way.

[nadinbrzezinski]

41. FYI at least when I went to school in Mexico City

it was a European system. So I took pretty advanced chemistry in HS. Hell, I used the SAME textbook in College.

My sis didn't have to take Physics since the textbook used in HS in Mexico was used in 300 level classes in University.

So your teachers are onto something.

Also how you do math might be different.

[greenbriar]

42. really made us think about how we place our students

I really think we are short-changing them

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. Well we came here for college

and we used to joke that the first two years, undergrad... was catching up to the rest of the world.

We were not alone. We had a kid that came from the UK who held the save view, as well as a couple exchange students from Japan.

I also made the point to the language department that the way foreign languages are taught in the US, by rote mostly, does not work. They argued that it did. Funny Rosseta Stone, yes THAT computer program, uses the same method I learned English and Hebrew, full immersion. There is a reason the armed forces, State and businesses use it, instead of Oh Berlitz anymore. It works.

But sadly there is something else going on. This is cultural. The US does have a sense of we are better. At college I even faced it with the Spanish department. I was doing my masters in Mexican History. I used my first foreign language credit with hebrew in my undergrad. I wanted to use Spanish. I actually had to prove to the Spanish Department that I could read, and write my native tongue... yep all fun and games all around, given at the time I was readying a foreign language... XVI century Spanish... it is a nightmare.

[lunatica]

35. I lived in Mexico for 25 years

I was born in San Francisco while my parents were going to UC Berkeley. Born in UCSF hospital

I went to American schools in Mexico and one year in Colombia, South America up to the 9th grade.

I speak English and Spanish

English is my primary language (spoken at home)

I speak equally in both languages though lately I've found myself searching for words in Spanish through lack of speaking it. I have no problem with reading it or hearing others speak it though. And when I speak to someone in Spanish it will come back to me as I start thinking in Spanish again.

I write better in English though I write OK in Spanish.

Both my parents were college graduates from UC Berkeley.

As a little addition, my ex used to say it frustrated him that I would always speak in Spanish in my sleep.

[greenbriar]

36. how would you compare and contrast the different schools?

you have a really cool background

[lunatica]

37. In Mexico and Colombia I went to private schools

which were excellent and bilingual. I went to American schools but I also went to a British school for a few years. When I came to the US I pretty much sailed through the public schools because I had already taken all the classes. I did enjoy my English classes though. I had teachers who made us read a lot of books and one who spent months on Shakespeare's MacBeth. Ah! A tale told by a fool, signifying nothing...

But I think it's probably the same between private schools and public schools in the US.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Well the American school in Mexico City is considered

one of the TOP schools right now.

Oh and my mom also graduated from it...

[vadawg]

43. my answers for what they are worth

Where were you born?

somewhere in argyle, scotland

Were you educated at any time outside the USA?

yes though i had no schooling until i joined the army

How many languages do you speak?

fluently i speak english and local dialects, also some french, spanish

What is your L1 (primary language)

best way to describe it is pikey

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?

yes, my main dialect that i spoke growing up is incomprehensible if you try to write it..

What education level did your parents have?

none, neither could read or write.

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?

yes all the time

[EndersDame]

49. Here ya go

Where were you born?
Houston, TX (but raised in Rio Grande Valley and Austin)


Were you educated at any time outside the USA?

No

How many languages do you speak?
One, Two if you count Latin

What is your L1 (primary language)

English
Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?
I write better in Latin (easier rules to remember lol)

What education level did your parents have?
College

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage?
That I speak spanish (The most embarrassing thing in the world is to have a white chick translate for you)

[Mojorabbit]

50. Here ya go

Where were you born? Bermuda


Were you educated at any time outside the USA?
Portugal


How many languages do you speak?
English well, Portuguese, Japanese poorly

What is your L1 (primary language)
English

Do you speak better in one language and write better in a different one?

na
What education level did your parents have?
Mother obtained GED at a late age after learning English(she is Portuguese)
Father Masters degree

Do people make assumptions based on your heritage? not that I know of but I remember some awful things said to my mother in the 60's because of her poor command of English at the time. Even after all these decades those memories have never left me.

[greenbriar]

51. Wow, thank you

and I am sorry about your mother having to deal with jerks