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    Literacynarrative

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    api-358522011
    The document is a personal narrative by Wilaynes Gonzalez describing growing up as a Spanish-speaking child in primarily English-speaking environments. Some key points: 1) Gonzalez struggled at first to learn English when entering kindergarten, where she was the only Spanish-speaking student among white English-speaking classmates. 2) Moving to New York City, Gonzalez became fluent in English and helped other Spanish-speaking students with translation. 3) Having to learn English independently and figure things out on her own at a young age made Gonzalez self-reliant, in contrast to her sister who grew up more dependent on help from family.

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    Literacynarrative

    Uploaded by

    api-358522011
    115 views3 pages
    The document is a personal narrative by Wilaynes Gonzalez describing growing up as a Spanish-speaking child in primarily English-speaking environments. Some key points: 1) Gonzalez struggled at first to learn English when entering kindergarten, where she was the only Spanish-speaking student among white English-speaking classmates. 2) Moving to New York City, Gonzalez became fluent in English and helped other Spanish-speaking students with translation. 3) Having to learn English independently and figure things out on her own at a young age made Gonzalez self-reliant, in contrast to her sister who grew up more dependent on help from family.

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    The document is a personal narrative by Wilaynes Gonzalez describing growing up as a Spanish-speaking child in primarily English-speaking environments. Some key points: 1) Gonzalez struggled at first to learn English when entering kindergarten, where she was the only Spanish-speaking student among white English-speaking classmates. 2) Moving to New York City, Gonzalez became fluent in English and helped other Spanish-speaking students with translation. 3) Having to learn English independently and figure things out on her own at a young age made Gonzalez self-reliant, in contrast to her sister who grew up more dependent on help from family.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    115 views3 pages

    Literacynarrative

    Uploaded by

    api-358522011
    The document is a personal narrative by Wilaynes Gonzalez describing growing up as a Spanish-speaking child in primarily English-speaking environments. Some key points: 1) Gonzalez struggled at first to learn English when entering kindergarten, where she was the only Spanish-speaking student among white English-speaking classmates. 2) Moving to New York City, Gonzalez became fluent in English and helped other Spanish-speaking students with translation. 3) Having to learn English independently and figure things out on her own at a young age made Gonzalez self-reliant, in contrast to her sister who grew up more dependent on help from family.

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    Wilaynes Gonzalez

    English Composition
    2-14-17

    Needle in a Haystack

    My wooden pencil scribbled furiously against one of my grandmothers old notepads,

    aimlessly writing whatever inspiration floated to my mind. Deep in concentration, I allowed the

    pencil to continue sliding on the paper, almost as if it were taking control. I paused, only to see

    that I havent written a single coherent word and all Ive scribbled was the most hideous rows of

    doodles and symbols.

    I gasped. Mira! I beamed, my 4 year old self proudly showing my grandmother

    something I wrote that resembled the actual letter U. Well, at least I thought.

    Wow, que bueno, My grandmother praised. Sigue practicando ahi. Escribe en Ingles.

    From how quickly she skimmed the paper, Im sure she didnt actually find what I was showing

    her. Just like my mother, she just continuously encouraged me to keep being excited about

    learning and learn as much as I could all the time.

    Mami! Como se dice nevera en Ingles? I asked my mother as I entered the car. I had

    just been dropped off by the cheese buses, in front of the entrance of my neighborhood in

    Albany.

    Eh she pondered for a moment, fridge, she replied, her Spanish accent heavy.

    Although she didnt speak much English, she helped me with mine as much as she could. She

    understood that being the only Spanish kid in kindergarten of all white kids wasnt easy.

    Especially because I was entering the grade with the English alphabet being the only thing I

    knew about the English language, which my mother taught me.

    I absorbed the new vocabulary into my little brain. Oh.

    1
    As a 6 year old, I never acknowledged the difference between me and everyone else as a

    hardship. Me being my naive self, I never saw it. I knew that ethnicity and language was what

    separated us. I was the needle in a haystack.

    But of course I always stood out. The language barrier was just one way. There were

    always things that I did much differently than others did, from the way I spoke, ate, looked, etc. I

    remember all the times my mom complained about the chlorine from the schools pool drying

    out my hair.

    Coo, pero esa agua te tiene el pelo todo reseco! She would grumble as she washed

    my hair. My school held swimming classes on Wednesdays and Fridays and my curly hair would

    suffer from it. Dominicans have a large variety of much curlier, ethnic hair types compared to

    Caucasians. Curly hair is naturally drier than straight hair so the chlorine affected my hair more

    than my friends hair. If I didnt use conditioner after swimming class I would go home with a

    frizzy head of curls, which stood out next to all my friends who generally had ubiquitous

    Caucasian straight or slightly wavy hair. Translocating from Albany to NYC was a big transition.

    I went from being surrounded by all-white, strictly English-speaking people to a community of

    Spanglish-speaking Hispanics and blacks. The people looked different and spoke different. They

    interacted differently and lived entirely different. In my neighborhood back in Albany, I lived in

    a town house. Everything was spaced out. Groceries were a car drive away, school was a car

    drive away, everything was a car drive away. You needed a car for everything. Things were very

    calm compared to NYC. The city was much louder, dangerous, and close together.

    By the time I got to New York City, my English was very fluent. In fact, I knew more

    English than the students around me. In my new school, there were many students whose first

    3
    language was Spanish and needed extra help in class. I was able to relate to them and willing to

    help because of that, so the teacher often paired me up with them, specifically so I could help

    translate things here and there for them.

    Ive learned to be very independent at a young age. Back in Albany, whenever I would

    get homework, I was responsible to figure things out for myself. I didnt have a tutor, nor could I

    ask my parents for help. Yeah, my mom knew a bit of English, but it wasnt enough to help me

    with my homework. It became a mindset to learn how to be responsible and do things by myself.

    Because of this, I grew up comfortably knowing I didnt need anyone to accomplish things.

    My baby sister grew up and went to school with people who were like her all the time. It

    vastly contrasted the way I grew up. My mom knew much more English by the time my sister

    was old enough for school, so she was able to ask both my mother and I for help. She was very

    dependent on us for help. She was also very reluctant to do any work anyways. She would often

    throw fits about not wanting to do her homework, which often successfully resulted in my mom

    doing it for her. Trust me, it was very annoying seeing her get away with those kinds of stunts.

    Over the years, Ive been able to notice how the way we grew up with language influenced the

    way we approach things now. It comes very easy to me to be reluctant to ask for help and just do

    things myself compared to her, where my sister would much rather not do it if no one helps her.

    We are very opposite people. Both of our experiences with language have shaped us differently

    into the people that we are today.

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