El poder del bilingüismo de acuerdo a tres jóvenes profesionales

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Por Raquel Venado Bolaños

Patricia Ramos, Pilar Canchola y Sally Rodríguez no se conocen, pero tienen dos cosas en común: acaban de culminar sus estudios en Columbia College Chicago y son primera generación méxico-americanas. Como la mayoría de los inmigrantes, los padres de las tres nuevas profesionales dejaron México en busca de mejores oportunidades. Los de Ramos fueron a El Paso, Texas, mientras que los de Canchola y los de Rodríguez llegaron a Chicago. Ramos, Canchola y Rodríguez crecieron con el español como primer idioma. Patricia Ramos, de 23 años, describe a El Paso como un lugar en el que se habla mucho spanglish.

Becoming bilingual

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Kids, parents take steps toward new language

By Rebekah Wilson

Often when a family moves to the United States, the children learn English in school but continue speaking Spanish at home. The learning process is enjoyable for some, especially young children, but can be more challenging for others. Kindergarteners Xochil and Jerandy Muñoz said learning English is fun, and the teachers are helpful. They attend South Side Elementary School in Johnson City, Tenn. and have translators and classes to help them learn English.

I am not a “coconut” and proud of my Mexican American heritage

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Editor’s note: This blog is part of a series of first person essays about identity written by UTEP honors students during the spring 2013 semester. EL PASO – All my life I have had problems with identity. I identified as a Mexican-American, but was always wondering what makes me Mexican-American. Is it because I am dark-skinned, or because I eat Mexican food? What constitutes Mexican food anyway – Taco Bell or Chico’s Taco’s?

Downtown El Paso as seen from the Paseo del Norte International Bridge. (Sergio Chapa/Borderzine.com)

Downtowners Express Their Hopes for El Paso

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EL PASO— A taxi driver, a shopper and merchants from downtown El Paso share their perspectives of the city’s history and their hopes for its future. The following video, audio and slideshow presentations were produced by the following participants in of the Dow Jones Multimedia Training Academy held recently at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP): Jessica Retis, Bradford Owen, Mark Albertson and instructor Doug Mitchell. Downtown El Paso Merchants Tell Their Story

Lundy Elementary Proudly Speaks Both English and Spanish

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EL PASO, Texas — As El Paso continues to grow in population, so does the dual culture and bilingual language of the region. Because the U.S. is quickly becoming a bilingual country, many El Pasoans now realize the importance of teaching their children both English and Spanish, regardless of their ethnicity. Lundy Elementary School was one of seven new schools that started the implementation of the Dual Language Program this past 2009-2010 scholarly year. Even in that short amount of time, the program has blossomed, attracting parents and their children from both the Spanish dominant and English dominant speaking spectrums.

“In my school, and most of the schools in the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD), we have two different classes, one is English, and the other one is in Spanish,” said Ina Lachmann, principal of Lundy Elementary. “We populate it with half of the children who have a dominant language in Spanish, and the other half who have a dominant language in English.”

By putting both groups of children together, they learn to read, write, and speak 50 percent of the time in both languages through the Dual Language Program.