Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Professor Doutherd
English 5M
Third Draft
My family and I immigrated from Mexico to the United States when I was nine years old in
March 2007; moving countries was a difficult transition for my siblings and I because
Farmersville,California was a new world that came with many grueling experiences when I
started school. Since 4th grade I had challenges with learning new knowledge because of my
difficulty with understanding English. My first day of class at Freedom Elementary was
overwhelming. I did not know what was going on but fortunately my teacher, Ms Lozano, and
others became my supporters. Ms Lozano made sure that I felt comfortable around her and my
classmates in order to become accustomed to the new language of English. Luckily, I was
surrounded by this support and learning English became a useful tool to communicate with
others and also become knowledgeable of other subjects. In the article, Sponsors of Literacy,
Deborah Brandt states that [each of us as individuals] have a combination of literacy that makes
us unique. (Brandt 44) Aside from mainly having the support of Ms. Lozano, I also acquired
sponsors during summer school in Oregon and afterwards when I came back to school in
California.
Fourth grade students who do not know how to speak or write in English often do not
realize that they have the potential to learn a new language. As a fourth grade student who did
not know how to speak or write any English I was fortunate enough to have my fourth grade
teacher, Ms. Lozano, and others support. Starting fourth grade three months before school was
over and with no knowledge of a single word of English was difficult. In Mexico the primary
language is Spanish, and it is still hard to become proficient in the language because of the many
different accents Spanish words have and how one word can have multiple meanings. Starting all
over again with a new language completely unknown to me was and still is a challenge. With the
support of Ms. Lozano, classmates and other teachers I adapted to the English language. Ms.
Lozano helped me by giving me extra assignments that mainly focused on words and the
structure of English. Ms. Lozano along with a few of my fourth grade classmates read to me
every other day after school for an hour or so. Throughout the time I spent with Ms. Lozano I
randomly got quizzed on the meaning of words and spelling. Similar to Malcolm X, I was eager
to learn the basics of writing. In his article, X states that ...the best thing [he] could do was get
hold of a dictionary-to study, to learn some words. ( X 120) Although I did not take the
initiative to learn words on my own, I still had all these different sources of help Ms Lozano
imposed on me from March to June. In her article, Brandt states that the concept of sponsors
helps to explain a range of human relationships and ideological pressures that turn up at the
scenes of literacy learning. (Brandt 47) This means that sponsors are what helps an individual
shape their mindset which allows them to take in new knowledge and execute it in a way that
benefits both the sponsor and individual. In a way this is the process I was going through when I
was learning English because it helped me for the relationship I had with Ms Lozano and others.
Mostly Ms Lozano because she encouraged me to continue practicing this language, so during
from place to place so often. As a migrant student it became a challenge for me to finds ways to
learn English but fortunately I was able to seek resources. In Sponsors of Literacy, Brandt
mentions the experience of Dora Lopez and Raymond Branch and the different sponsors they
each had according to their economic and social status. Similar to Dora Lopez, I did not have
many sponsors but I took advantage of the sponsors I encountered myself with. When my family
and I moved to The Dalles, Oregon for the summer I attended summer school at an Elementary
school nearby. The teacher I had for the summer was very helpful despite my poor English. I
could not do much of the regular class work but instead I read constantly. I read basic books,
including The Captain Underpants series, Charlottes Web and Fairy Tale stories. The books I
read during summer were helpful in developing my knowledge of the English language because I
was able to practice the pronunciation of words and I was able to recognize many words as I read
different books. Malcolm also mentions in his article that as his word base broadened he was
able to pick up a book and understand what the book was saying. ( X 121) I strongly relate to his
moment because just like him I was beginning to understand portions of the books I read. After
Students that go back to their hometown after migrating are presented with the same
opportunity of support from teachers and others as when they left. In my case, my fourth grade
teacher became my support for a whole school year. Ms. Lozano suggested I repeat the fourth
grade if I wanted to become proficient in the English language. At the time I was upset that I did
not go onto the fifth grade but now I am grateful I repeated the fourth grade because I can say I
have become fluent in English. Enrolling in the fourth grade again helped me improve my
English because Ms. Lozano was able to help me by using various sources. In class, Ms. Lozano
would allow some of her students translate to me in Spanish, set time apart during class so I can
work with other students and practice my English through flashcards and having conversations
with the students.Throughout those couple of years Ms. Lozano dedicated herself to help me as
much as possible that she even arranged for me to go to another class and practice with an
English only speaking teacher.. In almost two years I was able to understand when people talked
I figured that eventually I would learn how to speak, write, and read in English so I
became excited when I learned new words and wove them into sentences. There were moments
in which I struggled to learn the basics of writing, of learning how to construct a proper sentence
and also of knowing how to deliver or how to hold a proper conversation with my classmates
and teachers but despite these failures, I did not give up but tried harder to make sense of
whatever I was trying to write or say. I disciplined myself to read words accurately and not just
sound them out and disciplined myself to not mix my words up when I was talking to another
person. All these little things that a student like me might feel insecure about when learning a
new language did not stop me from being able to become fluent in writing and speaking English.
After becoming fluent in the language, I improved my grades significantly all throughout grade
school. During my middle school and high school years I joined clubs and I even held some
positions of authority within a couple clubs. Without the knowledge of the English language I
would have not been able to apply to scholarships or universities. With this skill I was able to
apply to various scholarships and even win a couple, and I am now attending Sacramento State.
When a student fails before succeeding and is not discouraged, but rather continues trying,
helps them develop a mindset that essentially allows them to become persistent and continue
wanting to learn. All my past experiences have helped me become an educated individual and
have allowed me to attend school, work, and even be able to intern at an organization. I am in
disbelief of what I have been able to accomplish with just knowing another language. The new
language I acquired has open up many paths for me and has allowed me to become
Being aware of the potential within yourself can be achieved through the support of other
people. It does not matter how old or young an individual is and it certainly does not matter if
that person has a mentor that will help them develop the desire they need to achieve their goals,
as long as a person is aware of their own decisions and the path they want to take anyone can be
successful in achieving their goals. I was able to recognize all the support I had when I barely
started learning English, and I am still aware of the support I have now. All theses resources and