HISPANIC LANGUAGE AND CULTURE CONSIDERATIONS

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HISPANIC LANGUAGE AND CULTURE CONSIDERATIONS

• Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin, Ph.D.
• California State University, Sacramento
• And
• Elk Grove Unified School District
• www.hhs.csus.edu/homepages/SPA/Roseberry

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Information taken from

• Roseberry-McKibbin, C. (2008). Multicultural
  students with special language needs Practical
  strategies for assessment and intervention (3rd
  ed.). Oceanside, CA Academic Communication
  Associates.
• Roseberry-McKibbin, C. (2007). Language disorders
  in children A multicultural and case
  perspective. Boston Allyn Bacon.

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I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

• Hispanics comprise one of the fastest-growing
  segments of the U.S. population
• Approximately 31 million U.S. residents speak
  Spanish at home, making Spanish the second most
  commonly-spoken language in the country

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• In 2000, Hispanics comprised 12.1 of the U.S.
  population. 35 of Hispanics are under 18 years
  of age.
• According to the National Center for Children in
  Poverty (2006), 63 of Hispanic children are from
  low-SES homes
• Many Hispanic families have a strong work ethic,
  strong families, high labor force participation,
  and a strong Catholic faith

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The church

• Often plays an important role in the lives of
  Hispanic families
• We can utilize the assistance of priests if a
  family does not want to follow our suggestions

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II. FAMILY LIFE

• Familialism is a cultural value in which
  individuals have a strong identification with and
  attachment to their immediate and extended
  families
• Most Hispanics greatly value solidarity, loyalty,
  and reciprocity among family members

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• Large and extended families are common
• The father is generally the authority figure
• Hispanic mothers believe that they are the
  familys primary caretakers and nurturers

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In some more traditional families

• Girls are not encouraged to attend school or
  obtain a higher education
• Hispanic females who attend college and train for
  careers may find that this becomes a barrier to
  their less-educated relatives
• What is wrong with you? Why are you still in
  school? When are you going to get married and
  have babies?

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Elders

• Are viewed with highest of reverence
• Are often sought after for their advice
• May hold great power in the family

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Children

• Are often treated with great physical affection
• Are not pushed toward early independence
• Are expected to show respect for their elders

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Parents

• May not participate in their childrens play
  activities
• May expect children to be seen and not heard
• May not verbalize about ongoing or future events

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III. EDUCATION AND LITERACY

• Many families hold teachers and other education
  professionals in high regard
• Some Hispanic children may have a
  field-sensitive cognitive style. They learn
  best in situations where there is warmth,
  responsiveness, attention, and even affection.

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According to the National Center for Education
Statistics (2001)

• There is a high dropout rate
• In 2000, 10 of Hispanics nationwide had earned a
  college degree as compared with 18 of African
  Americans and 34 of Anglo European Americans

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Often, families

• Hold schools and educators in such high regard
  that they do not view themselves as participants
  in the educational process
• Rodriguez Olswang (2003) found that
  Mexican-American mothers viewed their job as
  discipline and caregiving education was the
  schools job

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Statistics indicate that (Takanishi, 2006)

• Young Mexican-American children are far less
  likely to be placed in center-based child care
  than children from other groups
• Hispanic children are much less likely than
  children from other groups to go to preschool

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Literacy for young children.

• May not be a high priority
• Again, mothers job is to love, care for, and
  provide discipline for children
• We can help families support early literacy
  efforts and preschool participation

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Kummerer, Lopez-Reyna, Hughes (2007)

• Studied Mexican immigrant mothers perception of
  their childrens communication disabilities,
  emergent literacy development, and
  speech-language therapy programs
• They found that the mothers in the study seemed
  more focused on their childrens expressive oral
  language and intelligibility than on their
  emergent literacy abilities

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Thus, these researchers recommended that

• Professionals help families incorporate specific
  activities to support their childrens emergent
  literacy development

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A study by Gonzales, Ezell, Randolph (1999)

• Found that migrant Mexican-American families
  provided literacy experiences for their children
  in the home
• However, the families generally engaged in
  storytelling and book-reading no more than a few
  times each week
• We need to encourage families read daily

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How can we do this?

• Give extra worksheets for home
• Send home culturally appropriate booksespecially
  books in Spanish
• Spanish Nightsmaking games to take home,
  modeling reading strategies, giving library cards
• Send home questions that parents can ask their
  children about each page of the book
• If parents dont read, they can tell stories
• Pick easy, familiar booksand tell kids to help
  their parents read and pronounce the words!

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III. CULTURAL CUSTOMS AND COURTESIES

• Allocentrism is a fundamental Hispanic value that
  emphasizes the objectives and needs of an
  in-group rather than individualism and
  competition
• Interpersonal relationships are valued over the
  clock and punctuality

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Personalismo

• Is an emphasis on interpersonal relationships
• Hispanics may not confront others they may also
  say what the other person wants to hear rather
  than being the bearers of bad news

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IV. HEALTH CARE AND DISABLING CONDITIONS

• Many Hispanic families have limited access to
  health care a number do not have insurance
• Among some Hispanics, there may be resistance to
  institutionalization. Families care for the sick
  and disabled.

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McHatton Correa (2005) found that

• In some families with special needs children,
  fathers may reject the children and even leave
  the family
• This results in economic hardship for mothers,
  who become single and are forced to rely on
  public assistance

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Families

• May have difficulty accepting invisible
  disabilities
• May hide and/or indulge children with visible
  disabilities
• May attribute disabilities to Gods will or fate.

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Poverty and poor prenatal health

• Lead to disproportionate numbers of Hispanic
  children who are sick from birth
• Their brain development and consequent academic
  performance are affected

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V. COMMUNICATION STYLES AND LANGUAGE
CONSIDERATIONS

• Many Hispanics utilize the social script of
  simpatica, which emphasizes harmony, empathy, and
  positive interpersonal relationships
• Standing and sitting quite close to others is
  acceptable

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• When talking with adults, children may lower
  their heads and avoid eye contact as a sign of
  deference
• When adults are talking, children are expected to
  not interrupt
• Children interact verbally more often with
  siblings and peers than with adults
• When children converse with adults, they may show
  a reluctance to provide more information than is
  requested. To go on might be viewed as
  disrespectful.

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• Adults do not generally ask children to repeat
  facts, foretell what will happen, or voice their
  preferences
• Parents may not consider it a priority to teach
  their children basic concepts such as shapes,
  letters, colors, numbers, etc.
• Instead, respect and politeness are emphasized.
  Many Mexican mothers view themselves as mothers
  rather than teachers.

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• There are numerous Spanish dialects. They may
  differ especially in terms of vocabulary.
• The diversity in Spanish dialects is very great

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VI. RAMIFICATIONS OF MIGRANCY

• Information taken from Roseberry-McKibbin, C.
  (2008). Increasing language skills of students
  from low income backgrounds Practical strategies
  for professionals. San Diego Plural Publishing.

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When students are highly mobile

• This diminishes their chances of graduating from
  high school
• They often earn lower standardized test scores
• Their skills demonstrate performance scatter
• Children may attend 6-7 schools a year

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Research has found that

• 50 of U.S. migrant children drop out of school
  before 9th grade

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Jachman, 2006

• Several schools in Morse, Texas (with a high
  number of migrant students) had networks of
  support and information that were immediately
  available to families
• These resources included education and health
  services

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Teachers

• Focused on direct, explicit instruction in
  phonological awareness
• There was guided work in small groups of students
  with similar reading levels
• Children benefitted from use of the Accelerated
  Reader program

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In another Texas district

• There were Spanish-speaking teachers and other
  support personnel who went to students homes and
  provided parents with direct modeling of how to
  read with their childrenespecially during the
  summer
• Teachers provided support before and after
  school, and had open doors during lunch time

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VII. IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONALS

• We should use titles with parents to show respect
• We earn families trust by engaging in a bit of
  chit-chat at the beginning of the meeting, not
  just plunging into business

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We need to.

• Strongly encourage family participation
• Show parents what they have to offer as
  co-educators
• Follow up with suggestions (to make sure the
  family wasnt just agreeing to be polite)
• Emphasize the importance of prompt attendance at
  meetings

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We need to remember that

• Families may have a relaxed timetable for
  childrens independence
• Families may keep children home for family
  occasions etc.we need to emphasize U.S. laws
  about attendance and truancy

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We can

• Encourage families to engage in print activities
  with their children
• Even discussing wordless books is helpful

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We need to remember that

• Verbal display of knowledge is not emphasized
• We shouldnt misjudge Hispanic children as having
  expressive language delays
• Children may do best in cooperative, warm,
  nurturing group environments, not competitive
  individualistic situations

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Rubenstein-Avila (2006) said that when we work
with older Hispanic students.

• We might employ content-area cognates when
  teaching vocabulary
• For example angle (angulo), sphere (esfera),
  parallel lines (lineas paralelas)
• This helps students to consciously employ their
  Spanish knowledge to the learning of English

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If parents are fearful of sending their young
children to preschool.

• Let those parents volunteer/observe
• Such participation is likely to reduce their
  reluctance to send their children to preschool

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As always

• Make sure the family feels like an integral part
  of any process

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Turn to the people near you

• And discuss practical ideas that you have heard
  of/used that have worked well with Hispanic
  families and children