Gender and Second Language Learning

A significant attribute of Mexican-American society across social classes is the multigenerational cohesiveness of family life, shaped by hierarchically determined values and priorities (Griggs and Dunn). The binding of parents and children extends not just between the generations but across three generations. This is a hierarchical generational relationship, with children at the bottom; they are expected to show respect and unquestioning obedience to both parents and grandparents in general and to their father in particular, as well as to those included in the extended family such as baptismal godparents, in the tradition of what is called "compadrazgo or coparenthood. Compadres (coparents) are sponsors who assume carefully defined roles . . . linked by tradition through interlocking obligations of mutual aid and respect" (Madsen 48-9).

To a significant degree, these roles are engendered. Madsen connects the tradition of a male's "supremacy . . . within his own home" (50) to the hard social reality that Mexican-Am

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ding that bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language education methods are somehow a threat to American culture and values." Meanwhile, Hernandez, et al., say that 80% of Hispanics (minimum age 5) speak Spanish at home, and 40% either speak Spanish only or do not speak English well. The practical effect of these demographics is that elementary-school teachers--particularly though not exclusively in California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois--have become de facto ESL teachers, being obliged to convey both curriculum content and language-acquisition skills to a significant student population. Reading instruction is especially challenging. Methods of engaging the LEP/ESL student in comprehension exercises have evolved, such as pairing LEP students with native English speakers and inviting each in turn to "say something," or react orally to a given text, or initiating classroom discussions from which LEP students can benefit because of what other students say (Perez 47). How gender figures into classroom dynamics like these has to be connected to observations that, in general, teachers tend to prefer male to female students, i.e., inviting male participation much more than female participation in class. That preference has b
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1556
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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