Educators Struggle to Teach Students Whose English is Infused with Spanish

This is the second article in a series about US born Latino students who have a Spanish accent.   - - Donna Poisl

By Soni Sangha

Iris Huerta was born in Guadalajara, Mexico but was raised in East Los Angeles. When she was in high school, her family moved to a neighborhood where the Latina became a minority. Then an AP English student, Huerta was surprised when she had to convince her new school that she was fluent in English.

“They made me take a standardized test and a listening test,” she recalled. “They straight out told me if you hadn’t told us you spoke Spanish at home you wouldn’t have to take the test.”

Educators are increasingly concerned about Latino students like Huerta. Some don’t speak Spanish but use a dialect from Latino neighborhoods in areas such as Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Houston. Their speech rings with traces of Spanish accents, rhythm and grammar.
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