i never did pick up any Portuguese!

I spent the summer of 2004 in Salvador, Brazil, the center of Afro-Brazilian culture. I traveled to this city with a not-for-profit organization that placed people of varying ages and backgrounds in Salvador's favelas (shantytowns).  Most individuals, including myself, worked with young children in community-run daycare centers, while their mothers worked.  The program assured me that my complete lack of knowledge of the Portuguese language was not an issue and that most Americans eventually picked up enough of the language within the first month or so in Brazil. So off I went.

I have never felt confident about my abilities to learn new languages. I failed miserably at Hebrew, though probably due more to my inability to refrain from ditching class and goofing off with my friends during the oh so dreaded... HEBREW SCHOOL! I took French from 7th - 11th grade and never felt that I had a grasp on the language. Though I did well in class (I was once a straight A student), I was extremely insecure about my acquisition of the French language and was certain that I was far behind most of the students in my class.  I joked, or rather insisted, to my friends that if I traveled to France I would be the only one unable to pick up the language. I was convinced that my brain was unable to process language effectively. 

So when I arrived in Salvador I was nervous. I knew I would be working with young children and I do believe that human beings, especially children, can connect on levels that transcend language. However, I was aware that my experience and the children's experience would be enriched if we could communicate to each other in Portuguese. I failed. I never picked up any Portuguese. I convinced myself that I was mentally impaired when it came to language acquisition and I depended on my friends to communicate with bus drivers, hostel folks, strangers on the beach, etc. I want to believe that I formed close relationships with the young children I came to love but the language barrier obviously affected the depth of that relationship. Perhaps most importantly, I could not connect with their mothers. This greatly saddened me. And it felt unfair to the mothers who left their children in my care. 

This experience significantly affected me in two ways. One, I think many people assume that they are unable to learn another language, especially past a certain age. Perhaps this is more true with women. My lack of confidence in my cognitive abilities discouraged me from making any attempt to challenge myself and immerse myself in Portuguese. As a teacher I want to be fully supportive of my students who are English Language Learners.  I do not want my students to feel the way I feel about my ability to learn a new language. To this day, I am afraid to take a Spanish class for fear I will be the only one who will not pick it up. I want my students to be more bold than I am. 

This experience also made me think about the importance that teachers have an understanding of the language their students speak at home with their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. It is essential that as teachers we understand the culture of the community in which we teach. It is problematic if we cannot communicate with the community. I often think about this because I do not know Spanish. I think all public teachers should be required to be enrolled in Spanish classes before or while teaching. Language is about institutions, culture, economics, politics, power. It is so much more than units and how they are organized. as public school teachers it is essential that we understand our students and the community and that they understand us. my experience in salvador was beautiful. but it was severely limited by my inability to speak Portuguese.