IUS Times

New Neighbors program seeks to break down communication barriers

"Can I answer in Spanish?" asked 8-year old Araana Zarate as she pondered the answer to a question.

Jennifer Wiseman, an elementary school teacher from Corydon, answered kindly, "You can answer in Spanish, but we won't know what you are saying."

Increasingly, teachers and students are struggling to understand each other. Few Indiana school teachers are fluent in Spanish, making it difficult for them to effectively educate a rapidly growing population of Spanish-speaking students.

Enter the "New Neighbors" program (the full program title is Responding to the Educational Needs of Our New Neighbors through Culturally Responsive Educators).

Conceived by the IU Southeast School of Education in partnership with the School of Arts and Letters, the New Neighbors program is designed to help Indiana educators meet the needs of youngsters who speak English as a second language.

During the summer, IU Southeast hosted a New Neighbors seminar on campus. Teachers from several Indiana schools attended the day-long seminar to learn more about how they could help children who are not fluent in English. Some of the tools given to the attendees included tips for breaking down communication barriers, understanding cultural differences, and a list of important phrases (in Spanish) that the teachers could practice.

Also attending the seminar were four children-all from the Jackson County (Seymour) school district. These children spoke only Spanish at home and were working hard to learn English. The children mingled with the teachers who asked them questions about their past educational experiences and future expectations.

One of the youngsters, Maria Guadelupe Morales Garcia, age 8, had never spoken English until she arrived in the United States less than two years ago. Although she spoke haltingly, her mastery of a non-native language amazed everyone. She told a touching story of how she went to the home of a bilingual friend who chose to speak only English during the duration of their play-time together. Frustrated with the difficulty in communicating in English, Maria finally gave up and, in her own words, "ran home crying."

According to Cathy Shea, professor and coordinator of special education at IU Southeast, the scope of the New Neighbors program is broad and targets not only current teachers, but also school administrators, and future teachers. The three major components of the New Neighbors program are professional development (of IU Southeast faculty and students), service to area schools, and research.

She and her colleagues in the School of Education see the New Neighbors program as step in the right direction. "It's wonderful to be a part of this program, but there's still much to be done," says Shea. "From 2003 to 2005 the number of children who either cannot speak English or speak it as a second language, grew by 100% in the Greater Clark County school district."

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