Tuesday, December 12, 2006

What would children in third-world countries do with Spanish textbooks meant for English-speaking children?


Anonymous
04:18:20 PM

11 comments:

Queen Sekaf said...

um, learn to speak and write with correct grammar.
I used to have a pen pal from EL Salvador and her spelling/grammar was so bad I could hardly read it. Same goes with some of my poorer friends in Cuba. SPanish textbooks explain very clearly how to form sentences correctly and how to spell things.

Anonymous said...

That makes sense enough, then. Thanks for clearing that up.

Anonymous said...

Then why is there a pile of hundreds of textbooks awaiting recycling in the East Building? I mean, it was great to pick up six free books after school today, but still - if the kids down in Costa Rica or Venezuela could learn from the old Spanish II textbooks that almost nobody took from the pile... then why aren't we sending them there?

Anonymous said...

Supposedly, we are sending those books to third world countries.

Oops, I meant "developing nations."

Queen Sekaf said...

^ why?

Anonymous said...

and i'm not underestimating them or anything. i'm a native speaker. and spanish books are retarded to read and answer.

Queen Sekaf said...

no one said they were stupid, just uneducated. It doesn't matter who the book is intended for, if it explains correct grammar and spelling, it's useful.

Anonymous said...

they will have a fiesta.

TintedFragipan said...

Queen Sekaf, how will a book written primarily in ENGLISH help someone who doesn't even know the grammar and spelling of their native language? Or am I misunderstanding you.

Queen Sekaf said...

Well my spanish books are always written in spanish, and everything is explained in spanish.
good point though, I never thought of that. In that case of like a spanish 1 book written almost completely in English, it probably wouldn't be that helpful.

Queen Sekaf said...

Hey, anon above me - Costa Rica might be a lot better off than some countries, but it is still far from "properous". I would know; I went there. And no, not on some tourist bus - my family rented a car and drove across the country. I had to get out and ask for directions about 8 gazillion times, so I had plenty of opportunities to speak with people who are still living in a third world country. We tried to avoid tourist hotspots becuase we wanted a real feel for the country, not just want their government wants tourists to see. Costa Rica is still incredibly poor in many places, and there are kids there who could certainly benefit from school supplies. It's true that Costa Rica has a more established middle class than a lot of south american countries, but that doesn't mean there isn't still a lot of poverty. I doubt anon1 thinks South America is one country.