The Spanish language has a unique status in New Mexico. Written in 1910, the state constitution forbids racial discrimination against children of Spanish descent and guarantees equal access to an education. The state constitution also states:

• "the training of teachers in the normal schools or otherwise so that they may become proficient in both the English and Spanish languages, to qualify them to teach Spanish-speaking pupils and students in the public schools and educational institutions of the state ..."
• "[these children] shall never be denied the right and privilege of admission and attendance in the public schools or other public education institutions in the state, and they shall never be classed in separate schools, but shall forever enjoy perfect equality with other children in all public schools and educational institutions of the state." (Art.12, Sec.8).

Dr. José Griego Dean of Instruction Northern New Mexico Community College	Dr. José Griego, the Dean of Instruction at Northern New Mexico Community College, recalls the attitudes towards Spanish speakers that prevailed in his elementary school and the subsequent impact on his education.
	Speaking Spanish in school (Time: 1:25) View Transcript	Impact on education (Time: 1:19) View Transcript

Culture and language are deeply intertwined in New Mexico. Schools across the state draw from diverse communities that may include indigenous populations, descendants of Spanish Conquistadors, and new immigrants from locations such as Mexico, Central and South America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, or Eastern Europe. Teachers will lead classrooms with a mix of students who may be fluent in English, learning English as a second language, or bilingual. Thus, knowledge of the varying language proficiencies represented by students can be a key factor for strengthening student learning in the classroom.

Activity: Social vs. Academic Language Many high school and undergraduate programs have a foreign language requirement. Use the skills you gained in your foreign language classes to translate the following sentences. My name is ____. What is your name? I like your sweater. Where did you get it? Answer questions 12 through 15 on page 216 in your textbook for homework tonight. Look at the diagram on page 96. Which figure has the greater area, the quadrangle or the octagon? Write the formula for determining each area and show all your work. Photosynthesis is the process through which plants convert the sun's light into food, consuming carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. This weekend I went to a movie and went out to dinner with my friends. Which items were easy for you to translate? Which items were hard? Did you notice any similarities between the easy items? Between the hard ones?

Students who are learning a new language first communicate using social language, referred to as Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS). This is language that not only allows them to express their needs and desires but to get along with friends in the cafeteria, playground, and other social settings. Social language develops rapidly, often within a few years or less, and is more contextualized. Look back at the activity above. Which items do you think are examples of social language? You probably found the social language examples easier to translate.

Considerations for Teachers

1. A teacher may be confused when a student appears to be proficient in English when playing with his friends on the playground but has trouble communicating and understanding content in class. A lack of awareness about the increased difficulty of academic language could cause a teacher to think that a student is not trying or has learning difficulties.


2. It is important to note that language develops along a continuum. For example, when a student has begun to acquire social language, the student can also be acquiring academic language skills. Therefore, proficiency in social language does not have to be mastered before introducing academic language. The theory that language develops along a continuum in known as Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP). Therefore, a student who immigrates to the United States as a 9th grader with a strong academic background may have less difficulty learning academic language in English because he had already acquired those academic concepts in his native language. A younger student may have greater difficulty with academic language if she had not yet learned more difficult or abstract concepts such as friction, respiratory system, civil rights, or democracy in her native language.