Author: Pat Mora
Publication: 2006
In this book Pat Mora takes cognates, which are Spanish words that sound like English words, and uses them in an animal ABC book. She uses different animals for each letter of the alphabet. She writes the word standing for a letter in Spanish and then the rest of the sentence following it in English. For example, "Hipopotamos practice the hula, in a happy hullabaloo" (Mora, 12). Hippo is written in Spanish but since it sounds and looks like English, it is easy for the reader to pick up. The picture of the animal on each page also helps the reader identify the Spanish word with the English animal.
I really like the way she uses cognates in this book, because it helps reader not be so intimidated when trying to learn a new language. English or Spanish speakers can realize that they already know 26 words from either language simply because they sound a look like each other. One may not know how to spell the words but at least they would look familiar and they would be able to know what the word means.
I would definitely enjoy using this book in my classroom, because I think it helps students realize the bridge between the two languages. There are actually a lot of similarities, and if they can pick up on those then they will be less apprehensive to learn the new language. I always remembered learning animals in Spanish as a kid because my teacher made it fun and would pair a picture of the animal to the word. This book uses the same concept. If I present the book with the picture of the animals, it will help the picture and word stick in the children's mind, especially for visual learners. I believe this book is very effective for beginners in Spanish or English to help them learn another language and to realize the connection between the two languages.
No comments:
Post a Comment