Feeling Different

While reading a Flat Stanley book to Jedadiah this week, the issue of being different was approached. 

Flat Stanley is a fictional character, who is different from the other kids in his class because he is flat.  Jedadiah said he feels different.  I asked him why he felt different from the kids in his class.  He said he feels different because he doesn’t speak Spanish.  His comment reminded me that I need to be sensitive to his emotions.   Becoming bilingual involves culture, and this acculturation process can be emotionally draining.  Some experts in the field of language learning would recommend that the student change his/her name so that this new persona can learn the new language. He said he teacher calls him Jedadiah but pronounced in Spanish.  I told him when we considered his name before he was born, we pronounced his name in Ruwang and Spanish to see if the name still sounded appropriate.  Little did we know then that he would be in a dual immersion program, and his name would be pronounced with a Spanish pronunciation.