Finally, after seeing the family
multiple times, going to their house became comfortable. As we came in, we were
greeted by smiling faces. I could tell right away the family was getting used
to seeing us weekly. During this visit, I came with a slightly different group,
so when we sat down I had the family introduce themselves. We started off the
session with flashcards. The whole family would read the word on the card and
spell it out. It became very difficult to communicate verbally because the family
did not understand many of our questions. Next, we played UNO. The whole family enjoys this game and it initiates a lot of laughter. We played this game in our first encounter with the family, and it was a bit shaky. This time, the family caught right on and did not have to ask for help at all. I laughed while watching the children attempt to cheat - this made me realize all children have the same instincts. :) Finally, the children began to read a
book, taking turns reading each page. While the children did this, I worked with the mother on a medical form. As we went over the
information, I found it very difficult to help her understand what everything
meant. This made me realize how very hard it would be to get access to
healthcare when you might not be able to fill out the necessary forms in the
office.
Due to our
lack of ability to communicate verbally with our family, it has become very
apparent to me how important nonverbal communication is. Simply nodding and
smiling really can help the family understand if what they are saying is
correct. To communicate effectively,
while working on English, I have found the interaction between verbal and
nonverbal is key. The family has learned to read peoples faces very well. The
tactics I notice I use to communicate effectively are repeating, complimenting,
accenting, and regulating. Usually, using all of these tactics together us very
helpful to make for optimal communication. I try to substitute and repeat at
the same time. For example, I will not while saying “yes”. Also, if the child
does something exciting, I try to accent my words by smiling big when I say
“good job!”. I use these tactics throughout the whole session but it is most helpful when doing the flashcards. The mother’s lack of English made me feel sad. I know she is very
eager to learn, I think she just needs to be put in the situations to do so. I
think there is an underlying part of her culture where she is expected to stay
at home. I think her culture has a stronger emphasis on masculinity rather than
femininity.
Throughout
this experience, I was excited to see the family catch onto the things we have
been working on from the beginning. While teaching them new words and actions,
I try to further that knowledge my giving them examples are putting context to
the words on the cards. For example, one of the words is X-ray, when that word
comes up I try to explain what an X-ray is. I do find this difficult because of
the large language barrier. I have a lot of hope for the mother of the family.
I see how eager she is to learn and it inspires me. I hope in the future, as
her children get older, she can go to work and grow as an individual. In the
future, I hope to be a part of this change. I would love to have a future that
empowers women of all cultures. It was sad to leave our family for the last time, especially because we couldn't actually communicate with them to say it was our last session. I hope we made an impact on their lives. If not by teaching them English, by smiling and having a good time with them.
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