Beginning middle school was scary enough, but the fact that I was also going to be learning a foreign language in school for the first time was even scarier. However as I neared my Spanish class for the first time, I noticed that the teacher was waiting and smiling at the door, that was the first indication that perhaps my foreign language experience would not be so frightening after all. The teacher addressed us in Spanish and at first I was a little perturbed, however she soon taught us how to greet one another in Spanish and this we did at the beginning of every class, as we walked through the door her greeting would ring out to meet us and we replied eagerly because we knew that she was happy to see us and that we were in for an exciting lesson.
Senora Rowe made Spanish fun, we sang songs and played games, our activities were interactive, well thought out, planned and controlled. Many of the songs I learned in her class 12 years ago, I still remember, in fact some of the songs were so complex, that it has been only in the last 5 years that I could actually translate the songs and understand some of their meanings, yet because they were so engaging and sung with such gusto, I was able to learn them and retain the vocabulary and verbal usage. I admired Senora Rowe because she was patient and did not criticize or embarrass anyone openly like some teachers in my other classes. Instead she would explain things to us and ask us questions to see if we understood, the majority of the class had good pronunciation because we learned to listen to ourselves and our teacher repeat words, as we wrote them and saw them being written.
I managed to do quite well in the class because I was interested in the subject, the class was fun and I was able to understand and apply the various rules of the language. I loved Spanish class because Senora Rowe made it so much fun. I t seemed to me a whole different world where I could learn of not only a different language but a different culture , people, places, traditions, and learn about these things we did. Another factor that increased my desire to learn the language was the fact that I seemed to perform well in her class environment, and the rewards of learning quickly and performing correctly were almost immediate. Senora Rowe made sure to praise us all, even when someone was struggling with producing or applying the language she made sure to encourage and praise their efforts, this made for a very comforting and trusting environment.
Yet Senora Rowe was not a pushover or a passive teacher, she pushed and prodded us, she had high expectations and often observed our progress individually. A corner of the room was dedicated to display the names of people who had scored the highest in the tests and exams, and I always waited eagerly to see where I had placed on the display. My books were filled with many red ‘Muy Bien’s’ and Excellentes! as well as various stamps and stickers of encouragement.
I came to love the language because I had a teacher who was inspiring, who made learning fun and who took a personal interest in her students and their achievements. That one initial positive experience and class helped me to maintain that interest and work hard at learning and understanding the language as I went through the remainder of my school years and although I am not fluent in Spanish, I have a good working knowledge of the language and still thrill to hear or read it. I was in contact with Senora Rowe throughout my high school years, and it was always a delight to see her, even now I still have many fond memories of her, and although I had many other encouraging and interesting teachers, no one ever managed to stand out quite so much in mind or have the impact that she did. She was and remains I’m sure an excellent teacher who will continue to impact and positively influence generations of foreign language learning students.
--Timali Ebanks, Florida Atlantic University