She encourages her students to choose freely between English and Spanish when they speak, write, and read in class. She used to reserve English for one block of time or activity and Spanish for another. Although many of the students in this class are predominantly Spanish-speakers, Vargas says more and more of them are starting to take risks by using English. A similar trend has emerged at OLE's San Francisco-area site. Vargas plops into an oversized black leather chair, taking on the role of classroom emcee.
Hands fly up.
Eric explains in English that he went to a friend's birthday party. Rene talks in Spanish about going to Shakey's pizzeria with his family. Vargas comments, effortlessly switching between the two languages. Aware of the gap that often exists between the experiences language-minority students read about in standard schoolbooks and what they have actually lived, Vargas is careful to let her students guide their discussions and writing. A key OLE feature, the journal exercise encourages students to write without fear of being corrected.