El Lenguaje del Trabajo – The Language of Work

I often get caught up in the language (el lenguaje) of my work as a teacher and educator, especially since I have moved to the university level.  It is the nature of my job to speak (hablar) and to write (escribir) in terms of precision and often; those words are unique and specific to the world of academia.  At times, I will toss around terms that I think everyone else uses, in effect integrating my specialization (mi área de especialización) with my daily life, and this can often lead to interesting revelations.  For example, a friend asked me to describe what I was doing in my job, and I replied that I was developing a new curriculum project (proyecto) that was designed to aid middle school students in learning concepts in science.  He kind of gazed at me with a far away look and said, “Uh, that’s great…What’s a curriculum?”

There are certainly unique words (palabras únicas) that are used in my field of education, such as curriculum, but also throughout academia and the general working world. As we get more specialized, the terms that describe specifically what we do or are doing, also take on a heightened level (un nivel alto) of specificity.  In my current position as a university professor, this is an area I am well versed in my native language (mi idioma nativo) of English, but learning and then utilizing the technical terms in the proper manner in Spanish is another thing entirely.  Things are not always translated perfectly from one language to another, and the differences between English and a romance language like Spanish are subtle at times, but at other times, completely different.

For example (por ejemplo), I was in a meeting (una reunión) at the university, where a group of professors, university officials and consultants were discussing the merits of a new academic program. I have been in a number of these types of meetings throughout my career (mi carrera), and felt that it was very familiar in one sense, as we spoke about things like integrating field-based experiences, using strategies of problem-based learning (aprendizaje basado en problemas) and integrating situations that require the use of critical thinking.  Yet, what really struck me wasn’t the actual words, it was the spirit in which they were discussed and utilized.  This group of educators in my field of science education really wants to design a program that requires participants to develop inquiry skills and people who really think and solve problems.  This is something that I cannot only get behind, but also contribute to as well.  What amazed me was that this attitude (este actitud) was demonstrated from the beginning to the end of the meeting, from the bottom to the top (al fondo al arriba) of the hierarchy, from the student to the professors and to the administration.

I have struggled in this area, but in effect, this represents a new struggle (una lucha) in my progression as a Spanish learner and speaker here in Santiago. If you remember, I arrived here as a baby (un bebe), just happy to be able to breathe (respirar) and to eat (comer).  In time, I grew into more of an adolescent, full of youthful bravado and a sense of false confidence.  I think I have progressed now out of that stage, to actually be seen as a functional, albeit at times a somewhat phonetically challenged, Spanish speaker living in Chile.  This is actually an important point (una cosa importante) to see in my progression, a growth that has not come without effort, but one that has been brought forward.  Yet, it ultimately has been the fact that living here in Santiago has facilitated this change (este cambio), and I am excited to see what type of growth happens next in this transformation in my life.