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My name is Rita Barrett--Profe, to my students--and I am passionate about sharing my love for Spanish and Spanish speakers with my students. I love to see them take their first steps into a bilingual future.
But why stop at just two languages when our brains are wired to learn several? Once a year we stop Spanish class to celebrate Polyglot Day--a time to bask in all the beautiful opportunities of speaking to seven billion people in seven thousand languages. My true passion is people, of any nationality, culture or background. I want to meet them, to hear their stories and to share mine. I want them to know that they are precious children of God and that we are one big family.And the best way I have found to do that is to learn their languages. I want my students to have that same incredible experience of meeting people in the language of their hearts. And so I teach. |
Where did I learn Spanish?Miss Harold, my seventh-grade Spanish teacher, and my sister Barbie sparked my love for Spanish, but I didn't get back to Spanish until college. I spent a year studying in Spain and that's where I became fluent. Three summers pursuing a masters in Guanajuato, Mexico and my adopted Mexican family have given my Spanish a distinct south of the border flavor.
¡Viva México! |
So how many languages do I speak? My students always ask. I am very fluent in English and Spanish, comfortably conversant in German and make the natives laugh when I speak French and Italian. Possibly I make the natives cry when I speak Russian and Mandarin. Throw in a little American Sign Language, too. My favorite way to learn a language is to listen to the audio Bible on my way to school.
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What else do I do?My husband and I share many hobbies. We love to hike, backpack and garden (we grew 400 pound of potatoes one year!). I am also a pediatric hospital clown at Randall Children's Hospital. I love it when I have patients who speak one of my languages. That doubles the fun!
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