LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

In U.S. schools, there is a tendency to teach a “global” Spanish that aims to embrace all varieties of the language. But in attempting to include everyone, this approach can end up pleasing no one. Showing videos of colloquial Spanish from Panamá, Costa Rica, Spain, and Chile confuses students and often bewilders teachers, who may lack the tools to explain unfamiliar variants. I advocate for a consistent, focused approach: teach the educated, cultured Spanish of one country. This gives students a clear, coherent linguistic model. They will have ample opportunity to encounter regional differences once they travel or advance in their studies. The key is for the school to clarify that the Spanish taught in the classroom corresponds to a specific country, and that it reflects educated speech and writing. At the early stages, we must steer clear of slang, colloquialisms, and juvenile language. A firm foundation in the cultured language will serve the student well, wherever they go. 

     Spanish and English are spoken in many different countries and have many varieties, so the question often arises: Which variety is the best to study?      The point is very tenable because most people are confused, and rightly so when confronted with a difficult choice in the case of English: American English or British English? Most Europeans believe that, of course, real English is the one spoken in the British Isles and that American English is a bastard tongue. I believe the British think so too - I do not.  The case of Spanish is even more complicated. In the US, the language has been neatly divided into two distinct varieties: South American Spanish and Peninsular Spanish.   However, the question cannot be dismissed so easily and neatly.  Each country has its peculiarities: the Spanish spoken in Mexico is not the same as the Spanish spoken in Argentina or Paraguay, all of which are Latin American nations. The Cuban accent is not th...