Ignacio Lara wrote a letter to the judges of his high school's senior project. He introduced himself as a 19-year-old native of Mexico who immigrated to the U.S. at age 11. For his project, he researched the advantages of having a native Spanish speaker teach foreign language classes, including providing more cultural insights. He created and taught a Spanish vocabulary lesson on parts of the body to a 10th grade class. The experience showed his weaknesses in teaching and public speaking due to nerves, though he ultimately wants to earn a degree in teaching Spanish.

1. 1550 Owens Store Road
Canton, GA 30115
April 15, 2010
Judges, Senior Project
Creekview High School
1550 Owens Store Road
Canton, GA 30115
Dear Judges:
My name is Ignacio Lara. I am 19 years old. I was born in Veracruz, Mexico which is
located in the Gulf Coast of Mexico. My mom(Edith Lara Contreras) decided to bring me to The
United States at the age of 11 with my sister Lineth Lara because my mom came to the United
State in year 2000, a year after she gave birth to my little brother(Julio Lara) but my brother
came to the U.S.A at the age of 4 and she wanted us to be together with her here in Atlanta,
Georgia. I live with my mother and one brother, and one sister. When I came here, my mom put
me in 3th grade I attended in Macedonia Elementary School, but because I didn’t speak any
English, I was sent offered to take ESOL classes in there, where I learned most of my English.
My future goals are go to graduate High School, but main goal is to become a Mechanical
Engineer. I didn’t choose to do Mechanical Engineer because I could not find a facilitator for it,
that’s why I chose to taught Spanish 1.
The topic for my research paper is how to become a Spanish teacher. The issue my
research focuses on is the advantages of a native Spanish speaker teaching in a foreign language
classroom. My research showed that a native Spanish teacher provides the student with more
cultural insights because it is a rich source of cultural information. A native Spanish teacher has
superior linguistic and communicative competencies in teaching Spanish, and their
disadvantages like; overcrowded students, and lack of equipment to learn, also.
Because of what I learned in my research, I decided to create a lesson plan on ‘Parts of
the Body’ vocabulary words for a 10th grade Spanish class at Creekview high School. Some of
the challenges I faced was that I was so nervous that I didn’t do what my facilitator told me to do
in front of the class like for example, to talk loud so everyone in the classroom can hear me.
Teaching the lesson showed me my weaknesses in the areas of teaching and speaking.
My senior project has led me to maybe teach Spanish as a career. I have learned that even
though I am a native Spanish speaker and speak Spanish fluently, my challenge is that I get
nervous in front of students and that my English is honestly hard to speak it fast.
My senior project has confirmed that I will earn a college degree in teaching Spanish
because I want to teach my language and help students do better in life. Thank you very much
for coming and for your time.
Sincerely,

2. Ignacio Lara