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Central Point kids bridge spoken language barrier Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Alan Jacuinde, sitting, tries to follow the sign language of fourth-grade classmates Kristopher Ray, left, and Garrett Lacey while they practice a skit at Mae Richardson Elementary School in Central Point. Sign language has provided common ground for Alan, a Spanish speaker who's learning English, and his classmates to communicate. By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT - On a recent morning at Mae Richardson Elementary, two dozen fourth-graders rush around a sunshine-filled classroom acting out a series of skits. The excited 9- and 10-year-olds practice their lines, compare facial expressions and chat up a storm. Some crawl around like puppies while others pretend to fly airplanes, read invisible newspapers or grasp their stomachs in belly laughs. But no one makes a sound. The rambunctious but silent students are learning sign language in the fourth-grade classroom of Donna Sabin, who says the universal language teaches something else that's equally important: "Sometimes the best way to communicate is without speaking." In her classroom, sign language is helping break down barriers between Spanish and English speakers. Alan Jacuinde, a 10-year-old who moved to Central Point from Mexico last year without knowing a word of English, is learning how to communicate with his classmates more quickly with the help of sign language - and a bilingual 9-year-old girl named Angelica Banuelos who translates when needed. She whispers a few words to help Alan through his skit. "If you're not using your mouths to talk, I shouldn't be able to hear you," Sabin gently reminds the children. Ultimately, silence gives way to giggling, and Sabin brings her youngsters back on task by flickering the lights (the way a teacher in a deaf classroom would get her students' attention). The laughter stops but the smiles linger, especially for Alan, whose classmates have worked especially hard to find ways to transcend his language barrier, Sabin says. Sometimes the simplest touch can speak volumes. An arm around his shoulder at recess tells Alan his friends want to play soccer. Though he may not always know what's being said - or screamed - he laughs as teammates argue endlessly over "following the rules!" A touch on his arm and a smile from Angelica tells him to listen and watch. Angelica speaks Spanish to Alan and then shows him how to say the same thing using sign language. With a bashful smile, the quiet bright-eyed boy understands and nods his head. Zach Rarrick is a senior at Crater High School who has helped Sabin teach sign language for the past two years. He says that because sign is universal in all languages, students who can't speak Alan's language still can converse with him easily. "It gives us kind of a neutral way to communicate," Zach says. "I can communicate with him in sign language better than Spanish. They have 'no voice time' where the kids will partner up and they can only use sign language. "It's really neat to see how they've bridged the language gap. You can pick any kid in the class, even those who don't know Spanish, and they always get their point across. They find their own way to communicate." Angelica, who was born in Ashland and spoke Spanish before learning English, helps Alan because she knows learning another language is difficult. "When Alan first came here, Mrs. Sabin asked me to help him," she says. "It's kinda hard 'cause I have to speak two languages at once, but he's learned a lot. "We all help each other." Another student, 9-year-old Tony Ramirez, is included in Alan's support group. Tony sticks by Alan's side much of the school day, especially during soccer games at recess. Unlike Angelica and Alan, Tony was first taught to speak English but traveled with his family to see relatives in Mexico last Christmas, when he and twin brother Ivan learned to speak Spanish. For Tony and Angelica, Alan gives them a chance to continue using their native language, and that's important, says Marisa Barnes, coordinator of English as a second language programs for the school district. "We try to get these kids to understand and function in English first, but then we try to continue to support native language," she says. "It's very important that they don't lose that along the way." Ten-year-old Kory Blacklock says Alan has learned a lot since he first came to Mae Richardson. "When he got here, he didn't speak English at all, and Angelica would tell us what he was saying, and we would just point at things a lot more until we learned some sign language," Kory says. "When he couldn't talk so much, we would just hang out. "Now he can speak a little English, and you can ask him how to say something, and he'll tell you. It's pretty cool. And he's so funny. When he's excited he says everything three times, like 'Kory, Kory, Kory!'" Barnes says she's amazed at how the students used sign language to help bridge a gap between two languages. "Love is a universal language, and that seems to be happening here," she says. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.