writing skills of Dominicans

[Princesa777]

I noticed that a lot of Dominicans have very poor spanish writing skills, I know this is to be expected from beach guys that dropped out of school when they were 12, but it is not just those guys. I noticed that a lot of well educated Dominicans (at least finished high school and attending university) have poor writing skills as well.
My old spanish teacher (a Dominican woman that has 2 university degrees of which one in spanish, even told me that when she attended university her TEACHER wrote vaca as baca...)

I know the DR is a poor country, but I've been to other poor Spanish countries as well (Guatemala, Mexico) and the educational systems wasnt so great there either, lots of drop-outs etc. But at least they could spell... (the ones that could read anyway)

So how come its so different in the DR?

[Ezequiel]

Originally Posted by Princesa777

I noticed that a lot of Dominicans have very poor spanish writing skills, I know this is to be expected from beach guys that dropped out of school when they were 12, but it is not just those guys. I noticed that a lot of well educated Dominicans (at least finished high school and attending university) have poor writing skills as well.
My old spanish teacher (a Dominican woman that has 2 university degrees of which one in spanish, even told me that when she attended university her TEACHER wrote vaca as baca...)

I know the DR is a poor country, but I've been to other poor Spanish countries as well (Guatemala, Mexico) and the educational systems wasnt so great there either, lots of drop-outs etc. But at least they could spell... (the ones that could read anyway)

So how come its so different in the DR?

I don't know where are you getting all that non-sense, a well educated Dominican has great writing still, even those who never finish high school have average writing skill.

Your old Spanish teacher went to the worst of the worst university if that is the case, i'll bet her writing skill is NOT that good either them.

[BushBaby]

May I refer the good Princesa777 to multitudes of posts here on DR1 where 'educated' people from many 'English Speaking' countries are also unable to spell? Punctuation, Grammar, ............. even CONTENT??? When I was in the United Kingdom last year I had the chance to see essays written by my nieces which were being compiled as 'Homework' - I was astounded at the spelling & grammatical mistakes they contained. When I queried same with my Mother (she wot brung me up proper like!!) she pointed out to me that this was now acceptable in schools, colleges & universities alike.

Bringing this back to the DR education system, it is hardly surprising that students don't learn to spell correctly - the teachers are paid a pittance which means only the HIGHLY dedicated few & the more uninspired become teachers, school books are often unavailable for students, classes work on the rote learning method ... i.e. word of mouth repetition system!!

Time for the 'elected' Government to invest the agreed amounts (4% of GNP) into the schooling system & try to encourage a desire to learn, integrity & the ability to use deductive reasoning from a very early age. That requires honesty & integrity on the Governments part I suppose so the chances of that coming to fruition is somewhat ..... BLEAK!! ~ Grahame.

[The Virginian]

We have seen both great and poor writing from Dominicans as well as Haitians. There is a mixture of quality. We have also learned that most Haitians are better educated than Dominicans. We hope the eductaion system here is improving. On a side note, Dominicans come to our home and ask for money, Haitians come and ask for work.

[Ezequiel]

Originally Posted by The Virginian

We have seen both great and poor writing from Dominicans as well as Haitians. There is a mixture of quality. We have also learned that most Haitians are better educated than Dominicans. We hope the eductaion system here is improving. On a side note, Dominicans come to our home and ask for money, Haitians come and ask for work.

The Virginian, you have any proved that Haitians are better educated than Dominicans?

Who are the one in the intersection asking for money? HAITIANS

You don't know what you are talking about.

[Bayx-**]

Race has nothing to do with spelling….. come on. I had seen both Dominicans and Haitians in the intersection asking for money. I m not a good speller of English or Spanish and I attended school in both countries (DR & US). When it comes to spelling it has to do with ones ability to memorize, a lot of practice and one individual effort to become a better speller.

So it’s up to you to become a good speller …..

I’m still practicing

[Princesa777]

Originally Posted by Ezequiel

I don't know where are you getting all that non-sense, a well educated Dominican has great writing still, even those who never finish high school have average writing skill.

Your old Spanish teacher went to the worst of the worst university if that is the case, i'll bet her writing skill is NOT that good either them.

I got it from my own experience. I didnt say ALL Dominicans are bad spellers and certainly not that all well educated dominicans are bad spellers! But I think a surprising number has horrible writing skills, and I mean I dont speak perfect Spanish, so Im sure I make my share of mistakes too, but I know how to spell the easy words...

My spanish teacher went to a university in Santiago, I dont know which one, but she and her husband seem very intelligent and well educated, they run their own (semi-private) school and give spanish lessons to foreigners. I never catched her making any mistakes (but like I said, my spanish is not perfect)

I dont blame the Dominicans for their writing skills, its obviously a problem in the system of the public schools, but I wonder whats different about the educational systems in the DR then other poor spanish countries.
I had some friends in Guatemala, they were from the lower class, dropped out of school when they were 13 or so? But when I chat with them on MSN or something they write correct spanish. When i try to do this with a guy from the beach that is still going to high school or dropped out on a later age (like 15), its almost impossible to understand (im not saying that the well educated people speak that bad, its just to show the difference in writing skills between 2 uneducated people in 2 poor countries.

I also agree its not surprising they dont learn how to spell correctly, I visited several (public) high schools for my thesis and taught english in one school too. (spend a lot of time on their spanish writing skills too...)
But I wonder what is do different about the DR educational system that it's so much worse than in other (poor) countries

[Chip]

BB, I hear what you are saying and I admit I have been guilty of misspelling. However, I think it is important to recognize that many who do post aren't the best "typer's" and are somewhat impatient in that they don't take the time to look up words in the dictionary that they are uncomfortable with.

To answer the op's question, I believe the problem is endemic and are the direct results of a substandard education system. To see what I mean check out this forum:

http://foro.univision.com/univision/...licadominicana

[Alyonka]

To write and spell properly one has to read a lot. For example, I don't read that much literature in English, and that is why I am not that good at creative writing in this language. I can only translate well, that is all.

I only met one Dominican who likes to read and write, and also does it well. Of course, there are some others on this board. The question would be: what percentage of Dominican population likes to read books and does it regularly?

[dv8]

i'd say there are two reasons:
1. as alyonka mentioned - people do not practice enough, they do not read or write all that much.
2. they way native speakers learn the language. when i studied english i had to write short paragraphs every single day. letters of complain, reviews and so on. i never had to do half as much during polish classes.