By KIMBERLEY HIBBERT

Career & Education reporter

UNLIKE many other teenagers who would probably listen to radio stations in English and tune in to entertainment programmes, Errol Haughton, Spanish Teacher of the Year, did the opposite.

“I would tune my radio to the Cuban stations on the AM band and listen to them,” Haughton said.

This practice would soon pay off as Haughton developed a love for the Spanish language while he attended the Herbert Morrison Technical High School in St James.

Today Haughton is the Spanish Teacher of the Year, an award which he received from the Spanish Jamaican Foundation.

Haughton, a teacher at Meadowbrook High since 1997, said he fell in love with the language from his days at Herbert Morrison, as apart from listening to Cuban stations on his radio, he had good Spanish teachers.

But in 1986, he was introduced to teaching the subject is a very unusual way.

“I taught Spanish at Herbert Morrison as a tutor because the teacher there at that time went on leave and Spanish teachers were hard to find,” Haughton said.

In 1990, Haughton entered the profession officially as a trained teacher and said to this day he has never looked back.

“I majored in Spanish and English at Mico University College and at UWI (University of the West Indies) I took up Spanish. Since then I have been contributing to the education system in many ways and will continue to do so,” he said.

Haughton, however, said that at times he may feel discouraged, especially when students do not prepare themselves adequately.

“When students do not readily prepare themselves to learn, it makes you wonder if you want to stay in the teaching profession. However, I try to treat each group as a new group and not judge students off previous year’s groups,” he said.

When asked how he prepares each lesson, Haughton said he simply looks for similar things in English culture and Jamaican language and make connections to Spanish.

“I approach the teaching of the language by doing a lot of comparison. Many words in Jamaican Creole probably have their origins in Spanish. For example, we as Jamaican’s love to say, “mi rah!” when we are astonished with something and similarly in Spanish ‘mirar’ means ‘to look, to see or to watch’. It’s those things I use to make connections,” he said.

Haughton said a part of his classroom activities includes speaking of his experience in other Spanish-speaking countries and having trips to them, Panama in particular, so that students can make a cultural connection.

Haughton, however, does not believe in preparing students only to pass exams.

“I teach students beyond what’s expected in an exam as I don’t know where they’ll end up in life. I even teach them the verb form that is used in European countries so they are prepared for elsewhere other than the region,” he said.

But Haughton believes more attention needs to be given to how the subject is taught at the primary level as endless opportunities exist with knowing the language.

“In the mid-’70s Jamaica declared Spanish as the official second language of the country but the education system has not fully embraced it. The Spanish primary curricular has been implemented but there are not enough teachers and where there are teachers, there are not enough jobs. A serious attempt needs to be made to ensure Spanish isn’t placed on the back burner by principals by reducing Spanish teaching hours instead of increasing it,” he said.

Haughton added that the Spanish Jamaican Foundation is attempting to pay for exams in areas where there are Spanish hotels and that knowing Spanish opens doors to scholarships.

Haughton, however, said that he is dedicating his award to his deceased mother as she was instrumental in him getting an education. He further went on to thank a few of his teachers.

“Spanish was always my favourite subject and I would like to thank Barrington ‘Boca’ Campbell, one of my high school Spanish teachers, and Dr Paulette Ramsay from the University of the West Indies,” he said.

Haughton, who served as president for the Spanish Jamaican Foundation for four years, said acquiring the language is not a bed of roses but dedication is the key to success.

“To master the language one needs to practise speaking it. Take every opportunity you get to speak with other persons studying the language or native speakers. Making mistakes is part of the learning process,” he said.

Haughton… I approach the teaching of the language by doing a lot of comparisons. (PHOTO: LIONEL ROOKWOOD)