VOA标准英语2011--French Class Connects Haitian Children with Their Heritage

French Class Connects Haitian Children with Their Heritage¹

The U.S. state of Florida is home to one of the largest Haitian communities outside the Caribbean nation. The city of Miami even has a neighborhood known as "Little Haiti", where Haitians maintain² close ties to their heritage and ensure their children do the same.

At the Little Haiti Cultural Center, little Haitians come to learn French.

The center offers the classes through the New York-based French Heritage Language Program.

Not all the students are Haitian, but for the ones who are, the language carries a special significance.

“My mom speaks French a little bit. She speaks French and English,” explains Dominique Domond.

“Sometimes, he says, 'Mom, I want you to teach me how to speak your language,'" Marie Domond says.

Teacher Jennifer Linkletter says that family connection is key.

“French is part of what it means to be Haitian, and the goal of the program is to get them in touch with their French history and with their French roots and to be proud of that,” she explains.

Another language also means more opportunities.

“The more languages you speak, the more you can share, you can work,' notes Martine Buissart, the French Heritage Language Program’s Miami coordinator³. "For work, it’s very important.

"It can be good for him, too, in the future, so he can have a second language to help other people,” she adds.

Future benefits aside, for now, for the children, French is just...fun.

1 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

2 maintain   

vt.支撑；赡养，抚养；维持，保有

参考例句：

• He has to maintain a large family on a small salary.他不得不依靠很少的工资养活一家人。
• We must do our best to maintain sales at their usual rate.我们要尽力使销售额保持在平日的水平上。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？