Learn to speak Spanish at Lehigh Senior Center

By Staff | May 20, 2015

Henry Cancel

Several Lehigh Acres residents have challenged themselves to learn conversational Spanish so they can communicate with the increasing population of Spanish-speaking people in the community.

Henry Cancel, the instructor, says he thinks it is good for the community for more and more people who speak English to learn to speak Spanish and he thinks those who speak Spanish should learn English.“

“We would have a bilingual community,” he said. “But not with so many people who speak only Spanish, and I would guess that could be 40 percent of the community. A lot of people are coming to the Senior Center on Plaza Drive and asking to join classes to learn Spanish.”

Cancel meets in Room 108 at the Senior Center on Plaza Drive and it’s free for members of the center.

Shari Weaver, a student in the Spanish class, says Cancel is “a great teacher.”

MEL TOADVINE Spanish class at Lehigh Acres Senior Center.

“He makes it fun for us to understand the basics of Spanish,” she said

Cancel, formerly of Puerto Rico, said he teaches conversational Spanish and doesn’t push the language “rules” students in high school have often had to study.

“My way of teaching is for those who can speak everyday type of Spanish. I teach my students how to have normal conversation with Spanish speaking people and when they are able to do that, it is surprising to see the smiles on Spanish-speaking citizens in Lehigh,” he went to say.

There are no books to buy, no extra materials to worry about, just some paper to jot down what Cancel says to his students.

Bob Clark, one of Cancel’s students says he is studying Spanish so he will be able to communicate when he travels to Spanish-speaking countries. Clark also said he also wants to learn to speak the language so he can communicate with those who can’t speak English in his own community.

Cancel says it’s not all that difficult to learn to speak Spanish.

“After a few months, our students are ready to be able to say things to those they meet in the grocery stores and other places. And besides my students believe it is rewarding to know a second language,” Cancel said. “I teach them the conversational speaking of Spanish. They don’t have to worry about how to conjugate verbs and learn the other details about the language.”

Cancel can also speak French and said he learned it years ago by buying a French to English dictionary and studied every word in it.

Esmond Sydney, another student, says he has a general interest to be able to understand Spanish better.

Bonny Harmon said she had a really important goal in mind for learning conversational Spanish.

“I want to get a part-time job and I want to be bilingual with Spanish she said. If you can speak English and Spanish, the chances are much better in getting a job where you are dealing with those who only speak Spanish,” she said.

As far as getting people interested in learning Spanish, Cancel says it clears up a lot of misunderstandings because some Spanish-language individuals who do not understand English may believe they are being talked about when that is not the case at all.

Cancel notes, too, that as a former police officer in New York, it is essential for those who speak Spanish only, to learn English.

“If Spanish is your only language, you are not going to understand what the police say to you if you are stopped on some type of traffic charge,” he said.

Spanish-speaking people may also learn to speak English at classes held in Lehigh, taught by the Literacy Council.

During his first year of teaching at the Senior Center, Cancel said he had four students and his classes have reached as many as 26.

“When we started, those four in the class were mostly snowbirds and one was from here. They all did well. The snowbirds also wanted to know Spanish because when they returned home, they would be able to also talk to their neighbors and others in the community,” he said.

Cancel said it is important to be able to help undocumented immigrants who live in the area who can’t speak English. It helps with many misconceptions the individuals may have because they don’t understand English.

He noted that Spanish-language people come here often due to the poor conditions in their native countries such as Mexico and South American nations.

“They try to get jobs here and when they do, they send back money helping to support their families,” he said.

Cancel teaches Spanish for two hours on Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon. A second class is taught from noon to 2 p.m. by another instructor. Cancel also said there are beginner classes at the Recreation Center on Homestead Road.

Cancel said they have gone to the Goodwill store and have been able to buy English-Spanish dictionaries for 50 cents and the local Rotary Club of Lehigh Acres has promised to supply them with more dictionaries.

Not only does Cancel recite popular comments used, he also gives assignments for his students. Leslie Moritz said he had completed or combined two recent assignments for the class.

Lee Scott says she would just love to be able to communicate with Spanish-speaking people.

“I may ask them ‘do you speak Spanish” in their native language and their faces light up,” Scott said. She also said it is a good feeling to be able to communicate with others in their own language.

Cancel said there is always room for more students. All you have to do is contact the Senior Center and join as a member and inquire about the class.

: MEL TOADVINE Spanish class at Lehigh Acres Senior Center.