English Language Development (ELD) teacher at Oakland Mills Middle School in Howard County, MD
Keyword: The Power of Images, Comparison of School Systems in US and Peru, Sequencing Events, Graphing Our Data
Hi all! My name is Carlos Barrera Rodriguez. I am the lead English Language Development (ELD) teacher at Oakland Mills Middle School in Howard County, MD, where I work with multilingual learners grades 6-8. I hold a Master of Arts degree in Intercultural Communication from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), with a concentration in Languages and Cultures. I also hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), in Nicaragua.
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Born and raised in Nicaragua, I am as passionate about working with young migrant students in public schools as I am about Latin America. I have lived and worked in Cuba, Panama and Nicaragua as an ESOL teacher, curriculum designer and interpreter. In addition to working as an ELD instructor, I work as Spanish adjunct instructor for the Goucher Prison Education Partnership (GPEP) where students earn a Goucher College bachelor’s degree in American studies while incarcerated.
I have always been passionate about teaching and learning languages. I self taught myself English as a young teenager in Managua mostly by listening to American Hip Hop. After that, I was fortunate to receive a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD in German) to study in Düsseldorf, Germany where I received my Zertifikat Deutsch. Finally, with the help of one of my wonderful university professors in Nicaragua, I was awarded another scholarship to study Portuguese at the Brazil-Nicaragua Cultural Center for three years. These and other experiences have molded me into who I am and what I stand for as a language teacher myself.
When I participated in the Fulbright-Hays Partners in Education Program for 6 weeks in Peru in the summer of 2024, I didn’t know how much this experience was going to impact me personally and professionally. Living with such wonderful host families provided me with an intimate view of daily life that I wouldn’t have otherwise had. Engaging in culture classes with Professor Eliana in Cusco helped me gain insights into local customs, traditions, and values that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. This knowledge not only enriched my appreciation for diversity but also fostered personal growth, as I learned to navigate different worldviews. Participating in hands-on workshops and activities allowed me to immerse myself in local traditions, fostering creativity and innovation. This engagement strengthened my ability to collaborate with others and appreciate diverse forms of expression that I will try to replicate in my classroom.
Professionally, building relationships with fellow scholars and local professionals expanded my professional network. I hope that these connections lead to future collaborations or mentorships, enriching my career prospects. Moreover, the advanced Spanish courses where I deepened my linguistic knowledge of grammatical structures and intricacies of Andean Spanish will be beneficial for my professional career as I work with multiple families from South America and the Andean region. Finally, I plan to incorporate the authentic materials I collected to plan and implement ELD lessons back in Maryland using the knowledge I gained in Peruvian anthropology and culture.