In the article “My Two Minds”, Catherine De Lange details the differences between bilingualism and monolinguals. It was believed that starting back in the 19th century, bilingualism would confuse the capability of a child to fully understand either language properly. Later studies then shown that people who were bilingual may not have as a diverse vocabulary, but the overall cognitive ability to speak another language did not hinder the overall development.…
Furthermore, analysing the emergent bilingual definition offered by Garcia represented a fundamental concern in the article. Garcia presented her definition to introduce the role that home language and culture can do for foreign language learners. However, Turnbull indicated that Garcia’s definition is restricted to young foreigners who are who are learning English in the United States schools. In addition, Turnbull disagrees with the term ‘late bilingual’ which describes foreign language learners older than teenagers. Turnbull claimed that all foreign language learners around the world are entitled to be emergent bilinguals rather than minorities children in the United States. Furthermore, the perception of emergent bilingual should involve…
Bilingualism helps to increase the academic and intellectual development of the brain. It is a great ability to assimilate. When in a situation, the brain goes through a workout to resolve an internal conflict. “The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment”(Bhattacharjee, 2012). Bilingualism seems that if being bilingual is a simple life hack, then we would all be able to achieve the highest set goal. Being able to withhold more than one language is part of the brain’s executive function. Having to deal with any kind of puzzle even if it is from another country a bilingual has a better chance of solving it. It would be a better opportunity if it was learned at an earlier…
I can understand both the pros and cons to bilingual education; however, I am more influenced by the negative points, due to the fact that nations are lacking resources for instruction. If the resources provided are inappropriate or lacking credentials, the students will ultimately be affected. Even though bilingual individuals are more advanced regarding their problem solving skills, their memory, and their job qualifications, without the proper useful resources, an individual will not achieve…
In my opinion bilingualism plays a major role in the educational development of children. This is because research has shown that children who are fluent in their home language are more successful in learning a second language. Furthermore, being bilingual offers greater sensitivity to language, more flexibility in thinking and better ear for listening. It also improves a child’s understanding for the native language. Moreover, knowledge of other languages increases a career of opportunities offering several job options.…
Mrs. Alvarez was raised in Dominican Republic, where the mother tongue is Spanish, but soon, she got enrolled in a (probably private) school, where she also learned English. Even though the learning of a new language is better at early ages, it certainly has consequences in us. Julia started mixing words in both languages (what we call Spanglish), but not only in her informal conversations with friends and family, but in school, what gave her problems with her professor. She also found herself talking in English with his grandfather, who apparently did not speak the language. Besides the linguistic problems, bilingualism might make us think twice what we say, specially when we are in an environment where two or more languages are spoken. In my opinion, this should not affect your identity, since we should know where we belong and what we are, but this is an answer that only Julia knows.…
I agree with Rodriguez that your heritage will forever remain your identity but it is possible to have multiple identities in a sense of becoming accustomed to wherever you are. You can embrace your new profound identity and in a sense of individualism in order to succeed in life. Bilingual education to me is important because not only does it teach you to speak a universal language in America but also teaches you societal norms. Reason being is that once you’ve learned the proper language, mannerism, and culture you can choose to be the person you want to be. According to a writer at Kars4kids, which is an educational blog for parents, Merle Huerta suggests that “Bilingual education makes kids more adaptable and flexible in a changing environment.” (Huerta). With that being said, being bilingual can have adaptive benefits. The improvements in the cognitive and sensory process from bilingual experience may help students or anyone learning English to better process information in the environment. Furthermore, bilingual education can help train the brain by learning and inhibiting a new language which allows bilingual people to access newly learned vocabulary. In addition to benefits of Bilingual education Matthew Lynch, who is an author of The Call to Teach and editor of The Edvocate, states in his article that bilingual education, “helps remove international language barriers.” (Lynch). Lynch argues that bilingual education has cultural benefits to people learning two languages together. People who come from households that have English as a primary language can lend their language expertise to friends from Spanish-speaking homes, and vice versa. Overall in Rodriguez’s perspective, I understand that what once was his sacred and private language became something almost non-existent to him was abhorrent. Not only was language was changed but also his…
I come from a small island in the Caribbean known as Puerto Rico. On this island Spanish is the central language, leading me to be fluent in Spanish. Later in my life as I grew, went to school and watched American TV I learned English, turning me bilingual. Bilingualism is defined as the ability to converse in two different languages. Were I come from most of my family and friends are bilingual, but when I came to Miami I didn’t expect to meet many people that could speak Spanish. As I began to observe the people from Miami I knew that this wasn’t the case. If you go to any place in Miami, you will probably find someone who is fluent in both English and Spanish. I found this extremely weird; I didn’t expect to encounter so much bilingualism in Miami.…
I often thought about the advantages of being bilingual for one, no one else understood what you were saying unless they spoke the same language. Learning and understanding another language did make feel like a different person. In school, I was always trying to fit in with the other students and show them that I could speak the language properly. They did see the effort that I was making and even so allowed me to sit at their lunch table or play with them during recess. Today, I do not really feel any different in how I identify and my level of proficiency in the languages that I already know.…
A unique part of my family heritage and culture is the ability of speaking Spanish. Being bilingual is something that I really appreciate to have because it gives me certain advantages when it comes to applying for jobs or helping others. For example, I was doing community service and there was a woman who need assistance, but she couldn't speak English well. Fortunately, I was able to help her and I felt proud for that. Nonetheless, approximately the same situations apply in school from time to time. In conclusion, I feel pleased for this ability to speak the Spanish language.…
Most people have developed the misconceived notion that allowing students to learn more than one language at the same time usually resulted to great confusion amid students subjected to such learning trends (García & Baetens, 2009). However, one thing that is for sure is that there are more benefits to bilingual education than individuals know…
Individuals who are bilingual will benefit academically in many ways. Bilingual individuals will switch between languages constantly, making their brains more flexible. This helps them develop more flexible approaches to thinking through problems. Also the ability to think…
Being bilingual is makes you more open and flexible to critical understanding and appreciating different ways of problem solving and more inspired to becoming involved. The openness of bilingualism is reflected towards society that may direct at the political rank to a better firmness.…
Growing up bilingual meant that not only was I lucky to be cultured in two languages but it also meant that I had an expanded vocabulary with words in Spanish and in English. In elementary, I felt uncomfortable speaking either language around my classmates because they would look at me strange if I spoke Spanish with someone and then weird again if I spoke English and I felt that I had to identify with just one. Once I got into my teenage years I learned that being bilingual was not a disadvantage but an advantage which meant that I would be able to relate to not just one crowd but, two. This made me realize why I got looked at funny when I was little, they did not know that I was using my second language to express myself to people who spoke…
People are always telling me that I don’t speak English or Spanish, but I have my own language called Spanglish. I sit here thinking how many people can relate to my everyday life struggle.The curse of being bilingual is one that can affect you for all of the time.…