The Making of Americans: Multiple Languages is an Issue? - 8 views

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  #1 khermes09 on 23 Mar 13

   

  I found an article that discusses a teachers questions regarding two languages used in the same classroom. She uses English and Spanish with her students depending on the language that the student speaks. There is a current debate on whether or not this is beneficial for the kids and also if it is right to mix the two languages in one setting. In the book "The Making of Americans", Hirsch would seem to agree that one dominant language is the key to education. He says in the book "the standard language is one of the firmest and most stable realities of American life." (p.99) This article presents the issues with bilingual classrooms and really goes in depth at explaining why it is beneficial and not.
  
  Here is the link to the article:
  www.coursecrafters.com/ELL-Outlook/2004/jul_aug/ELLOutlookITIArticle1.htm

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I found an article that discusses a teachers questions regarding two languages used in the same classroom. She uses English and Spanish with her students depending on the language that the student speaks. There is a current debate on whether or not this is beneficial for the kids and also if it is right to mix the two languages in one setting. In the book "The Making of Americans", Hirsch would seem to agree that one dominant language is the key to education. He says in the book "the standard language is one of the firmest and most stable realities of American life." (p.99) This article presents the issues with bilingual classrooms and really goes in depth at explaining why it is beneficial and not. <br /> <br /> Here is the link to the article: <br /> <a href="http://www.coursecrafters.com/ELL-Outlook/2004/jul_aug/ELLOutlookITIArticle1.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.coursecrafters.com/ELL-Outlook/2004/jul_aug/ELLOutlookITIArticle1.htm</a></div>

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  #3 Lauren Tripp on 25 Mar 13

   

  Here's a study on one bilingual classroom that tries to teach Spanish to English speakers and English to Spanish speakers: Here are the goals: "For middle class English-speaking children, two-way programs offer an enrichment opportunity: a chance to learn a foreign language in the early grades of elementary school, something quite rare and special for English speakers in a U.S. context. For working-class Latino children, two-way programs often offer stronger academic programs and more primary language support than their neighborhood schools. They offer a chance for children to maintain and develop pride in their heritage language and culture while still learning English, which is critical to their survival in the United States."
  
  As the study points out, it doesn't always work that way, due to power issues, but it is an interesting idea. I wonder if it was taught making the power explicit (how could you do that with 2nd graders though?), if it would be more effective, i.e. being clear about the the fact that learning to be bilingual makes you more powerful for either side, but the non-native English speakers need to learn English to have any power at all in this country.
  
  It would be an interesting PROBE paper topic - hint, hint. ;)
  
  http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/users/dpalmer/EngSpkrs%20TESOLQ.pdf

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Here's a study on one bilingual classroom that tries to teach Spanish to English speakers and English to Spanish speakers: Here are the goals: "For middle class English-speaking children, two-way programs offer an enrichment opportunity: a chance to learn a foreign language in the early grades of elementary school, something quite rare and special for English speakers in a U.S. context. For working-class Latino children, two-way programs often offer stronger academic programs and more primary language support than their neighborhood schools. They offer a chance for children to maintain and develop pride in their heritage language and culture while still learning English, which is critical to their survival in the United States." <br /> <br /> As the study points out, it doesn't always work that way, due to power issues, but it is an interesting idea. I wonder if it was taught making the power explicit (how could you do that with 2nd graders though?), if it would be more effective, i.e. being clear about the the fact that learning to be bilingual makes you more powerful for either side, but the non-native English speakers need to learn English to have any power at all in this country. <br /> <br /> It would be an interesting PROBE paper topic - hint, hint. ;) <br /> <br /> <a href="http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/users/dpalmer/EngSpkrs%20TESOLQ.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/users/dpalmer/EngSpkrs%20TESOLQ.pdf</a></div>

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  #4 yiranyang on 29 Mar 13

   

  Language is a very critical part of a society. In "The Making of Americans", Hirsch emphasizes that one dominant language is very important for a society, and the mastery of this dominant language is deeply beneficial for an individual in the society. I fully agree Hirsch's view also. This article provides an alternative way of teaching, which both native language of a student and English (the dominant language in society) is used in a classroom. I think it's a very analytical article, and it actually supports Hirsch's view in a different approach. In the end, the main purpose of the bilingual approach is to help students master both the academic knowledge and the language of English. The right thing that we should do is to pay attention to the usage, and maybe provide some guidelines for teachers to combine the two languages in a more beneficial way.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Language is a very critical part of a society. In "The Making of Americans", Hirsch emphasizes that one dominant language is very important for a society, and the mastery of this dominant language is deeply beneficial for an individual in the society. I fully agree Hirsch's view also. This article provides an alternative way of teaching, which both native language of a student and English (the dominant language in society) is used in a classroom. I think it's a very analytical article, and it actually supports Hirsch's view in a different approach. In the end, the main purpose of the bilingual approach is to help students master both the academic knowledge and the language of English. The right thing that we should do is to pay attention to the usage, and maybe provide some guidelines for teachers to combine the two languages in a more beneficial way.</div>

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