Name of author and text:
“Aria” by Richard Rodriguez
“Teaching Multilingual Children” by Virginia Collier
Author’s Argument:
Collier argues that when a teacher is faced with a student or students that English is not the primary language, then there are certain guidelines to follow so that the experience will be “enriching.”
Quotes:
-->> Guideline #5: “Do not forbid young students from code- switching in the classroom. Understand the functions that code- switching serves.”
I find this weirdly funny. My family and I do this like all the time. In Khmer, there is no present tense –ing. However, we would speak and out of nowhere we would make up a word like riding for example, would be said jees, but my family would say it jees-ing. Or sometimes as I mentioned in my earlier blogs how I tend not to know a word in English so I would try to say it in Khmer and have someone else try to translate. I would always get yelled by my peers for not having a more broad vocabulary especially when English is my first language. My teachers however, would not yell at me though when I start to stutter or start to try to charade my way and hope that the word would come to me even though it never does…
-->> Guideline #3: “Don’t teach a second language in any way that challenges or seeks to eliminate the first language.”
I find this quote contradictory to “Aria.” The nun went to tell Richard’s parents to start speaking English at home so the kids would become more proficient in it and ultimately losing the first language. I didn’t really understand what was going on in the article, but from what I understood, Richard and his family stopped speaking Spanish to each other altogether after English came to their family. I don’t want to blame anyone or anything for families falling apart, but I think it is safe for me to say that his family did lose family connection they once shared when they all had something in common: their language. I think it is true, when a family has nothing in common except for the language they speak, that can still be useful in starting a dinner conversation.
-->> “The key is the true appreciation of the different linguistic and cultural values that students bring into the classroom.”
We are always taught to speak English when we are in a classroom or when we are in public. When culture and language is truly appreciated in a classroom or anywhere for this matter, then one can finally feel special for being his or her true self. No one would be left out and everyone would be equal in a sense that no one person is more dominant in a classroom than the other.
All these quotes represent the article in a way that shows language is power. Just because the culture of power is being “S.W.A.A.M.P.,” there are things that are more powerful sometimes. Like on a resume being bilingual is a skill all employers look for so someone that is bilingual would most likely get a job compared to someone that isn’t bilingual…right?
Questions/Comments/Points to Share
I think it is very important to practice and know your culture and language. For instance, my younger sister barely practices her Khmer and my brother in lay doesn’t speak English so when they try to communicate it’s hard because they would argue and find people to translate and everyone would get upset because we know she can speak it she is just afraid of saying something incorrectly. We yell scold her all the time, if she doesn’t say it out loud then how will she know if she is saying it wrong. By speaking out loud, it gives her the opportunity to be corrected for future use. I think language is very important; maybe that is why I never felt like a minority. It want because I was “white-washed” it’s because I held my head up high and said, “I got something they don’t and that’s language!” I don't know that’s just me…
“Aria” by Richard Rodriguez
“Teaching Multilingual Children” by Virginia Collier
Author’s Argument:
Collier argues that when a teacher is faced with a student or students that English is not the primary language, then there are certain guidelines to follow so that the experience will be “enriching.”
Quotes:
-->> Guideline #5: “Do not forbid young students from code- switching in the classroom. Understand the functions that code- switching serves.”
I find this weirdly funny. My family and I do this like all the time. In Khmer, there is no present tense –ing. However, we would speak and out of nowhere we would make up a word like riding for example, would be said jees, but my family would say it jees-ing. Or sometimes as I mentioned in my earlier blogs how I tend not to know a word in English so I would try to say it in Khmer and have someone else try to translate. I would always get yelled by my peers for not having a more broad vocabulary especially when English is my first language. My teachers however, would not yell at me though when I start to stutter or start to try to charade my way and hope that the word would come to me even though it never does…
-->> Guideline #3: “Don’t teach a second language in any way that challenges or seeks to eliminate the first language.”
I find this quote contradictory to “Aria.” The nun went to tell Richard’s parents to start speaking English at home so the kids would become more proficient in it and ultimately losing the first language. I didn’t really understand what was going on in the article, but from what I understood, Richard and his family stopped speaking Spanish to each other altogether after English came to their family. I don’t want to blame anyone or anything for families falling apart, but I think it is safe for me to say that his family did lose family connection they once shared when they all had something in common: their language. I think it is true, when a family has nothing in common except for the language they speak, that can still be useful in starting a dinner conversation.
-->> “The key is the true appreciation of the different linguistic and cultural values that students bring into the classroom.”
We are always taught to speak English when we are in a classroom or when we are in public. When culture and language is truly appreciated in a classroom or anywhere for this matter, then one can finally feel special for being his or her true self. No one would be left out and everyone would be equal in a sense that no one person is more dominant in a classroom than the other.
All these quotes represent the article in a way that shows language is power. Just because the culture of power is being “S.W.A.A.M.P.,” there are things that are more powerful sometimes. Like on a resume being bilingual is a skill all employers look for so someone that is bilingual would most likely get a job compared to someone that isn’t bilingual…right?
Questions/Comments/Points to Share
I think it is very important to practice and know your culture and language. For instance, my younger sister barely practices her Khmer and my brother in lay doesn’t speak English so when they try to communicate it’s hard because they would argue and find people to translate and everyone would get upset because we know she can speak it she is just afraid of saying something incorrectly. We yell scold her all the time, if she doesn’t say it out loud then how will she know if she is saying it wrong. By speaking out loud, it gives her the opportunity to be corrected for future use. I think language is very important; maybe that is why I never felt like a minority. It want because I was “white-washed” it’s because I held my head up high and said, “I got something they don’t and that’s language!” I don't know that’s just me…
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I love how you talk about this from the perspective of your own two languages. And I think you are right on when you say that Collier would really disagree with how the nuns dealt with Richard and his family. Great connections our other texts as well.
ReplyDeleteLB