Language Diversity
This week's reading talked about two topics that I always called my attention : Monolingualism and
language diversity. In the article Educational Linguists, the author argues that the failure of the
monolingual white community to assimilate to multilingual and multidialectal mainstream its causing a
language gap. I completely agree with the author, however I must state that along the years I been
seeing some improvement, at my internship. A case that I found interesting was a seven years old boy
who comes from a white monolingual family , but his parents wanted him to learn a new language. He
was put in a dual language classroom, where most students were exposed to another language at home.
The students need to be able to complete assignments, read and write in both languages: English and
Portuguese. My first thought was that the young boy would be resistant to learn in another language,
but when I started helping him I noticed that he was reading better than some students who were spoke
another language at home. He's not afraid of making mistakes and is able to successfully assimilate to
his classmates. It's clear that the language gap the author talked about in the article is not present in this
classroom, which leads to question if a young boy who is only seven years old is able to
successfully assimilate to a bilingual community and is willing to learn a new language, then why the
monolingual white community is failing to assimilate into multilingual mainstream? In my opinion, the
major cause for is the beleif that it is not the white monolingual community that needs to assimilate and
learn new languages, yet it is the multilingual community that needs to assimilate to the monolingual
community and only speak standard english.
Another article that I found interesting was "New rules hurt bilingual students" by Sarah Hesson.
Under the new regulations, ESL students would spend only three periods to one period of the day with
a certified ESL teacher for beginners and no time at all for advanced or intermediate students.
Although, I believe that if english learners spend more time in mainstream classes, they would learn
English faster but How can they be successful in tests and assignments designed for English speakers ,
if they still learning english? I agree with Hesson, the new regulations are not supporting ESL students'
success.Lastly, I found this video "The monolingual mindset", Felicity Meakins explores the
monolingual and multilingual mindset and how it affects education. Also she provides some helpful
suggestions on how support bilingual students. VIDEO : Monolingualism
language diversity. In the article Educational Linguists, the author argues that the failure of the
monolingual white community to assimilate to multilingual and multidialectal mainstream its causing a
language gap. I completely agree with the author, however I must state that along the years I been
seeing some improvement, at my internship. A case that I found interesting was a seven years old boy
who comes from a white monolingual family , but his parents wanted him to learn a new language. He
was put in a dual language classroom, where most students were exposed to another language at home.
The students need to be able to complete assignments, read and write in both languages: English and
Portuguese. My first thought was that the young boy would be resistant to learn in another language,
but when I started helping him I noticed that he was reading better than some students who were spoke
another language at home. He's not afraid of making mistakes and is able to successfully assimilate to
his classmates. It's clear that the language gap the author talked about in the article is not present in this
classroom, which leads to question if a young boy who is only seven years old is able to
successfully assimilate to a bilingual community and is willing to learn a new language, then why the
monolingual white community is failing to assimilate into multilingual mainstream? In my opinion, the
major cause for is the beleif that it is not the white monolingual community that needs to assimilate and
learn new languages, yet it is the multilingual community that needs to assimilate to the monolingual
community and only speak standard english.
Another article that I found interesting was "New rules hurt bilingual students" by Sarah Hesson.
Under the new regulations, ESL students would spend only three periods to one period of the day with
a certified ESL teacher for beginners and no time at all for advanced or intermediate students.
Although, I believe that if english learners spend more time in mainstream classes, they would learn
English faster but How can they be successful in tests and assignments designed for English speakers ,
if they still learning english? I agree with Hesson, the new regulations are not supporting ESL students'
success.Lastly, I found this video "The monolingual mindset", Felicity Meakins explores the
monolingual and multilingual mindset and how it affects education. Also she provides some helpful
suggestions on how support bilingual students. VIDEO : Monolingualism
Marcia, the successful integration about the boy in your classroom is quite a paradox. Nelson Flores' blog post is a satirical commentary on our nation's rhetoric and pedagogical approach to ESL students; yet your story is the author's example of a hypothetical intervention for the monolingual white student. I think the missing link to this narrative - and indeed the satire itself - is an examination regarding the boy's placement in the mixed language classroom. Namely, choice. Your student can already speak the dominant language. He has been placed in a multilingual classroom at his family's request. He will not experience the required testing, instruction, and separation of being labeled an ESL student. Indeed, it is fascinating and rewarding to be a part of any child's learning, especially when the gains are as as big as language acquisition. I am unclear of your position regarding the support or integration of ESL students into public education classrooms as you state "the multilingual community that needs to assimilate to the monolingual community and only speak standard english" and then conclude with a link to a TED Talk that provides evidence in direct contrast to the former.
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