Week 3: Assignment 1

Based on chapter 7 of the textbook and the videos that I watched, I think the shift in the outlook towards bilingualism is a complete turnaround. I feel as the bilingual system in schools is sometimes viewed as a disadvantage. However, there is proven research that shows extremely obliging effects on bilingual practices.

First off, I think it is important for teachers to understand the extreme differences in some languages. We learn a lot about this in the video “How language shapes the way we think”. One example she gives us is how we count easily in English; some people can’t count at all or were even ever introduced to it because in their language they might not do it. That video also talks about colors, and the feminine and masculine nouns used in the Spanish language.

In regard to the changes in attitude towards bilingual students, studies have shown that bilingual students actually have outperformed monolingual students on many levels. If a bilingual student is taught by using their past experiences and dual language components to their advantage, they can really excel to new heights.

The last video really intrigued me with the study of babies’ brains. This study tested both monolingual and bilingual babies. The babies that grew up in a monolingual household brains were programmed to only understand one language. On the other hand, the babies that were being brought up in a bilingual household, brains were programmed to learn 2 languages. It was found that the bilingual babies ended up having stronger brain activity than the monolingual babies because their brain was getting that constant exercise from the switching back and forth between the two languages.  

My experiences with both monolingual and bilingual peers are most definitely accurate. I have also admired my bilingual peers and have been amazed at how far they have come with becoming biliterate. My friend who I have been close with since elementary school grew up in a Spanish speaking household. She was able to successfully become completely biliterate throughout the time I have known her and has been extremely successful in her field today. Its amazing to me the complexity that’s behind all of this and how successful some people are with it.

References

Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2017). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

TED. (2017). Creating bilingual minds | Naja Ferjan Ramirez | TEDxLjubljana [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp2Fvkt-TRM

TED. (2018). How language shapes the way we think | Lera Boroditsky. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKK7wGAYP6k

tvoparents. (2010). Does learning language make kids smarter? [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfNXtUFUbxE

UniOfReading. (2015). How bilingualism helps your brain [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sDYx77hCmI