The article states that bilingualism is a positive attribute for both Americans and foreigners in the United States. Fallows supports his thesis with two main points. First, he claims that English is no such thing as a polygamy, but, a situation such as having two children. This argument is sustained by three cases: Scandinavians and Swiss' multilingual…
Rodriguez defines public language as the way that a person speaks in society and around one's peers. On the contrary, a private language, described as the method of communication within a person’s family, and friend group. These two categories of language define bilingualism as a way to communicate with others. Rodriguez grew up in a Spanish only home, he “considered Spanish to be a private language” but he did not know that he “had the right-the obligation-to speak the public language” of English. (19) Rodriguez went to an all English catholic school and was practically forced to speak English.…
Bilingualism will connect to different parts of the world and respect the different cultures while becoming friends with more people who will respect you back. First, to Martin Espada bilingualism means more than just speaking one language, it means to have the right retain your own identity while also having the choice…
Many Americans ascribe to the belief that America represents a “melting pot” of cultures. With so many differing cultures in this country, America would be expected to have a high bilingual population and large support for bilinguals’ rights. However, America is only about 20% bilingual (source). This low bilingual percentage accounts for Americans’ general lack of empathy for bilingual people and their rights. Two bilingual authors, Martin Espada and Richard Rodriguez, portray contrasting perspectives about the issue of bilingualism in America by addressing the meaning of bilingualism, bilingual education, and discrimination against bilinguals.…
French – English Relations in Canada RenéLévesque was quite fond of using analogies and metaphors to describe political issues. One such example was when he compared the Canadian French-English relations to an unhappy marriage. Honestly, there was no better way of describing the issues between the two and the stages that they went through. Suppose that English Canada was the husband and French Canada was the wife.…
In the past 70 years since the end of World War II, Canada has evolved from the soldiers following the orders of Great Britain to the modern bankers of the world. The change in Canada’s global image reflects the metamorphosis that has transformed this country. Canadian domestic legislation has developed the foundation of Canada’s national identity, one that values multiculturalism, human rights, diversity, and the welfare of its citizens. Canada’s trade and economic policy has helped establish Canada’s independency and has given the country a reputation for having good financial practices, establishing Canada as a prosperous country. Canada’s involvement in wars post-World War II, the creation of the Canadian Forces, and Canada’s role as peacekeepers…
Universally, bilingualism is know as the speaking of two or more languages fluently. However, bilingualism has a far deeper meaning. I believe that bilingualism is the combination of two or more cultures and their languages into one’s life, and that it is the ability to communicate with a variety of people, not just people from one’s own countries. Throughout their essays, essayists Rodriguez and Espada develop different definitions of bilingualism.…
Dualism is a philosophical perspective that can be defined as “the view that international law and domestic law are separate systems.” For example, as stated in the lesson 5 notes, “elements of international law can be considered in the domestic system through the process of transformation, wherein an international rule is converted into a domestic rule.” The philosophical perspective of dualism can explain the way Canada is related to international law. When observing the treaty laws that Canada has, it is important to note that Acts transform treaties instead of by judicial decisions. It is also mentioned that “prior to transformation, the treaty binds Canada as a country, but cannot affect internal law without being implemented, transforming the international right or obligation into domestic law.”…
The division between the French-Canadians and the British-Canadians has been a source of tension and conflict since the first colonies in what is know present day Canada. The two groups are known as the francophones, being the French-Canadians, and the anglophones, being the British-Canadians. One of the major sources of tension between the francophones and the anglophones is routed in the major disagreements regarding language. These tensions can be even be traced back to the settlement of the first colonies in Canada, the election of the Parti Quebecois, who supported Quebec’s separation from Canada, and even issues that are still present today.…
In a modern world like ours, it has become commonplace for people to know more than one language. Being bilingual is an incredible asset in Canada that incredibly increases your job prospects or chance of being hired right out of university. It benefits you in various ways, ranging from knowing the language to help communicate with others, to having a successful and well paying job. Science proves that learning another language also improves your multitasking skills and improves your memory.…
On the other hand, students that belong to the majority language generally experience additive bilingualism since the school language is added to their native language (Lambert, 1974). Garcia (2009) suggests that bilingualism should not be seen as the additive (the balanced wheels of a bicycle) or subtractive (unicycle) models, but rather as an all-terrain vehicle that it is used by persons to adapt to the uneven topographies of communication. Current research developed by Garcia and Kleifgen (2010) proposes that bilingualism is ‘dynamic’ instead of linear, and that under this perspective languages should not be seen as independent systems that individuals possess, but as practices used by them. According to Garcia and Kleifgen (2010), “Dynamic bilingualism refers to the development of different language practices to varying degrees in order to interact with increasingly multilingual communities” (p. 42). Consequently, effective instruction for ELLs should be built on the full linguistic range of the students and also should include practices that are multiple and hybrid, and support the dynamic bilingual practices used by bilingual individuals to create knowledge and understanding (Garcia & Kleifgen,…
is so far behind in advancements academically and socially. Every other country encourages and supports bilingual education. In each claim and argument Rodriguez presents there are harmful consequences that the reader takes away from them. He believes that one’s native language and the public language are unable to coincide, not based on research or statistics, merely based on his own personal experience with not being able to handle the two. The takeaway from this belief is that there should only be one language in America, the public language.…
A lot of people do not understand that not everyone speaks English. Bilingualism means being able to communicate effortlessly in two languages. However, not only speaking, but reading and writing fluently as well. I am grateful to have been taught how to read and write in Spanish while attending church. I am also appreciative to have learned English at a very young age, because little did I know that it would become a big role in my life.…
How important is being bilingual? From birth almost everyone learns the language that their parents or relatives teaches to them, this allows them to communicate with the world. However, the confinement of only knowing one language can have its’ own issues and drawbacks. Every individual desires to speak and express themselves with no problem and what greater asset than knowing a second language? Speaking more than one language is an advantage for many professionals as the world becomes increasingly globalized.…
In chapter 8 it discussed a reason why we have to teach a balanced bilingual curriculum in the classroom. The textbook “Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism” by Colin Baker expressed the cognitive theories of bilingualism and the curriculum. There are three theories that make up the cognitive theories for bilingualism; The Balance Theory, The Iceberg Analogy, and The Thresholds Theory. Within the Iceberg Analogy it broke town the 6 parts of the Common Underlying Proficiency. Also within the chapter the book did a great job of discussing the distinctions between basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) and cognitive/academic language proficiency (CALP).…