The majority of the schools in my neighborhood are low-income, hispanic based. Which plays a huge role in what literacy is like for that community. Being in a primarily Hispanic based community you see a lot of Spanish speaking mixed in with English speaking. This can be a great thing for literacy. Research has proven that literacy in multiple languages is a great thing. Many countries offer language courses at a young age, but unfortunately that is not commonly seen in the United States.
As bilingual person, I can say the first time I was "forced" to use English it was quite a shock. I was told countless times to be more "American" and speak only English; that Spanish was not American, but Mexican. Granted, these were very ignorant people, but unfortunately we still find people like this today. Even though that was a long time ago whenever I am told to speak a certain language, even Spanish, it can be very irritating. We do live in the United states of America, where I can choose to speak whichever language I please.
Not only can this be irritating but also demeaning. Telling a student they are wrong for wanting to learn or speak about a certain language/culture makes them less likely to want to learn and uncomfortable. It makes students question their knowledge and identity. I believe as teachers we need to be more open to different languages and cultures, thus allowing students to be more comfortable and have the desire to learn. No, I don't believe you should be forced to learn another language. But just think about how much more culturally aware, we as Americans, would be if we chose to do so. As I have mentioned before learning a language is not just how to speak it, but it is also learning about the Culture and traditions it has as well. I believe Culture and Language are the biggest barrier we as people can make, and it is one we can easily knock down. 
The research done on the benefits of being bilingual (or multilingual) have really created an appreciation for knowing other languages, when before it was seen as a “bad” thing. Of course now, everyone wants to know another language! They want to learn it for their convenience to communicate with others, and also have their children learn it at a young age so that they reap the developmental and cognitive benefits of being bilingual. While the students you are observing in your own community might seem to be struggling with language barriers, I am sure in the long run they will benefit from being in such a culturally rich environment. I’m glad it was only the ignorant people that forced you to speak only English and that it wasn’t a common trend. It seems really harsh for anyone to do that. I’m sure they had good intentions in mind though and just wanted you to succeed, not knowing the benefits of being bilingual. I also hate when others tell me, “Speak English, you’re in America!” Okay, being in America means I get to speak whatever I want! It’s our right and we are a melting pot! I’m sure people do get irritated though when they think it is about them. I know I do. For example, when I go to a nail saloon that mostly speaks another language (for example, the last place I went to was all Korean run) and the workers are clearly making fun of me or other customers. It is really annoying. I like that you emphasize the importance of not only knowing the language, but the culture behind it. That aspect does certainly get lost sometimes in classrooms. For example, in my Spanish classes growing up we barely learned any Hispanic history. Those times we watched Finding Nemo in Spanish we could have watched a cultural or historical movie in Spanish. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an excellent point within your post; why are we prohibiting students to speak in their native language in order to wash out their culture and to be "more American"? Students in high school are required to take a foreign language class. If we are pushing students to learn more than one language, why are we devaluing students' native language? While it is true that not everything is dual-language in our society, teachers should still teach the English language, but not ignore the Spanish language during the process.
ReplyDeleteI also love the line from the comment above me: " also hate when others tell me, “Speak English, you’re in America!” Okay, being in America means I get to speak whatever I want! It’s our right and we are a melting pot!" America is known as the Land of the Free, so we should be promoting others to not only feel comfortable speaking in our country, but also support them and encouraging the idea that it's not just okay to know two languages and to be able to speak in both, but it's something they should be proud of.