Branch 5-2 “We’re in America, Mama. Speak English!” (167)
Maria: I don't want to go with you.
Lucia: Porque no?
Maria: Because you always talk in Spanish. It sounds stupid. When you speak Spanish, everyone knows we come from Puerto Rico. Why don't you talk to me in English?
Lucia: Tu familia habla espanol.
Maria: English is better. All my friends speak English. Anyway, I dont understand Spanish.
“To honor home languages and cultures, we need to bring bilingual and bicultural models into our classrooms and we need to change the climate-the culture of our classrooms, to foster respect for all languages” (168). After reading Chapter 5, I realized Bilingual education or additive English immersion programs is the answer. We need to keep the culture of our future students, and eliminate conversations such as the one above with Maria and Lucia. As a senior of ISU with a major in Bilingual education and a minor in TESOL, and the knowledge I have gained from these courses, I believe adding the existing linguistic and cultural repertoire of a child, rather than replacing a home language with English is imperative.
Double consciousness coined by W.E.B. Du Bois explained the persistence of the “color line” and the persistence of prejudice and stereotyping.This double consciousness lets the person see themselves through the revelation of the other world. Their behavior is influenced by what the other people think and is distorted through others’ negative image of their race. This leads to low self-esteem because of the racism.
It is hard to learn a second language. But, it is even harder living in the country of that learned language. Most families try to assimilate, but that is not the answer. As I said before, I believe adding, not subtracting a second language is very important. Instead of seeing yourself through the eyes of others’, retrack and see yourself as yourself. In about a year, I am going to be student teaching in a bilingual classroom. I am sure I will see families that just want their student to speak English and English only, but I hope to eliminate that “double consciousness” and let them see what their child can gain out of preserving their home language and learning a second language.
Tina,
ReplyDeleteI, too, was struck by the comment you quoted above. I think it is such a common sentiment and I agree with you that the answer is to preserve and respect both the student's past AND what they are learning right now. However, I was pleasantly surprised the other day in an interaction with a Spanish-speaking family, because it was just the opposite. I give tours for the Admissions office and a mother on my tour was a native Spanish speaker. At the very end, she thanked me in Spanish and rather than appearing embarrassed or uncomfortable, her son seemed proud of his mother and the exchange was a fun way to end the tour. I loved that they were both proud of their heritage, but obviously had learned English very well and used it comfortably. It was so encouraging to see a family who understood the importance of both languages. They have assimilated, as you suggest, but they have not left their heritage behind. I felt like they had done it the right way!
I totally agree with you, Tina. I feel that bi-lingual education is a wonderful tool in helping minority students feel valued in the target language culture. It was sad to read in the chapter that many school personnel make students feel that they come from literacy-impoverished homes because of their minority home language. I feel that through bi-lingual education, the home language will be utilized in the curriculum and valued by the school community.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the goal of ESL education should not be to replace the home language but to add to it. I feel that by replacing the home language we are almost trying to replace a child's identity. The school community should accept the students for who they are and not attempt to "normalize" them. Instead, they should be encourage to be themseleves even if that means incorporating their home language into instruction and activities.
This is very interesting Tina! I liked this blog alot. I know a lot of friends who feel the same way as the dialog at the beginning of the blog, they hate bringing their parents out because they do not speak English so they are forced to translate for them or speak Spanish in public which they felt draws attention to them.
ReplyDeleteI hate when I hear people say, "You are in America, speak English." It makes me very upset because as someone who loves Spanish as much as I do, I make sure to take every chance I get to use my Spanish. I order in Spanish at restaurants even though I know perfectly well that they understand English. When I was a cashier and I noticed someone was Latino and was shy to talk, I would conversate in Spanish. Noone has ever been offended but many have been interested in how I learned Spanish so well, and most were flattered by my motivation to use my Spanish. :)