Bilingual Phenomenon

“Our culture, our traditions, our languages are the foundations upon which we build our identity.” - Unknown. Bilingualism has many different interpretations and definitions and can cause problems in the community or unite it. The concept of bilingualism represents several different ideas, two writers, Martin Espada and Richard Rodriguez share in their essays their personal stories about being immersed into the English culture and learning the language. They share their views of what bilingualism means to them personally and make arguments about the importance of the concept. The two essayists bring awareness to the major role bilingualism plays in the communities today and highlight the effects of disagreements between cultural groups.

Bilingual are those who use two or more languages in life. Some people are able to talk fluently in two different languages like able to speak, read, and understand two languages equally well is called bilingual. Knowledge of a second language given to the a person to talk with a wider range of people. Therefore, speak to languages lead to be more intelligent. There are many positive effects and negative effects from being bilingual.

What is the meaning of bilingualism? Even with a dictionary definition, can it be trusted to give an answer that everyone agrees with? The dictionary definition is controversial, which results in people discussing the actual definition that fits everyone’s perception. But of course, with discussions, comes arguments. Who discusses such topics, and what do they talk about? Two prominent figures who discuss this topic are Martín Espada and Richard Rodriguez. Both have contrasting views on bilingualism, and their views are shown in their essays, which are The New Bathroom Policy at English High School by Espada and Hunger of Memory by Rodriguez. Espada’s definition of bilingualism is the ability to learn a new language and the right to

“Our culture, our traditions, our languages are the foundations upon which we build our identity.” - Unknown. The concept of bilingualism represents several different ideas, two writers share their personal stories about learning being immersed into the English culture and learning the language. They both share their views of what Bilingualism means to them personally and make arguments about the importance of the concept.

What is bilingual education? Bilingual education is a term that describes the different kind of educational program such as English as a Second Language. This program is taught in their native language. “For example, young children might be taught to read in their native language of Spanish; they are transitioned to English-only instruction when their English is proficient enough to ensure success.” (http://www.suite101.com/content/bilingual-education-programs-pros-and-cons-a227708) Since 1960, there was a controversy in the public school to have bilingual education. The bilingual education programs have promise students a good education in their native language, so they won’t fall behind in their schoolwork.

Bilingualism is the ability to communicate in two different languages. Bilingual education is the use of two different languages in classroom instruction. According to the Encyclopedia of Children’s Health, and many other researchers, “languages are learned the easiest during a child’s youngest years. Therefore, when a child is growing up in a bilingual home or is receiving bilingual education, can easily speak both languages. Children who grow up in a household where two languages are spoken, usually acquire both languages simultaneously. Although their ability quality and skill of each language may be somewhat slower than a child that is

Bilingual Education involves teaching academic content in two languages, in a native and secondary language with varying amounts of each language used in accordance with the program model. Bilingual Education has been around for some time since the settlement of the Polish settlers during colonization in the 17th century. Although, Bilingual Education has been a great controversy in the United States on whether it should be taught or not, Bilingual Education in schools is necessary for the understanding and convenience of students and staffs.

Introduction - Being a part of a bilingual speaking family, like with my mom and dad who are Chinese immigrants, is an experience that no one can imagine unless you are part of a bilingual speaking family. Experiences such as knowing a language that not many of our neighbors don't know can be frustrating for both sides. Being young in my early years, learning English was not only a struggle for me but for my family. I noticed that my parents struggled learning english and communicating with the outside world. From buying groceries to paying for the bills, I observed the painful experiences that my parents persevere through all these years. I was glad public schools gave me the opportunity to not only learn English but to help my family live in this English superior society.

Bilingualism has to do with an individual being fluent in two or more languages at work or educational facilities.

"America's strength is not our diversity; it is our ability to unite around common principles even when we come from different backgrounds, we can still unite with those bilingual people that have the same dream. The American Dream..." That is what Raj answered when I asked his opinion in regards of bilingualism and how diverse the United States is becoming. Bilingualism is the use of two alternative languages that are interchanged depending on the situation the speaker wants to convey or communicate (Myers-Scotton, C. (2006). Multiple voices: An introduction to bilingualism. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.) In this Bilingual Profile I will share my interviewee's background, explain the reasons of his language of choice, and explain

Bilingualism- is the ability of a person to use two or more languages aside from his/her mother tongue.

Learning a foreign language has always held a higher prestige than speaking one language in one’s community, where it is important to maintain one’s native language, Einar Haugen stated that, “Bilingualism has been treated as a necessary evil, a rash on the body politic, which might be expected to cure without the need of calling in the doctors…,” (Haugen, 1952, pg. 2). In the English-only outlook, English acts as a social glue that holds the nation together, in which state sponsored bilingual services removes incentives to learn English and keep immigrants out of the mainstream. It is not enough for immigrants to learn English, they must also renounce their native tongue, where in their eyes bilingualism is regarded to as divided loyalties. In reality however, bilingual education holds much academic value, where acquiring another language is regarded to as a necessity for future work, travel and personal relations. Students who are fluent in different languages work together and aid one another

Rampton (2009) stated that Bilingualism is the ability to use two or more languages. Definitions of bilingualism range from the basic ability to communicate in two or more languages to a fluent level using those languages, which allows the speaker to function

Bilingual education is an academic approach followed by some instructors, which is using the native language for new English learners for instructions. Within the international context, bilingual education has become a necessity due to the high number of immigration, colonialism and the great number of local languages (Yushau & Bokhari, 2005). This approach in instruction has reflected back positively or negatively in many dimensions such as social, psychological, and pedagogical. However, bilingual instruction is an effective way of teaching English as a second language, in case of well implementation it can be seen as an educational advantage. This literature covers a wide variety of opinions that revolves around a topic that researchers find it controversial, this review will highlight the major question and findings which emerge in

The ability to read a word is not as easy as it seems. In fact, it is a cognitively complex process that it is not only requires that the reader should know its meaning only but also other linguistic aspects. To name a little, reading a given word necessities understanding its meaning, pronunciation, form, relationship to the world such as its sense or reference along with how it is morphologically structured and syntactically functioned. So understanding such processes enable a monolingual reader to properly read and use this given word. But when it comes to reading in two different languages things behave slightly different. Bilinguals so often encounter words that are shared in both of his/her language either phonologically or orthographically such as English-Spanish rich, rico, and English-Dutch monster-monster. This way, cross-language similarities highly increase the complexity level of processing and in turn pose important questions; how does bilingual language processing work? Does it work the same way as L1? If so,