Essay about Compare and Contrast

In the essay “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Child”, author Richard Rodriguez emphasizes the negativity of having bilingual classes implemented into schools, by using ethos to increase his credibility on the subject, repetition to exemplify the intimacy of the Spanish language, and nostalgia to explain the difference between a hospitable and public language.

Furthermore he also states that, “today I hear bilingual educators say that children lose a degree of individuality”(19) when they assimilated into the public society. As I read through this portion of the article I expected to see facts, reports, or statics on how many people are on the same page as Rodriguez. Although he does not use logical credibility he does use his own life as a personal credibility. However, I as a person that was in his same shoes as him can relate because I understand what he is talking about. On the other hand, people that just know one language or just beginning to touch on the topic, can not fully comprehend what it effects the person. Therefore they can agree or disagree with Rodriguez just based on his stance for his personal

Rodriguez gave many reasons why one would not be a supporter of bilingual education. By giving examples from his life. What he lived and went through, finding himself and his voice. By only speaking Hispanic, Rodriguez had a hard time learning, and transitioning into American Culture. Rodriguez felt held back, not able to learn to the full potential. “I considered Spanish to be a private language. What I needed to learn in school was that I had the right — and the obligation —

People of all ages constantly learn how to speak multiple languages. Children are taught to become bilingual, which increases their knowledge. A young boy named Richard Rodriguez grew up in San Francisco, California with a household of Spanish speaking family members. Rodriguez barely knew English when he entered his early years of Elementary school. Through the course of his education Rodriguez took note of how different he was from his family, and slowly began to lose his heritage. Rodriguez’s family embarrassed him since he was categorized as a Scholarship boy, which means a good student yet also a troubled son whose moderately endowed (Rodriguez 19).

​Richard Rodriquez reflects his childhood memories and raises his opinion on bilingual education in his essay, ‘Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual

In the essay, Tan explains how she had a challenging time with English in school. We begin to learn to speak from our parents, so Tan’s grades suffered when English wasn’t the primary language in her home. While she had trouble with her English courses, she excelled

As research shows, bilingual education is an effective tool that allows children to learn school curriculum in their language while acquiring academic English, but Rodriguez does not support the notion. Prior to starting school, Richard did not speak the public language, English, which is why after he had begun school, he felt uncomfortable in the class settings. As nuns "connected [Richard’s] behavior with the difficult progress [Richard’s] older sister, and brother were making" (Rodriguez 1982: 19), they encouraged Rodriguez 's parents to use

Amy Tan, the author of “Mother Tongue,” claims that language is a powerful tool that impacts one’s language ability. She states the fact that her English language was affected from the different influences in her life, referring mostly to her mother. The English Tan communicated with at home was different than the English she was taught at school. This demonstrates how her mother’s tongue highly affected her English language. Her mother is an Asian American immigrant from China, which explains her “broken” English.

Over time, Tan realizes that her mother’s English made her into the person she is today. In “Mother Tongue” Amy Tan discusses the large roles of the two types of English in her life, they’re impact on

She claims that language is defined by experiences and that the power of language lies within the person’s connotative view of certain words. Concerning her linguistic identity, Tan writes “I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language…. All the Englishes I grew up with”. She is aware that language is different for everyone including herself and has the power to affect other people differently. She refers to the multiple Englishes she knew growing up which is important because it demonstrates that her experiences with them played a role in her language development.

By using the role of perspective, and emotion the author made it clear that she had a new found frustration with the “limited” or “broken” Englishes she used growing up because in a way her mother’s imperfect English limited her possibilities in life. The author demonstrates this by stating, “I think my mother’s English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well. Sociologists and linguists probably will tell you that a person’s developing language skills are more influenced by peers. But I do think that the language spoken in the family, especially in immigrant families which are more insular, plays a large role in shaping the language of the child. And I believe that it affected my results on achievement tests, I.Q. tests, and the SAT” (110-111).In other words Tan is asserting that although her mother limited English is something that she grew up with, and the author learned to accept eventually she stills feels as if “limited” English limited her possibilities in life as a whole.

Moreover, throughout Rodriguez’s essay he tries to to show us that he believes that bilingualism in the public and schools is not the the priority but to be able to function in society is. He illustrates this when he finally understands how to speak English. Rodriguez states ”I spoke in a loud voice. And I did not think it remarkable when the entire class understood. That day, I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier”( 95-98). He calls himself disadvantaged because before he could not function in the classroom, due to him only knowing Spanish. But as he learns English he feels as though he can succeed. He also portrays this when he talks of how there would be other people in his home after school other than his family. Rodriguez states “When I arrived home there would often be neighborhood kids in the house”(132-133). Now that he understands english he has friends. There is no need for him to use Spanish. As English is what everyone uses to communicate.

In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan an American writer, shares her experience growing up with the family where no one speaks perfect English, and how it affected her education and her life. As the second generation of Chinese immigrants, Tan faces more problems than her peers do. Her mother, who speaks limited English needs Tan to be her “Translator” to communicate with the native English speakers. Tan states, “I was ashamed of her English” (2). Her mother is like a burden to her, at least in Tan’s early years. But the cultural conflict she becomes the theme of her writing and it is under this situation she wrote many novels and essays including “Mother Tongue.”

Amy Tan uses rhetorical devices, such as anecdotes and parallel structure, to emphasise her uneasy attitude toward her mother's language and cultural identity in her essay “Mother Tongue”. Amy Tan grows up being ashamed of her mother’s “broken english”, but realizes the significance of the different englishes that she acquires. Tan’s anecdotes relish the significance of her mother's english. The recollection of these stories helps Tan be more considerate of the hardships her mother faces in her everyday life. By using parallel structure, Tan exaggerates her points and allows the reader to understand the importance of what she is saying, in addition to creating emphasis on the meaning in which she is trying to get across.

One of the several claims that are prominent in Tan’s article is that her mother’s English isn’t “limited” or “broken.” The first method the author uses to defend this statement is stating that she “is a writer” and that “language is the tool of my trade” (Tan). By stating that in the first two paragraphs of her article, she is positioning herself as an educated figure who possesses exceptional writing skills in English. This gives the audience the motive to want to listen to her argument as they believe her to be on a reasonable and authoritative standing in society. Her biracial heritage also gives Tan the impression that she has deeper insight in what she is about to contend as literature scholars can view her argument as skeptical and ill-supported.