Language As An International Language Essay

Part One, Language and Identity, includes personal essays that explore the struggles of two individuals with issues of identity connected to the languages they were raised to

The English language is particularly complex in almost all aspects. Many of the words in the English language have different meanings for the same word. This is not unlike the definition of the different levels of usage. McCrimmon defines the three levels, formal, moderate, and colloquial, by their sentence structure, diction, and tone (McCrimmon 193). ¹ Using McCrimmon’s definitions, authors can determine what type of writing is applicable to each of the three levels. For the formal writings, an adequate example of where readers can find it is in a professional journal, and an appropriate place to find an example of the moderate level is in a weekly news magazine. Also, the best place to look for an example of the colloquial level is in certain sections of the newspaper. All of the levels of usage apply to these different types of writings and assist in defining what each level involves.

My language is a reflection of my personal identity, culture, the peer groups I associate with, my family and my life experiences.

Language is the way people communicate with each other. It allows us/them to express their thoughts and impart information through writing or speech. However, this exchange is not necessarily always objective as words and their meaning can/may be tainted by the speaker’s intentions. In politics, language is not only a powerful tool to conceal the truth and influence the public’s opinion but also a weapon against their opponents.

Many kids in school are wanting to learn a new language away from their native language but many students are wondering what language is going to help them the most in the future. English is the clear answer for these students that are wondering what new language to learn for a number of reasons. Through different articles through the book “Language: A Reader for Writers” it discusses how language is the most successful and most useful language to speak. College students who want to learn a second language, that have not learned English, should learn English because it is the most widely used language in the world and it is the most useful language to learn.

One way to address challenges that come with educating ELL students requires that culturally responsive educators “expose themselves and their students to each other’s cultural worldviews” (Banks & Banks, 2013, p.17). As described in the article, the study videotaped three different classrooms when learning was taking place. Then later analyzed by interviewing separately, participating teachers, newly arrived immigrant students and their parents, and cultural bridge persons. Even though all participants expressed the

Often, immigrant parents will push for their children to learn the official language of the country they live in. These parents claim that their children will be more successful in life if they acquire that second language, because of the pressure of versatility in society. By quickly enforcing second language, the children find themselves taken over by this incoming force. Constant exposure is the most efficient method of learning, but requires an immense amount of time and effort. Due to frequent subjection of practice, the second dialect will outweigh the original, taking its place as the most proficient language a person uses. Most importantly, the learner must have the eagerness within themselves to truly acquire a second language. Non-native speakers can be uncomfortable with residing in a country whose official language is not their primary. Virginia Gonzalez’s and Ana Celia Zentella’s reports analyze Latinos’ standard of living and the possible outcomes of children of immigrant families in an English governed community. Other works such as Aria by Richard Rodriguez reveals advantages from learning English, such as being able to communicate confidently and feeling included. However, the risk of losing the first language outweighs the advantages. The negative effects are often overlooked and unexpected as shown through the scholarly works of Lily Wong Fillmore, Monique Bournot-Trites and Ulrike Tellowitz. As I will argue in the paper, the common notion that learning a

Therefore, it is common for students to connect social languages with their identity. Educators only add more problems, when they have the false assumption that the reason for students not speaking Standard English is because those students lack the basic skill and ability to do so (Hill 120). Teachers, due to their wrong assumption, are unaware that they are attacking the identity of the students. When a person in authority tells students that their way of speaking is wrong they are undermining the students’ identity. As a result, an internal conflict arises within the students, as to whether to reject the social languages that the students associate their identities with or reject Standard English. The result as White and Ali-Khan write is that students will “[resist] the common dominant discursive styles that [surrounds] them. In turn, [students will become] further isolated from the university’s social milieu” (31). This resistance will go on as long as the institution belief doesn’t change regarding Standard English. And as a consequence students will become more isolated from school if the institution is attacking their values and identities, making the students feel degraded. Therefore, the Standard English that the students learn becomes irrelevant since they are not going to use Standard English within the communities that they relate

Speech is much like the fashions in clothing. Most of us dress according to "the style of the day." The shoes we wear and the shirts we put on usually what is considered "fashionable." If you choose to ignore the understood dress rules set by society, than your chances of being accepted become slim. In the same manner, when you ignore the majority's methods of speech, you become less accepted for it. If you buy a "cool" Tommy Hilfiger shirt, nobody looks at you any less for giving in to the standard instead of wearing a pink and orange poke-a-dotted shirt like you might have wanted to. You have not degraded yourself for conforming, but instead have opened opportunities for an audience. Just the same, when you change your manner of

Before reading this book, I never placed much emphasis on the correlation between language and identity. I have come to the realization that for many of my students, their identity surpasses academic concerns. The first language a child learns is critical to his or her identity because it contributes to positive self-esteem. Reading the first four chapters, I understand the importance of maintaining the native language and the benefits associated with them. As discussed in Translating Childhoods, there is a connection between maintaining bilingualism and students performing at higher achievement levels. As educators we should utilize bilingual students to expose other students to different languages during activities, providing an opportunity

I'm from Arkansas, so naturally I speak differently than someone from New York or even the next state over. My family sticks to a very interesting word choice that can be seen as southern almost immediately. My mom, while she does say "y'all" occasionally, went to Alaska and The Hamptons in New York for a while and lessened her southern twang by a mile. My dad, on the other hand, says every know​n country thing as he fully embraced the farm life. Ain't, reckon, y'all, and all those type of words that aren't really words and don't really make sense when used in a sentence, are the type my family uses when we're at home. Of course, some of the coarser talk stays home when we go to church, but even there, everyone's southern belle accent shows.

The CIA doesn’t have very high demand for European languages other than French or Greek, however if you know Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew, or some other Asian language you may be in luck. These kinds of languages, where there are many conflicts in the world, are in high demand by the CIA. If you were wanting to work with the FBI these same languages would be desired as well however the FBI considers Spanish a high demand language as well due to the fact of the large number of Spanish speakers in

Language is a key part of any family, community, culture and the human race. Without language the world today would be much different. From cavemen, to the Egyptian use of hieroglyphics, to Old English, to more than 6,500 languages spoken around the world today, the advances that humans have made in language is remarkable and inspiring. The ability to speak, read, write and understand more than one language is also remarkable and expands the liberties in life, especially for young people. High school students should be required to take at least two years of a foreign language class in order to graduate, as many recent studies support the benefits of doing so. Students who have learned a foreign language in high school have proven to have a

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Language is important because it's one of the main ways to communicate and interact with other people around us. It keeps us in contact with other people. English language is an example for the importance of a language because it is the international language and has become the most important language to people in many parts of the world. It is most widely used in communicating around the world, Also it is spoken as the first language in many countries. English is playing a major role in many sections like education, medicine, engineering and business. There are many reasons that makes English is the most important language in the world.