Reflection On Multilingual Writing

“There is more pleasure to building castles in the air than on the ground.” This quote by Edward Gibbon illustrates the intensity of writing and what gratification it can hold. When one writes, they are not confined to one certain formula. A person is able to express their thoughts and feelings in any way they choose. Language is a border for many people in that some cannot comprehend a certain language, understand how to use it, or recognize what is being said to them. On the other side of the border, they are not viewed as equals or as important compared to those who are not competing with this barrier. In his essay “Coming into Language,” Jimmy Santiago Baca uses his personal experiences to demonstrate how much

My journey began when I was 13 years old and my father decided that it was time for me to move to the U.S in order to study. I arrived to the United State in September of 2013, I arrived in time for the begging of the school year. I attended Dover high school for my freshman and sophomore year, something that really stuck with me was the insane number of Hispanics in that town; at least half of the students were Hispanic or were of Hispanic descent. The first problem that I faced upon arriving was the language barrier; I had studied English in my home country, but my knowledge of the language was not enough to establish a conversation. I was put in the ESL, English as a second language, program. Most of the students in the program had been living in the U.S for a few years already, all of them spoke Spanish. However, all of the students had a heavy accent when speaking Spanish due to the lack of use of the language. At this point I realized that in order to learn English faster I would have to sacrifice speaking Spanish. However, I did not want to lose my connection that I had with my homeland. Therefore, I decided to take half of my classes in the ESL program and take regular classes for the rest. At first, my English improved quite fast, but my Spanish suffered as I notice that I was struggling in my Spanish class. Personally, I am not a very good writer, but the fact that I had difficulties writing my native language felt

Understanding and being fluent in a language does not give anyone the best skill in actually composing in that same language. English literature and composition have persistently been painful endeavors that have hurt my grades and confidence. I see myself as a much better reader and listener when it comes to the subject, and can consume books with enough enjoyment and devotion that understanding the reading is quite easy, to the point of actually wanting to reread a novel. As a writer, I have a sort of general image of how I feel my writing should look and sound like, and most of the time it isn't exactly what the paper or essay actually should be, yet that image influences my work too often. I have a decent understanding of most grammar and

Using dialect in society is natural and people can often not control how they sound. When that same person writes however they are expected to drop their dialect and only use proper english. Vershawn Ashanti Young discusses this topic in his article “Should Writer’s Use They Own English?”. Young has several good points including that their accent comes through their writing and that “code meshing” can be effective in a person's’ writing. On the contrary, I agree more with the fact that we need a “universal” way of speaking in America, because of the fact that it is harder to learn several “languages” as a child and it would be almost impossible for people from other countries to learn all the slang if we don't have one set way of speaking.

Richard Rodriguez, son of Mexican immigrants, was born and raised in California. As a result, he was exposed to several languages during his childhood. Rodriguez grew up listening to Spanish at home, but English was a strange and foreign language for him. In his essay “A Memoir of a Bilingual Child,” Rodriguez compares his native Spanish to the English that surrounds him. Through characterization and the tone, Rodriguez gives the reader a better understanding of the similarities and differences he finds in the two languages present in his life.

Article: "College athletes are being educated, not exploited." CNN Wire, 30 Mar. 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A447834169/OVIC?u=lees33148&xid=2b3ade47. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017. (All quotations are from article listed above.)

Being a Mexican-American, who was raised in the small town of Encarnación de Díaz – located at Los Altos de Jalisco, MX, – and then moved at the age of seventeen to Corpus Christi, TX, was not a smooth transition. The most difficult things I have encountered in my life must have been speaking a new language and adapting to a new type of living. I was fortunate enough to have amazing teachers who taught me to read, write and speak in English back in Mexico, but I was still not confident enough to speak the language when I arrived here. Although, many have told me that my English doesn’t sound as if I just moved here five years ago, I still believe I have so much more to learn.

Writing can present a lot of messages to it readers and audiences. It conveys a message that allows one to see what is their role and identity in society. The way they convey their message is by presenting their own language into their writing.The use of language in writing creates and identity in the act or experience of writing. As it is shown in the text How it feels to be forcibly fed by Djuna Barnes, The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick, and Tlilli, Tlapalli/ The path of the Red and Black Ink by Gloria Anzaldua.

According to his work, “English is the fastest-spreading language in human history and is used by an estimated 1.27 billion people globally” (Neeley, 2012). The English language is already the most popular language in the world, accompanied by each person’s native language. Also, compared to other languages English is relatively easy to learn (McWhorter, 2015). This does not mean that the meshing of new versions of English are always pristine. Ana Lucia Gonzalez, reporter for BBC, wrote the article, “Life in Spanglish for California’s Young Latinos” to address this issue of blending language.

I realise the reason that I don't enjoy English as much as other subjects is because it makes me think critically in a way I am not used to. In many other subjects in order to succeed you memorize, follow a set of rules, then repeat. In language arts I have to worry about my grammar, sentence structure, flow, style, and my viewpoint in order to write a well written paragraph. Every step makes me take a look back and think there's a better way for this or that to be said. However, this is the reason why I want to be in English 30-1. I want to be a person who is well rounded and able to give my opinion through precise and deliberate word choice. And in order for me to do so I know

In elementary school, I learned to write sentences. As time went on I learned to put those sentences in a paragraph which was three to five sentences. When I finally entered high school I learned to put those paragraph together which made the essay. When I was in English composition one writing had so much more than just having five paragraph. The writing was a way of expressing your creativity, idea, values, and emotion. It is not focusing on making five paragraph you could do what made you happy as a writer. There are countless abilities that writing has. The most powerful thing writing can do is change the opinion of thousands. But what is exactly English 1100? It is about improving your writing, reading and thinking skills or improve them. There are seven learning outcomes students that can get from this class, for example, communicate effectively, demonstrate rhetorical knowledge, engage in critical thinking, writing and reading, develop effective composing processes, collaborate during the writing process in a social setting, use appropriate convention for format, documentation, and editing, Adapt composing process to electronic environment. By end of this course, all student should able to demonstrate those learning goals as stated in the packet.

Before I entered this class my writing abilities were average, but I knew that with further learning and practice I could develop the skills to become a better writer. During the GSW 1110 class I have learned various new skills through four essays. Some of the new skills that I gained throughout this class are: how to locate both textual and visual sources, write effectively to audiences with opposing viewpoints, write to a variety of academic audiences, practice the process for drafting texts, demonstrate the control over grammar and mechanics, and critical thinking. The skill set that I have obtained in GSW 1110 clearly represents how I have grown as a writer and am prepared me for future classes and a future career.

As a Mexican-American it was a task for me as a child to learn two languages at once. I remember my first day of school hearing my classmates speaking English and not understanding a single word of it. To me, it mostly sounded like gibberish. I was entered in the ESL (English as a Second Language) program to improve my English. It was a struggle to learn to read in English. My teachers would tell me to read to a parent for homework, so I’d go home and read to my mom. Reading with my mom was difficult for me because she didn’t understand English. I wasn’t sure if I was reading precisely because I never had anyone to correct me and my mistakes. There were moments when I didn’t know how to say a word. I would sound out every little letter, trying to figure it out by myself, because my mom was unable to help me. My parents weren’t able to assist me because of the amount of education they had and didn’t understand English. Even though they had the desire to help me with school work, I knew I had to learn to become independent in order to maintain decent grades. It was my responsibility to achieve my own goals by working hard.

I prepared my self well enough back in Mexico and now I’m here at the University of Arizona majoring in Pre-Business. My reason behind success in acquiring English as a second Language starts primarily in 2006 at a Military Summer Camp

“One of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time”, Federico Fellini once stated that “A different language is a different vision of life” and I, in my turn tend to say that he was perfectly right. A person who speaks more than one language can experience multiple personalities, visions and reflections consisting which language is he speaking. High School students should comprehend the real benefit of speaking a foreign language. Being a multilingual myself and speaking fluently four languages and studying another two, I consider that I am qualified enough to persuade that my argument is strong, plausible and not ultimately-right. In the following paragraphs I am going to address the following three reasons why should other High School students learn at least one foreign language? Firstly, learning a new language enhances performances in the academic domain and makes you smarter. Secondly, knowing a new language is a high estimated and a very valuable characteristic in your professional CV. Thirdly, international travel is more pleasant through knowing a foreign language.