The vast majority of the people residing in the valley, especially in the city of Brownsville, Texas are fluent in both Spanish and English, and therefore considered bilingual. Brownsville has been considered a highly illiterate and poorly educated city, where learning a secondary language such as English, drastically changes those discriminating statistics. The argument is that learning a secondary language indeed supports literacy development from an early age, by reading aloud to children, making them participants of a learning incentive, and family literacy practices. A development in literacy significantly increases reading achievement test scores, helps students become better at grammatical judgment and word recognition, and improves their cognitive development.
In the article “Learning to Read across Languages: Cross-Linguistic Relationships in First- and Second-Language Literacy Development” by Keiko Koda and Annette M. Zehler, showed that reading aloud to children in elementary schools, in a secondary language increases their phonological awareness as they relate their slight knowledge from their first language, and apply it to the new acquisition of the second. The authors claimed that “the field of second (L2) and foreign language reading has pursued an understanding of factors that impact the reading process, one of which is first language (LI) literacy.” To support their claim, the authors brought together theories and research on the interaction of languages,
Among any community there is a set of boundaries that must be respected under penalty of being labeled as deviant. Consequently, a community will create agencies of control in order to punish and fight against all the forms of behavior considered as deviant. In his Study in the Sociology of Deviance, Kai T. Erikson defends the point that deviant forms of behavior are a natural and beneficial part of social life. One of his main arguments is that, in our modern society, “the agencies of control often seem to define their job as that of keeping deviance within bounds rather than obliterating it altogether” (Wayward Puritans 24:2). Now, what if society gave to its agencies of control the role of annihilating deviance? What if the set of
In “Why Foreign Language Education Matters” Representative Rush Holt expresses the idea that the average American is generally deprived of what is known as cultural enrichment in their day-to-day lives, even though others believe that English should be the primary and only language Americans should speak. Holt conveys the overall concept that being bilingual, trilingual, or multilingual is a benefit not just for oneself but for our society. Rush Holt presents the argument with extreme concern for our upcoming generations and the consequences it may cause our nation’s economy to decrease in federal funding’s for education programs, as well as our global marketplace and national security who is highly dependent of translators, specialist, and
This reference highlights the importance of learning two languages simultaneously. How one language can be addressed to be more competent for a specific purpose such as; writing, listening, reading and speaking (Francis, 2012, ch.1). Children who grow up in bilingual settings the second language is rarely optional, in fact, it is a necessity for the policy of that particular location. For instance, a Latino family will raise its child with the language they are familiar with such as Spanish. The location in which they raise their child will play a fundamental role towards the linguistic speech that area prefers to educate the child. The setting being an English speaking institute will deliver the skills and ability needed for that child to
The authors, who published The Bilingual Reading Practice and Performance of Two Hispanic First Graders, highlighted the importance of instructed bilinguals in two languages to provide them with exposure and motivation that helping them demonstrating heteroglossic and translanguaging practices while
The article entitled, “No half measures: Reading instruction for young second-language learners,” is an incredibly insightful article addressing the research that has been conducted in regards to the appropriate time to teach second-language learners how to read in their second language. Countless studies indicate that there is still much controversy over the “perfect timing” of second-language instruction; however, Kimberly Lenters, the author of “No half measures,” creates helpful conclusions in regards to this controversial issue.
Each of the following cases demonstrate how oral and written language are acquired and interpreted through of the use of diverse social interactions, resources and perceptions. The first two girls Katia and Jimena, Spanish is their primary language. The second child Adam is predominantly an English speaker when he started attending Saguaro pre-school. The topics discussed in class that relate to the following children are fundamentally responsible for their emergent biliteracy capabilities.
Helping bilingual students expand their content area biliteracy skills is not always an easy task. Due to the significant research in the field that supports the benefits for students, families, and students’ English-language development, an understanding of the importance bilingualism, biliteracy, and heritage language maintenance is essential for educators. This paper provides a continuum of instructional practices based on what Freeman and Freeman (2006) proposed in their book Teaching Reading and Writing in Spanish and English, focused on 3rd through 6th grades bilingual students, which I will use to promote reading, writing, and vocabulary development across all academic content area while developing both primary and secondary language
As we increasingly realize that our own self-destruction is inevitable in the destruction of the planet, the insular notion of Western modernity as the height of human progress is \ finally being questioned. However, the resultant paradox is that although we realize the resultant flaws of depending on one form of progress, the only alternatives that we could turn to are dying off of the face of the earth. Thus the global trend of language loss is an issue incredibly worthy of long overdue attention; it may in fact be our last meaningful alternative to rescue the plight of humanity’s survival. As a repository of knowledge, an expression of culture, and a symbolic embodiment of a way of life, the loss of a language speaks for itself.
Language learning has many misconceptions. One specific misconception is that second language learning is simpler for young children, but in all actuality language learning is difficult and complex for people of all ages (Ovando and Combs, 2012). The timeframe for acquiring a second language can be lengthy and varying greatly depending on the individual learner (Ovando et al., 2012). Teaching an ELL student to read English can be perplexing often causing the brain to multitask concurrently (Ovando et al., 2012). When instructing literacy there are five components that work together for literacy success: phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, reading comprehension and fluency.
There is no doubt that the biggest challenge facing the state of Texas, and in fact the country, is literacy. The odds are stacked against children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are raised in homes where parents lack the fundamental reading and writing skills necessary to achieve the success in life. For children who are raised with low-literate parents, their environments are less stimulating, creating an achievement gap that is evident in infancy. Research tells us that these children can be upto a year and a half behind their peers by the start of kindergarten. What’s more alarming is that low literacy skills are directly linked to greater inequality, higher unemployment, less earned income and poor health. Sadly, the education
In the adventure story The Call Of The Wild by Jack London, Buck is taken to be a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. Buck learns several different lessons, which validates that there are multiple themes. Buck learns the effort of leadership, the requirements of survival, and the power of instinct.
Take a look around in any instruction manual, what do you notice besides the instructions? The fact that it is printed in at least two different languages, sometimes even more than that. The United States is often referred to as the melting pot of many cultures. This is shown in everyday life from an instruction manual for new products to having alternate language television channels. The use of a second language is becoming a necessity of life. Second language acquisition (SLA) is the acquiring of a language that is not the native language spoken by an individual. It is often referred to as speaking a foreign language, but it is more than just speaking, it is a complete learning process (Troike, 2012). Acquiring a second language is only part of the situation; when should it be taught is the question more people are asking. A second language is necessary and should be taught in elementary school because of the nation’s need for multilingualism, the early learning of a language is easier, the creativity of diversity is enhanced, and it can have a social impact on our changing society.
Learning a second language is beneficial at all ages. Once you have been fluent in a second language, you can grab numerous of opportunities and benefits in it. Whatever your age, learning a second language can give lots of advantages especially in today’s global society. You can have the opportunity to get better job prospects, improved your understanding from all over the world and experience new culture. However, you have to learn second a second language in a best way in order to make you to easily understand what you have leant. Acquisition method is a best way to learn second language. Acquiring means learn or develop a skill, habit or quality in an informal way and the process of learning second language through experience instead of remembering, memorizing and understanding the rules of the language. Indeed, learning second language through acquisition is the best because it is more exciting, can learn new word without being forced, and learners can learn a second
Listening can be described as children’s first contact with language and also provides the basis for other language forms. It is seen as the most used of the language forms and is called the “orphan” of all the language forms. One of the important aspects of listening in the second language classroom is the input it provides for the learner. It is believed that learning cannot begin if input is not understood at the correct level.
Hundreds of years ago, people used to stay in their native land, get along with their compatriots, and speak in their native language. So nobody thinks that there is any reason to study a foreign language. However, things change nowadays. People have started to leave their hometown, go into the world, and make new friends all over the world. Although some still do not think learning a second language is necessary, the truth is learning foreign language is imperative.