The Linguists: Boarding Schools

Language is an object that is central to human lives as it is perhaps the most significant cultural tool that separates humans from any other species (Evans, 2014). As language is multimodal, it is often described as a combination of words, sounds, gestures and images created by the mind, used in context with the assistance of objects, actions and interactions (Gee & Hayes, p. 7, 2011). The topics discussed in this essay will demonstrate the importance of language as both an object and as a social process, as a teacher’s approach to diversity in the classroom can be either damaging to a student’s educational experience or uplifting and positive.

The film “The Linguists” follows linguists Gregory Anderson and David Harrison on their journey to learn about and document endangered languages in Bolivia, India, Arizona, and Siberia. Through their quest, they are able to interact with some of the few remaining speakers of languages that are near death and they manage to make an impact on how these communities view their heritage language. Focusing on the moribund languages of Siberia and Arizona, it becomes evident that speakers of the heritage language feel a love for the language and the culture it represents, but went through periods of oppression and embarrassment for being speakers of a minority language that ultimately shaped their attitudes on the language.

There were many sociological concepts applied in the film, Education As We See It. Language is an important part to culture. Language extinction is a concept presented in the film. When a language is lost, then its culture will start losing its organization. Killing the language of the Aboriginals will lead end their culture, which is what the Europeans wanted. By forcing the Aboriginal children to speak English, the language they spoke with their parents will be lost (Ravelli & Webber, 2013: pg. 131). An Aboriginal that went to a residential school described how they weren’t allowed to speak a word of their language at all and they were restricted from seeing their parents on a regular basis (Bob, Geraldine & Marcuse, 1993). The nuns greatly enforced that these children not speak their language, so that they could completely forget about it.

The film Linguists is a very unique exploration into the indigenous cultures and the prevalence of their languages. Researchers Gregory and David examine endangered languages in several regions to further understand the different ways the human mind can make sense of the world around it. Linguists covers a diverse range of topics regarding the importance of language to culture, the number of languages that are

My current generation is facing greater struggles than previous generations, in order to retain their native languages for varying reason. However, the main hindrance can be traced to the US government’s implementation of Indian Boarding Schools, since then, the number of speakers have dwindled as each generation has become more reluctant to pass their knowledge onto the next, whether because of traumatic events, or a place in Western society that is not supportive of American Indian heritage.

Languages are a major part of a cultural identity. Different cultures speak different ways. The Igbo people spoke differently than the missionaries. In the bible, at the tower of Babel everything got mixed up at some point. The languages that are spoken today can slowly fade away. Their culture is how they live their life. These texts that were examined had many different ways people lived their lives.

I believe that it is important for all people to learn another language other than their native language. I come from a family with great pride of heritage my father’s family begin German and mother’s family begin Russian I learned multiple languages growing up. Since having this background I wanted to learn more languages and know I can speak eight languages English, German, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, Finnish, Ukrainian and French. I know learning a language is a long a stressful process, but it will help you in the long run in any field of study.

Have you ever wondered, why people split the language they speak linking different parts of their lives? Language is a way a person communicates with other people. However, a multilingual, people who speak multiple languages, have a different lifestyle from a monolingual, people who speak one language. These three American authors help expand our understanding change in our languages within a different part of our life. They grew up with immigrant families and are familiar with the bilingual environment. A bright author is Amy Tan, who wrote Mother Tongue, she confronted with different levels of English; the broken English of her mother tongue and her perfect English. Another is Richard Rodriguez, who wrote a Public and Private language, reveals his childhood on his two languages private language, Spanish, and his public language, English. Lastly, Gustavo Pérez Firmat, who created a poem named Bilingual Blues, he clarifies that he doesn't have one true language. By their experiences, it helps us understand how bilingual people adjust their languages for different parts of their life. People adjust their languages to assimilate the environment they are on.

As a child born in the U.S. growing up with parents who come from a completely different country, knowing a language that is distinct from what they know, and with an education similar to a child in the third grade. It was very hard to learn how to read or write in my early childhood. My parents would have helped if they knew good enough English and have had a higher education level than a third grader but unfortunately they did not. There was a huge language gap between my parents and I. They would speak in their Guatemalan dialect, I would be in school speaking in English, and come back home to my parents speaking Spanish, it was extremely challenging in my adolescent years. Yes, I had teachers in school that would help me out, but there were so many other students that needed their help as well. I never really had a teacher that really influenced me into getting better. Many of them thought I was doing okay in the subject and did not think I needed help at all. As I grew older language arts and writing was not my strongest subject throughout elementary school, even to this day it is still not my best subject. I did not care much of the subject because I could never really understand on what I am supposed to write or do, what I would do is do the bare minimum enough to get me an A or a high B, because it was not the subject that I was the most interested in. Fortunately, there was the PBS network, on the T.V. we had, with animated shows such as Martha Speaks, Super Why,

Language is a beautiful and mysterious thing that is essential to living a satisfying life. The number of languages spoken throughout the world is astounding, let alone each individual dialect within those languages. There are differing opinions as to how language is acquired; whether it is inborn, learned, or a mixture of both. No matter what stance an individual may take, it cannot be denied that language is the pure essence of human life. The ability to communicate is essential for not only everyday life, but for an individual’s future success. My desire to pursue this profession was sparked when I was 17, and has not once faltered. The ability to communicate is often taken for granted by many, and when someone loses that ability or has trouble with communicating, that person’s quality of life decreases greatly. As humans, we have the innate desire to communicate with each other. I want to enrich the lives of others by enabling them to communicate with those around them, therefore connecting them with the rest of the world. Communication is the basis of human life, and I want to help all individuals have the ability to express themselves.

Children need to master academic skills in order to move from one grade to another. Each skill a child learns helps and encourages the child to learn another new skill. Oral language development is the foundation of reading and writing. One core skill a child should master is language and speech. Simple language and speech skills need to be learned before a child can learn more complex language and speech skills such as academic language. According to Dudley-Marling & Lucas (2009), Children’s language plays a crucial role in school success…and school failure”. To succeed in school, children must learn the formal language of schooling.”(p.368). This statement tells us that proficiency in academic language is critical and absolutely necessary for a child’s overall success in school.

Studies have shown if your brain does not have the source of bilingual language, it is not as “powerful”. Bilingual children tend to have an academic advantage in classrooms. “Children with a second language as young as age three have demonstrated a head start on test of perspective-taking and theory of mind-both of which are fundamental social and emotional skills”(Lynch) . Not only does it improve on their language skills, but also helps with 2 of the 4 learning skills described in the theory PIES(Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social). By gaining these skills it helps improve their academics and knowledge in the world. Children with the bilingual language have also been proven to switch task more proficiently. A 2004 study by psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle Martin-Rhee compared bilingual and monolingual preschoolers. The study was to see if they had the ability to sort by colors and shapes. Each child had two bins placed in front of them marked with a blue square and the other marked with a red circle. They were then given blue circles and red squares. The first task was to sort by color, placing blue circles in the bin marked with blue squares and red squares in the bin marked with a red circle. Both groups were able to complete this task. Next, they were asked to sort by shape. Which became a challenge because it meant placing the shapes in a bin with a conflicting color. In the end, the bilingual classroom was faster at completing this task. The

Foreign language classes are almost a necessity in most nations across the world due to the major influence and vast power certain languages, such as English, hold over the world. However, America and a few other nations are falling behind language skills thus falling behind in methods in communication with foreign countries. Not only are certain nations focusing more on other aspects of the educational system, students who do enroll in foreign language classes end up not being able to do their best due to foreign language anxiety. They might freeze up, not be able to talk in the foreign language in front of students, or not be able to learn the language the way they should. Google Pixel Earbuds’ Real-Time translation feature could solve so many of these problems associated with foreign language learning and considerably help students learn a foreign language better than ever since the benefits associated with the implementation of Google Pixel Earbuds are colossus. As schools across the nation continue to embrace the idea of technology within classrooms fully, the integration of Google Pixel Earbuds will not only ease and speed up the process of learning but greatly affect how students internalize what they're taught. This system, when implemented with foreign language, could easily get rid of language anxiety and help the students learn the language simpler and stress-free.

As English being my first, and only language it has had a larger impact on my life than anything else. It is how I have learned to express myself, the way I listen, and how I think. From my point of view English isn’t just a language it is a way of thought, it’s a major factor of our personalities, and has heavily influenced our society. I see English as a language of options, you have up and down, left or right, and day and night. Making choices like this is how we develop into the people we are, I think every decision that I have ever made has helped formed my personality. English does have words to describe the middle ground, but they don’t seem as strong as other words, they seem like a path to stay out of the way. Some may see this a bad thing, but I think you can never really have the best of both worlds so you may as well choose one. Not only has English been a great way for me to express, and think for myself, it has also been one of my biggest downfalls.

The AKA people of India, a minority group who lead a simple lifestyle in a small Indian village, speaks an eccentric language . However, the AKA language is in a verge of disappearance according to a sub-article called “AKA.” D’Souza, an AKA non-native who works as a school teacher in the village, have learnt speaking the AKA language, and is driven to preserve it by promoting the use of this language among his students. Similar to the AKA people, in a bordering country of India, is the situation of another minority group who are also facing a verge of disappearance. In the case of this minority group, the Rohingyas, are victims to disappearance of an entire ethnic group. This Muslim minority population, living mainly in the