Name
– Shital D Italiya
Roll
no – 29
SEM
– 3
STD
– M.A
Paper
– 12(English language teaching)
Topic
– Bilingualism
Submitted
to – S.B.Gardi Department of English
M.K.Bhavnagar University
Bhavnagar
Bilingualism
Introduction
To study bilingualism is to study the interaction
between linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistic, pedagogy and the real
world of language politics and policy. To be able to appreciate such
interaction in changing times and adjust classroom practice in the light of
changes is the hallmark of a profession language teacher.We defines bilingualism as having some ability to use two or
more languages.
Across
the globe, the majority of the population is either bilingual or multilingual.
In Australia, over 200 different languages are spoken, with roughly 19% of the
population speaking a language other than English.There are varying degrees of
bilingualism, and you don't have to speak both languages with equal fluency to
be considered bilingual. In fact, native-like proficiency in both languages is
rare. Most people will have a 'dominant' language.
This
doesn't stop children from reaching a level of bilingualism that suits their
lifestyle and needs. A child may be a passive bilingual
- he or she has the ability to understand a second language but is unable to
reply in that language.
v What is bilingualism?
“Bilingualism
refers to the phenomenon of competence and communication in two languages”.
A bilingualism individual is someone who
has the ability to communicate in two languages alternately. Such an ability or
psychological state in the individual has been referred to as bilinguality. A
bilingual society is one which two languages are used for communication. In a
bilingual society it is possible to have a large number of monolingual (those
who speak only one of the two languages used in that society.) There is
therefore a distinction between individual bilingualism and social
bilingualism.
Bilingualism
1. Monolingual or communicative
2. Relative competence in two languages.
3. Domains
4. Components
A part from bilingual abilities involving two languages, individual may
also have bidialectual or biscriptual abilities within one language.
Bidialectualism refers to the phenomenon where by someone can communicate in
more than two dialect of the same language.
Example- Cantonese and Putonghua for Chines speaker.Biscriptual ability to
read more than one script of the same language.
The Chinese speaker can be written both in the
new simplified script and the traditional complex script.
v
Background
ü Monolingual speaker hearer competence
ü Greater vigour
ü Contact linguistics
ü The ultimate locus of contact
ü Psycholinguistic study of bilingualism.
v
Two types of Bilingualism.
v
Bilingual Education.
Bilingual education using the media of instruction and having
bilingualism as a goal of education. Educators are concerned about the types of
teaching programme and classroom technique that can facilitate the development
of bilingual abilities. A whole range of bilingual model is now available. It
became bilingual help for the learner to develop positive attitude to their
native language and themselves, this phenomenon is called additive bilingualism. If
they develop negative attitude towards their own languages in the process of
becoming bilingual, then it is called subtractive bilingualism. Some
researchers have related this positive and negative attitude to cognitive advantages
and disadvantages.
v
Research
Although the acquisition of two languages is
not a twentieth century phenomenon, the study of bilingualism, as outlined
above, is a relatively modern discipline. In fact, until the middle of the
twentieth century most scholarly efforts were not spent on understanding
bilingualism as a phenomenon.
Most linguists in the 1970 were still working within Chomsky’s (1965)
approach to linguistics which was not design to handle mixed language output.
Most of the early impetus for research into bilingualism came instead from
studies in bilingual education. This in turn was the result of a mixture of
interacting effect from post war population movements.
In
America
the bilingual act was passed in 1968, while in Canada the official languages
act was adopted in 1969. Likewise in multilingual India the three language
formula was first devised in 1956 and modified in 1961. Similar event took
place in other countries well into the 1970s.
As
a part of many pilot programmes in bilingual education model for facilitating
bilingual development in school have been developed. A review of all the models
shows that they hinge on two main issues.
1. Whether the non-dominant language is used as a medium of
instruction.
2. Whether the non-dominant language is valued as a cultural asset
worth acquiring for itself.
v
Bilingual education model.
1)
The submersion
model of bilingual education is the non-dominant language is neither
valued nor used as a medium of instruction.
2)
Transitional Bilingualism is that non dominant
language used as medium of instruction for a period but is not eventually
valued as a target language.
3)
Heritage language programme; the non-dominant
language is not used as a medium of instruction but is valued as a target
language to be learned.
4)
The language is valued as a target language and also use as a medium of
instruction for same subject.
A part from general discussion of
bilingualism and bilingual education, usually in primary or secondary school
settings. There is also a body of research for sub areas, such as bilingualism
and language contact; cognitive processing in bilingual and even what parents
can do at home to help children became bilingual.
v
Bilingual in social context.
When two languages are used in the same community there might be the
adoption of vocabulary items or phrases from one language while a person is
communicating largely in the other. Lexical borrowing may be quite superficial
in that the linguistic system is fairly unaffected. The bilingual person’s output
is still largely recognisable in that the linguistic system is fairly
unaffected.
v
Bilingual memory system.
1)
Coexistent bilingualism represent two languages are kept separate.
2)
Merged bilingualism is the representations of the two languages are integrated
into one system.
3)
Subordinate bilingualism is L2 and it is based on the representation of L1.
Ervin
and Osgood refer to the first type as co-ordinate
bilingualism and the second as compound bilingualism. They consider the third
type as a form of the second type since the mental representations of L2 are
based on L1 and are therefore not separately stored.
v
Bilingualism in practice.
The recognition of bilingualism as social,
individual and linguistic phenomenon has several implication for educational
practice. To begin with, teachers have to appreciate the sociolinguistics
circumstances surrounding the development of bilingual competence in their
student. If they are in position of power and influence, they could try to
propose to their government or institutions education model appropriate for
their circumstances.
v
Advantages of bilingualism.
First of all, bilingualism promotes overall
cognitive development because a bilingual individual encounters the world from
two different language perspectives, which prevents them from having a limited
experience. Plus, this extended way of thinking facilitates the approach to
cognitive problems and higher levels of abstract thinking.
§ It
gives you access to two cultures and makes you more tolerant and open to
others. By being able to communicate in two languages, you are free to learn
about diverse cultures, traditions and social behaviours as well as be a part
of them. People who speak two languages have two windows open to the world to
enrich their life.
§ Being
bilingual makes it is easier to travel, find a job and belong to this new
global world inside and outside of the U.S.
§ Studies
have shown that bilingual people have better task
switching capacities because of their acquired ability to inhibit
one language while using another. In other words, speaking two languages forces
your brain to recognize two different languages systems. So, basically, you
become smarter. Did you know that people who speak more than one language tend
to make fewer errors in their driving? A side benefit, but a benefit
nonetheless!
§ According
to Livingbilingual.com, being bilingual “promotes mental agility and
helps delay neurological disorders like
dementia and Alzheimer Disease.” According to some studies, monolingual adults
tend to show the first signs of dementia at the average age of 71. This is in
contrast to bilingual individuals who show their first symptoms around 76 years
old.
- Bilingual adults and children seem to have social and emotional benefits like being able to
internalize negative states like anxiety, aggression, anger, loneliness or
low self-esteem less frequently. They have greater tolerance and less
racism. It seems likely that bilinguals would be more tolerant of
differences and more open to diversity.
- Globalization makes bilingual individuals more
valuable in their future search for work.
Bilinguals may also be bridge-builders between different language
communities, so they are essential for personal and professional
networking. Studies show that bilinguals earn more money on average
in the United States. As companies become more international, there is a
greater need for employees who are fluent in more than one language.
- You will find it much easier to learn a third
language when you are bilingual. Plus, your English will be enhanced as
you are more aware of language structures, grammar, and literacy and
language skill
- According to a study, bilinguals tend to make better rational and financial decisions.
v How do children become Bilingual?
ü There are several ways to bring
up your child with more than one language.
1)
The One Person-One Language pattern is a common way of doing it.
This pattern is primarily used by families in which parents speak different
native languages. For example, the family might live in Australia and the
mother may speak English (the majority language) to the children, but the
father might be from Switzerland and choose to speak his native languages,
Swiss-German (the minority language), the children.
This
pattern has a lot of advantages, as parents are able to connect with their
child in their own languages and the child is able to speak both languages, but
it does require some planning and persistence.
Parents who want their children to
do really well in the minority language should aim to offer a higher level of exposure to
that language. Be consistent with your language choice, and support each other
when using it in and outside the home.
2)
Another
common way to bring up your child bilingually is when parents speak the same
minority languages. This is sometimes called the Minority language pattern. For example, two parents
might have migrated from Peru to Australia, and speak Spanish to their
children, while their children go to an English speaking school.
This
method has the advantage that children receive larger exposure to the minority
language through both parents. However, as parents, you may often feel pressure
from others in the community to stop speaking your home language to your
children. You need to remember the advantage of bilingualism and commit
yourself to promoting and maintaining it.
v Myth
and misconception about bilingualism in child learning.
While there are many
advantages to be had through bilingualism, there are several myths and
misconceptions which worry parents and carers. Some of these myths may be
familiar.
ü Myth 1: "Children will be
confused"
Children are very capable of
learning two or more languages simultaneously. They can also demonstrate they
can distinguish between two languages at a very young age. Your children will
learn quite early on that they need to speak German to Grandma, but English to
the teacher.
ü Myth 2: "The child's English will
suffer"
It has been shown
that knowledge of a home language can actually help with the acquisition of the
language of the community, for example English in Australia. Children with a
solid foundation in their home language go on to learn the majority language
more proficiently and achieve higher academic success than those whose home
language is not well supported.
ü Myth 3: "Children will have
problems reading and writing"
Studies have shown that bilingual
children who are exposed to two writing systems go on to achieve high levels of
reading and writing, and may even have a better understanding of the
relationship between linguistic forums and meaning than their monolingual
peers.
ü Myth 4: "Bilingualism delays
language acquisition"
There is little evidence to
support this statement. Research shows that bilingual children acquire language
at the same rate as monolingual children. Some bilingual children may start
speaking a bit later than their peers, but then so do some monolingual
children!
A child may
have basic bilingualism - when they can speak
with family members and other adults but are behind monolingual children of the
same age. Or they may have native-like
ability - where their level of spoken language is hard to tell apart from their
monolingual peers.
Whatever degree of
proficiency you achieve, bilingualism or multilingualism can be a positive and
enriching part of life. Especially for children and families who speak two or
more languages either in the home or in the community.
v Current and future trends and directions.
In the study of
bilingualism was initially motivated by an educational needs, and so had a
strong pedagogical orientalism in the early work, research in the last decades
has brought together the theoretical approaches from several disciplines. This
multidisciplinary approach to bilingualism has proved healthy and is likely to
continue to be adopted.
While bilingual education
might have been the goal in the 1970, at the start of the twenty first century
there is the call for multilingualism and multilingual education, to be a new
target. In multilingual education the implication for the language in the
teacher, as well as administrative arrangements for classes streamed according
to learners’ L1s are even more creative solution.
v Conclusion
The multifaceted nature of the phenomenon of
bilingualism needs to be fully appropriate for any pedagogical programme
designed to foster bilingual development to succeed. To study bilingualism is
to study the interaction between linguistics, psycholinguistics,
sociolinguistics, pedagogy and the real world of language politics and policy.
To be able to appropriate such interactions in changing times and adjust
classroom practice in the light of changes is the hallmark of a professional
language teacher.
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