MY SUPER HERO

Sci-Nye is a science super hero from Corozal, Belize. Not only is she fluent in Spanish and English but was born with the super powers of micro-affirmation and lab manipulation. Sci-Nye would visit the Grade 8 science class very often to assist the teacher and her group of bilingual students, especially during inquiry based science activities.

My super hero, Sci-Nye would be used to connect English Language Learners struggling with classroom settings and structures in the following ways:

• 1.    Using her superpower, lab manipulation, she would be used to set up inquiry based learning stations that are adaptable to the needs of the students, fun and engaging. Learning stations would provide the students with opportunities to interact in their home language while also using academic language
• 2.   Also using her superpower of lab manipulation, she would be used to ensure that learning stations are equipped with learning materials in each student’s native language to help them understand directions and learning content
• 3.   Using her superpower of micro-affirmation, she would be used to communicate to the students in their home language about a wide range of topics including their personal interests and backgrounds. She would encourage them and build their self-confidence through ongoing support and positive talk. Due to this students feel comfortable and safe around her and in their classroom.

Students are excited about science lessons because they know they will be visited by Sci-Nye who will not only make them feel confident and safe but ensure that they learn the science content and second language.

Reflection on "No Question Asked" (poem by Armand Garnett Ruffo)

For me this is a deep, powerful and yet solemn poem because it reveals the process of “deculturation”. It is a classic example of what immigrants go through when they migrate to countries like the United States and are placed into language programs to master Standard English. As expressed by the narrator, the immigrant gradually loses his native language through a gradual and subtle process. “You lose your tongue and hardly notice…..The process is subtle”.  Eventually the immigrants use their native language less and less and before they know it they do not have it anymore.  Their own native language becomes a burden because they have lost the language. Then as the narrator put it, “Soon you learn to live without a tongue”. This means that the immigrant eventually starts living and accepting new life without use of the native language.  The native language is only used to his advantage perhaps for some private deals or to generate income. Eventually the immigrant becomes fully converted and detached from his very own culture. Hence “Nothing to say. No excuses required. No questions asked.” It is an amazing poem and one that should be disseminated to all teachers. We all need to be cognizant of linguistic approaches that subtly detach students from their culture.

Source: Santa Ana, Otto (2004) Tongue Tied: The lives of multilingual children in public education.

Reflection on "Prospectus" (poem by Joe Nieto)

Joe Nieto’s Prospectus on page 22 of Tongue Tied, provides a vivid description of the simplicity of life. Though simple, life was beautiful, original, untouched and unscathed, free of the pressures of a modern world and language.
According to the text he ate with his fingers, he went barefoot most times, he washed his hair with yucca roots and most importantly he only spoke his language. To me, this is a true reflection of what life was like for many immigrants until they were coerced into modernization and monolingualism. No doubt, these (modernization and monolingualism) come at a cost because their freedom, culture, their basic way of life will be stripped in acquiring the new language and way of life. I like the last part of the poem where he said “Someday I’ll learn to speak English”. This signifies the lack of urgency which for me is a good thing. If learning Standard English means that you must be stripped of your heritage and culture then let there be no urgency!!

Source: Santa Ana, Otto (2004) Tongue Tied: The lives of multilingual children in public education. 

Reflection on "The Future of Education is Two Languages" (Article by Fabrice Jaumont)

 Jaumont’s article on “The Future of Education is Two Languages” emphasizes the significance of bilingualism, biculturalism and biliteracy. It emphasizes also the role parents and educators play in striving to bring these concepts to fruition in the future. Parents are indeed a strong force and based on this article they are bolstering schools to make the shift into bilingualism/dual language programs. 

Several pertinent points were raised in this article that resonated with me. First, Jaumont believes that dual education should be the norm. According to him “When quality bilingual education is available to everyone—in public schools across the country from preschool to college—our children’s chances of success improve, our schools flourish, and our communities thrive.” I concur with his statement on the premise that bilingual education does have many advantages for all entities in society and a country. Several literature attest to this statement. To him, “bilingual education is a universal good that should be offered everywhere, because it can constructively change a child, a school, a community, and even a country”. Thus all schools should be on board with this agenda or be left behind in the future. 

While it is true that “Bilingual education means different things to different people” and consequently pursued for different reasons, whether economic, cognitive development or social needs, all perspectives must ultimately be “weaved together” for the common goal of pushing bilingualism in schools. Lastly and very strikingly is his statement that “immigrant children raised in environments where their parents’ language are valued, learned the dominant language faster”. Not only is this a stunning statement but it is contrary to longstanding myth that learning dual language confuses the learner. Second language learning is certainly beneficial and must be pursued by all, parents, educators and institutions alike.



Credit
Jaumont, F. (2018) The Future of Education is Two Languages. Retrieved from https://www.languagemagazine.com/2018/05/16/the-future-of-education-is-in-two-languages/

Reflections on "Tongue Tied" Passages

The below passages extracted from Tongue Tied, documented the experiences of individuals who underwent challenges related to their first language. It was quite an interesting read and an eye opener to say the least.

“Wascicula ya he?” (pp. 56-63)
In “Wascicula ya he?” the narrator compared her attendance at a public school with that of a Catholic school. She excelled in the Catholic school not because the school had a lot of resources but due to the instructional strategies used and the caring and sincere actions of the teachers. According to her the Government school did not educate the way the Catholic school did, “with heart and feeling for the children in it”. According to the text she was given autonomy- “the chance to learn without someone looking over me”. She received frequent practices in comprehension in a quiet atmosphere (56). She described the teachers at the school as being “real” (60) and another who she encountered as someone who “tended me like a careful gardener”. “The most important thing he gave me was his time” (60). She further verbalized her admiration for a teacher who accepted people who are different (61).

Clearly, the above teacher behaviors contributed to her success in mastering the second language and in becoming successful in school. One of the most heart wrenching part of her account was her indication that she was prevented from speaking her thoughts and feelings due to her inability or lack of confidence to speak the second language (62). This made me think of students who might have undergone similar predicament. They might have been tongue tied as this narrator was. The onus is on us as teachers to help move them through their language barrier as smoothly as possible by tending them like a careful gardener.

From the Woman Warrior (pp. 78-81)
In the second passage the narrator reminisced on her battle with fear, timidity and lack of confidence whenever she was called on to speak. This was largely due to her inability to speak the second language, English, the language of instruction. Due to this, she enjoyed being silent. She remained silent most times or she simply whispered. Her recital in front of her class was met with croaking in her voice. She described how badly she thought her voice sounded. For her, reading out loud was better than speaking because the words were not her own and she did not have to make up what to say (80). When she realized she had to talk, school became a misery for her.

This passage is also very moving for me. It made me realize the agony that English Language Learners go through. I have had past English Language Learners in my class who exemplified the same pattern of behavior in class. Sadly, they are many times overlooked, especially in a large class. A recent example relates to having George in my class. He is from Lagos, Nigeria. He would quietly sit in class while the other students were actively speaking and rambling. When called to speak he could not be heard. Just to get a response from him would take minutes of waiting and probing and listening and his mouth just moved. There were no audible words. Most times I relied on the students sitting near him to echo his responses. It was clear that he lacked the confidence to speak even when his responses were accurate. It wasn’t after I started reaching out to him on a one-on-one basis and showed a lot of interest in him that he began speaking up more in class.

Mother Tongue (pp.169-173)
In this passage the narrator documented her experience with language. She progressed from being a struggling English Language Learner to a fluent English speaker. What stood out to me in this passage is the significant role her home language played in shaping her second language and in becoming a fluent English speaker. It even helped her to perform well on achievement tests. I can identify with her, having been raised in a family where the first language is Belizean Kriol.

In the text she accredited her success to her home language, her mother’s tongue, the broken or fractured English. Her mother’s language helped her to shape the way she see things, express things, and make sense of the world (170). At first her mother’s language limited her. It was the reason people treated her unkindly, and prevented her from getting some things accomplished. It was limiting. The teachers had their assumptions about Asians and attempted to steer her away from being an English major into math and engineering (173). However she was resolute and did not conform to the norm and Asian stereotypes. What a very positive outcome!

My Hawaii (pp.179-183)
In this passage, the narrator provided insights on the richness of the Hawaiian language. According to the text, Hawaiian conversations are saturated with figurative language. They used a lot of metaphor and poetry in their everyday conversations (182). The narrator provided an example of this on (183) when she stated that her grandfather once described a group of females walking by his home as a “garden of flowers passing by”. Sadly this has changed in Hawaii as the language vanished over the years and was subsequently substituted for the missionary language, a literal type of Hawaiian. The narrator further expressed that, “when you lose language you lose your identity” (183). Hawaii, according to her is “the only place where native language is no longer spoken. And it is sad that what can be lost can never be replaced”.

The narrator’s statements resonated with me deeply. I agree that in losing a language, identity is lost. Language is what makes uniqueness in an individual or country. It must be preserved. In Belize, Garifuna is a language spoken by one of the many ethnic minority groups. A lot of effort has gone into preserving this language as many have noticed that the younger generations of Garifuna are not using the language. Preservation efforts by the community include opening a school where children are taught in Garifuna Language, development of Garifuna dictionaries, opening museums and various other cultural awareness activities. Currently, this ethnic group is one of the strongest cultural representations in Belize.

Credit
Santa Ana, Otto (2004) Tongue Tied: The lives of multilingual children in public education.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to my Blog!!! I am an aspiring Middle School Science teacher.  I grew up in Belize, Central America where English is the official language; however, Spanish is spoken extensively.  Unfortunately for me, I did not learn to communicate in Spanish. I am cognizant that as a teacher, knowing how to teach bilinguals and English as a Second Language students is a dire necessity.  It is hoped that through my blogging useful information on the dynamics of  bilingualism will be discovered.