Some people believe you cannot be a "real" bilingual if you have not acquired your two languages in infancy or at least as a young child. It's true that there is something magical about a toddler who speaks one language to her father and another to her mother. But in fact, one can become bilingual at any time during one's life - as a child, as an adolescent, or as an adult.
Children who acquire two languages simultaneously have been the object of many studies and books. Their parents often adopt an approach that allows them to receive two language inputs but they are in fact rarer than children who acquire their languages successively.
The majority of child bilinguals start monolingually. They first acquire a home language and then, usually when they start going to school, they learn a second language, most often the majority language. Literally millions of children throughout the world have become bilingual in this manner. Then, depending on the country they live in, they may start learning a third (and even a fourth) language as a school subject.
Older children and young adolescents may also become bilingual. This will happen when they move to another linguistic region or to another country and start to be schooled in their new language. (This was my case when I was eight). Writer Eva Hoffman relates vividly in Lost in Translation how at age 13 she arrived in Canada from Poland and was immersed in a new language and culture.
Can one become bilingual later on? There is no upper age limit for acquiring a new language and then continuing one's life with two or more languages. Nor is there any limit in the fluency that one can attain in the new language with the exception of pronunciation skills. Acclaimed novelist Agota Kristoff fled Hungary at age 21 during the events of 1956 and came to the French-speaking part of Switzerland. She acquired French from scratch and many years later published her first novel.... in French!
The main factor that leads to the acquisition and development of a language is the need for that language - the need to interact with others, to study or work, to take part in social activities and so on. If the need for a language is present, then language acquisition will usually take place. This is true of children as it is of adults.
Other factors must also be present: enough language input and use; the help of family, friends, colleagues, and the community in general; formal language learning for some; and positive attitudes towards the language and culture in question, as well as towards bilingualism.
Some might ask: Isn't it better to start becoming bilingual as early as possible? This really depends. For example, as concerns need, a second language may not be needed early in life, hence the fact that bilingualism may develop later on only. If the need for a language is not present, or no longer present, then the language may not be acquired or may become dormant.
There is also the question of language fluency. Some researchers have downplayed the "earlier you start the more fluent you become" argument. It is true that for native-like pronunciation, the "sensitive period" range is shorter but even then I have known bilinguals who have acquired their second language at age 15 and have no accent in it. As for other skills, the window is not as clearly marked and acquisition can take place at any time.
Admittedly, some underlying listening and speaking mechanisms may not be the same as those of early bilinguals but this does not usually impede communication.Life as a Bilingual
The reality of living with two (or more) languages.
by Francois Grosjean, Ph.D. Becoming bilingual
Published on November 10, 2010 by Francois Grosjean, Ph.D. in Life as a Bilingual
François Grosjean's website: www.francoisgrosjean.ch
Mostrando postagens com marcador Bilinguismo. Mostrar todas as postagens
Mostrando postagens com marcador Bilinguismo. Mostrar todas as postagens
quinta-feira, 2 de junho de 2011
The vagaries of life may lead to dormant bilingualism.
I have often been asked the following question: If bilinguals are those who use two or more languages (or dialects) in their everyday lives, what do you call people who now live their lives with just one language, even though they know several other languages and used them before? My reply is that they are dormant bilinguals.
It is not rare for bilinguals to go from being active, regular bilinguals, interacting with the world around them using their different languages, to being single language users. This can happen at any time and is usually due to a major life change such as immigration, the loss of a close family member, a separation, a change of jobs, or simply growing up and leaving one's language community. If this situation extends over time, then the language no longer being used on a regular basis will start to be forgotten. (I will cover language loss in a future post).
President Barack Obama is a fine example of a dormant bilingual. He spent four years in Indonesia between the ages of six and ten. He attended local schools and spoke Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) quite fluently. He stopped using it with others though when he moved to Hawaii with the exception of his half sister and when on trips back to Indonesia.
This said, he can still hold a general conversation in Indonesian and it was interesting to hear him say a few words in his other language when he addressed students at the University of Indonesia on November 10 of this year. (His speech).
Each time he switched over to Indonesian - "Selamat pagi" (Good morning), "Pulang kampung nih" (Back to/in my hometown) and so on - his audience applauded loudly. He also made them laugh mimicking the calls of street vendors. He finished with a much longer sentence in Indonesian, clearly showing that he retained a lot of the language.
Even though one may feel shy speaking a language one no longer uses (this is my case when I say a few words in Italian), it can be a real pleasure to realize that people understand you nevertheless. Clearly President Obama was relishing such moments when he switched over to Indonesian. And when he stated, "Indonesia bagian dari didi saya" (Indonesia is part of me), he was clearly touched as was his audience.
By living those four years in a country, "made up of thousands of islands, and hundreds of languages, and people from scores of regions and ethnic groups", as he states in his speech, President Obama experienced bi- and multilingualism first hand. This was reinforced later by his years in Hawaii with its two state languages (English and Hawaiian) and its many other languages.
It is no surprise therefore that President Obama defends bilingualism. When he was a candidate, in the summer of 2008, he stated at a rally, "You should be thinking about .... how can your child become bilingual. We should have every child speaking more than one language".
When uttering those words, he may have been thinking of himself when he was a bilingual child in Indonesia. He shared some of those happy memories with his audience during his November 10 speech, "I learned to love Indonesia while flying kites and running along the paddy fields and catching dragonflies.....I remember the people, the old men and women who welcomed us with smiles; the children who made a foreign child feel like a neighbor and a friend; and the teachers who helped me learn about this country."
Note: President Obama's speech in Indonesia can be found on the American Rhetoric Online Speech Bank site: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speechbank.htm
Life as a Bilingual
The reality of living with two (or more) languages.
by Francois Grosjean, Ph.D. Dormant bilinguals and President Obama. The vagaries of life may lead to dormant bilingualism.
Published on November 19, 2010 by Francois Grosjean, Ph.D. in Life as a Bilingual
François Grosjean's website: www.francoisgrosjean.ch
It is not rare for bilinguals to go from being active, regular bilinguals, interacting with the world around them using their different languages, to being single language users. This can happen at any time and is usually due to a major life change such as immigration, the loss of a close family member, a separation, a change of jobs, or simply growing up and leaving one's language community. If this situation extends over time, then the language no longer being used on a regular basis will start to be forgotten. (I will cover language loss in a future post).
President Barack Obama is a fine example of a dormant bilingual. He spent four years in Indonesia between the ages of six and ten. He attended local schools and spoke Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) quite fluently. He stopped using it with others though when he moved to Hawaii with the exception of his half sister and when on trips back to Indonesia.
This said, he can still hold a general conversation in Indonesian and it was interesting to hear him say a few words in his other language when he addressed students at the University of Indonesia on November 10 of this year. (His speech).
Each time he switched over to Indonesian - "Selamat pagi" (Good morning), "Pulang kampung nih" (Back to/in my hometown) and so on - his audience applauded loudly. He also made them laugh mimicking the calls of street vendors. He finished with a much longer sentence in Indonesian, clearly showing that he retained a lot of the language.
Even though one may feel shy speaking a language one no longer uses (this is my case when I say a few words in Italian), it can be a real pleasure to realize that people understand you nevertheless. Clearly President Obama was relishing such moments when he switched over to Indonesian. And when he stated, "Indonesia bagian dari didi saya" (Indonesia is part of me), he was clearly touched as was his audience.
By living those four years in a country, "made up of thousands of islands, and hundreds of languages, and people from scores of regions and ethnic groups", as he states in his speech, President Obama experienced bi- and multilingualism first hand. This was reinforced later by his years in Hawaii with its two state languages (English and Hawaiian) and its many other languages.
It is no surprise therefore that President Obama defends bilingualism. When he was a candidate, in the summer of 2008, he stated at a rally, "You should be thinking about .... how can your child become bilingual. We should have every child speaking more than one language".
When uttering those words, he may have been thinking of himself when he was a bilingual child in Indonesia. He shared some of those happy memories with his audience during his November 10 speech, "I learned to love Indonesia while flying kites and running along the paddy fields and catching dragonflies.....I remember the people, the old men and women who welcomed us with smiles; the children who made a foreign child feel like a neighbor and a friend; and the teachers who helped me learn about this country."
Note: President Obama's speech in Indonesia can be found on the American Rhetoric Online Speech Bank site: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speechbank.htm
Life as a Bilingual
The reality of living with two (or more) languages.
by Francois Grosjean, Ph.D. Dormant bilinguals and President Obama. The vagaries of life may lead to dormant bilingualism.
Published on November 19, 2010 by Francois Grosjean, Ph.D. in Life as a Bilingual
François Grosjean's website: www.francoisgrosjean.ch
Bilinguals Refusing to speak one of their languages
Life as a Bilingual
The reality of living with two (or more) languages.
by Francois Grosjean, Ph.D. Refusing to speak a languageThe reasons a language may be rejected
Published on June 2, 2011 by Francois Grosjean, Ph.D. in Life as a Bilingual
We saw in an earlier post on dormant bilinguals that a major life change such as immigration, the loss of a close family member, a separation, a change of jobs, or simply growing up and leaving one's community may lead some bilinguals to no longer use a language. Since it is no longer needed, it is put aside. This is a normal consequence of the wax and wane of languages in bilinguals.
But there are also instances where a decision is made not to use a language any longer. The reasons vary and cover both adults and children. For example, members of stigmatized minorities may opt to no longer use the language of the majority when they are able to do so. Thus, many German Jews during World War II refused to continue using German in their new countries. This was also true of some members of the resistance movement. For example, Austrian born historian and author, Gerda Lerner, joined the resistance in her home country. When she arrived in the United States in 1939, she rejected German even though it was her first language. It was only many years later that she reconciled herself with her native language.
Strong negative attitudes towards a minority language will also lead speakers of that language to refuse to speak it in public. This was the case for many speakers of regional languages in nation-states in Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries. And it is true of certain recent immigrant languages among the second and third generations today.
To these political and social reasons should be added individual linguistic reasons. Some bilinguals, for example, fear that a particular language will taint their other language too strongly and so they decide to no longer use it (or use it on very rare occasions). A well-known example is the surrealist writer and poet, André Breton, who spent some time in the United States during World War II. He is said to have refused to speak and write English because he didn't want his native-language to be affected by it!
And, of course, there are those (I am one of them) who know a language so badly that they simply decide to no longer speak it. Of course, they still understand it to some extent but if they start using it, their interlocutor might think they know it better than they do and miscommunication will take place. It is simply easier, and safer, to close it down, often with regret though.
Children are also well-known for their decision at times not to use a language. We have seen in an earlier post on the person-language bond that very young bilingual children have an agreed upon language they use with the adults they know well. If someone uses the wrong language with them, they may become quite upset in addition to simply refusing to answer back in that language.
Older bilingual children and adolescents who become conscious of which language their peers speak may well reject a language (usually the home language) so as not to be different from them. An Arabic-English bilingual once wrote to me that as an adolescent he pretended he did not know Arabic. He continued: "I did this because I wanted very badly not to be different from the rest of my friends."
Researchers Stephen Caldas and Suzanne Caron-Caldas tracked language use in their English-French bilingual children over a six year period in Louisiana and in Quebec in the summer. The perception of peer pressure outside the home was such that the children were basically English monolinguals in Louisiana and French monolinguals in Quebec. In a revealing anecdote included in the study, the father, who spoke French to his children in Louisiana, was with his twelve-year-old daughter, Stéphanie, at a football game. He was getting ready to say hi to one of her friends when Stéphanie hissed to him, "Don't speak French to her." The authors tell us that the father did so anyway!
Parents often have to find creative ways of encouraging the use of the rejected language in order to ensure the development of active bilingualism in their children. It is no mean feat as their testimonies show!
References
Caldas, S. and Caron-Caldas, S. (2002). A sociolinguistic analysis of the language preferences of adolescent bilinguals: Shifting allegiances and developing identities. Applied Linguistics 23, 490-514.
Grosjean, F. Family strategies and support. Chapter 17 of Grosjean, François (2010). Bilingual: Language and Reality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
François Grosjean's website: http://www.francoisgrosjean.ch/
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-bilingual/201106/refusing-speak-language
The reality of living with two (or more) languages.
by Francois Grosjean, Ph.D. Refusing to speak a languageThe reasons a language may be rejected
Published on June 2, 2011 by Francois Grosjean, Ph.D. in Life as a Bilingual
We saw in an earlier post on dormant bilinguals that a major life change such as immigration, the loss of a close family member, a separation, a change of jobs, or simply growing up and leaving one's community may lead some bilinguals to no longer use a language. Since it is no longer needed, it is put aside. This is a normal consequence of the wax and wane of languages in bilinguals.
But there are also instances where a decision is made not to use a language any longer. The reasons vary and cover both adults and children. For example, members of stigmatized minorities may opt to no longer use the language of the majority when they are able to do so. Thus, many German Jews during World War II refused to continue using German in their new countries. This was also true of some members of the resistance movement. For example, Austrian born historian and author, Gerda Lerner, joined the resistance in her home country. When she arrived in the United States in 1939, she rejected German even though it was her first language. It was only many years later that she reconciled herself with her native language.
Strong negative attitudes towards a minority language will also lead speakers of that language to refuse to speak it in public. This was the case for many speakers of regional languages in nation-states in Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries. And it is true of certain recent immigrant languages among the second and third generations today.
To these political and social reasons should be added individual linguistic reasons. Some bilinguals, for example, fear that a particular language will taint their other language too strongly and so they decide to no longer use it (or use it on very rare occasions). A well-known example is the surrealist writer and poet, André Breton, who spent some time in the United States during World War II. He is said to have refused to speak and write English because he didn't want his native-language to be affected by it!
And, of course, there are those (I am one of them) who know a language so badly that they simply decide to no longer speak it. Of course, they still understand it to some extent but if they start using it, their interlocutor might think they know it better than they do and miscommunication will take place. It is simply easier, and safer, to close it down, often with regret though.
Children are also well-known for their decision at times not to use a language. We have seen in an earlier post on the person-language bond that very young bilingual children have an agreed upon language they use with the adults they know well. If someone uses the wrong language with them, they may become quite upset in addition to simply refusing to answer back in that language.
Older bilingual children and adolescents who become conscious of which language their peers speak may well reject a language (usually the home language) so as not to be different from them. An Arabic-English bilingual once wrote to me that as an adolescent he pretended he did not know Arabic. He continued: "I did this because I wanted very badly not to be different from the rest of my friends."
Researchers Stephen Caldas and Suzanne Caron-Caldas tracked language use in their English-French bilingual children over a six year period in Louisiana and in Quebec in the summer. The perception of peer pressure outside the home was such that the children were basically English monolinguals in Louisiana and French monolinguals in Quebec. In a revealing anecdote included in the study, the father, who spoke French to his children in Louisiana, was with his twelve-year-old daughter, Stéphanie, at a football game. He was getting ready to say hi to one of her friends when Stéphanie hissed to him, "Don't speak French to her." The authors tell us that the father did so anyway!
Parents often have to find creative ways of encouraging the use of the rejected language in order to ensure the development of active bilingualism in their children. It is no mean feat as their testimonies show!
References
Caldas, S. and Caron-Caldas, S. (2002). A sociolinguistic analysis of the language preferences of adolescent bilinguals: Shifting allegiances and developing identities. Applied Linguistics 23, 490-514.
Grosjean, F. Family strategies and support. Chapter 17 of Grosjean, François (2010). Bilingual: Language and Reality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
François Grosjean's website: http://www.francoisgrosjean.ch/
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-bilingual/201106/refusing-speak-language
quinta-feira, 16 de dezembro de 2010
The Advantages of Bilingualism
The Advantages of Bilingualism
Dr Kathie F NunleyJune, 2010
Dr Kathie F NunleyJune, 2010
Many of our students may be unaware that they bring with them, one of the strongest cognitive advantages to learning. They are fortunate enough to be bilingual. The ability to speak more than one language is one that offers many cognitive rewards now and into old age.
People who speak more than one language fluently throughout their life have better problem solving skills, better attention, improved executive function and reduce the risk and severity of Alzheimer's, dementia, and other brain deterioration issues.(Bialystok, 2004, 2010) Children who are bilingual may have some benefit in learning to read due to a stronger working memory. (Swanson, 2006)
Speaking more than one language is more complex than we first thought. Bilingualism requires a fundamental reorganization of the entire language system in the brain. Having more than one language housed in the brain puts tremendous pressure on the pre-frontal cortex, that area of our brain that deals with working memory and executive function. For this reason, brains of persons who are bilingual have a constant mental workout in this particular brain region, (Penn, 2010). The result is no different than what happens when you work out any area of the body - strength and increased efficiency.
The reasons for this appear to be multiple. First, if you are fluently bilingual, the areas of the brain that operate both languages are operating all the time. This is true, even if you remain in a mono-linguistic environment. For example, if you speak both Portuguese and English fluently, but work in an English speaking school and live in an English speaking community so that all day long you hear and speak nothing but English, the area of your brain responsible for Portuguese is still running as you speak and listen to English. Both areas run in tandem.
The areas of dual language are very much intertwined and organized by the brain region responsible for executive function. Apparently the lexicons of the languages are partially shared and handled by the prefrontal cortex. We can see this in instances of aphasia. Aphasia is a condition where language, or parts of language are lost, usually due to a head trauma. Occasionally the aphasia results in a very select deficit in just one area of lexical processing. For example, a person may lose the ability to speak nouns or just verbs, or even just past tenses of verbs. When this type of injury happens to a bilingual person, they lose the specific grammatical class in both languages. In other words, if you speak both French and English and can no longer say any nouns, you have lost that ability in both languages. (Mozzo, 2010) I'll mention here too, that recovery is faster and more complete for this condition if you are bilingual. (Penn, 2010)
New research is also showing us how critical language is to the formation of cultural self. A person's cultural belief system and autobiographical recounts are influenced and accessed differently through different language. Bilingual children who were interviewed in both of their languages had different stories, memories and personal reports based on which language was used in asking the question. (Wang, 2010)
So, what does this mean for bilingual students in our classrooms? Help them understand this incredibly valuable gift they bring with them to school. Encourage them to continue to use, speak and read, whenever possible, in both of their languages. Ask them questions that they can respond to in either language. Have them share stories, recall information and learn in both languages: "Tell me in English what you remember learning about the water cycle, and then tell me again in Luganda." Encourage their bilingualism. Help them celebrate their gift.
Citations
Bialystok, Ellen. (2010). Global-local and trail-making tasks by monolingual and bilingual children: Beyond inhibition. Developmental Psychology, Vol 46(1), 93-105.
Bialystok, E.; Craik, F.; Klein, R. & Viswanathan, M. (2004). Bilingualism, Aging and Cognitive Control. Psychology and Aging, Vol 19(2), 290-303
Miozzo, M.; Costa, A.; Hernández, M; Rapp, B. (2010). Lexical processing in the bilingual brain: Evidence from grammatical/morphological deficits. Aphasiology, Vol 24(2), 262-287
Penn, C.; Frankel, T.; Watermeyer, J.; Russell, N. (2010). Executive function and conversational strategies in bilingual aphasia. Aphasiology, Vol 24(2), 288-308
Swanson, H., Saez, L. & Gerber, M. (2006). Growth in Literacy and Cognition in Bilingual Children at Risk or Not at Risk for Reading Disabilities. Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 98(2), 247-264.
Wang, Qi; Shao, Yi; Li, Yexin Jessica (2010). "My way or mom's way?" The bilingual and bicultural self in Hong Kong Chinese children and adolescents. Child Development, Vol 81(2), 555-567.
Kathie F. Nunley is an educational psychologist, author, researcher and speaker living in southern New Hampshire. Developer of the Layered Curriculum® method of instruction, Dr. Nunley has authored several books and articles on teaching in mixed-ability classrooms and other problems facing today's teachers. Full references and additional teaching and parental tips are available at: http://Brains.org( this article may be used in any non-profit print publication so long as it is used in its entirety including the bottom author credit paragraph).
Layered Curriculum is a trademark created and registered to Dr. Kathie F. Nunley.
Copyright © 1998 - current year by Kathie F. Nunley.
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 1998 - current year by Kathie F. Nunley.
All Rights Reserved
quarta-feira, 10 de novembro de 2010
More Good Books
Compro muitos livros pela internet @ amazon.com. Ultimamente tenho lido alguns via Kindle. Uma vez comprado está em seu Ipad em segundos, mas confesso que adoro segurar, rabiscar e deixar meus livros com a cara do dono; cheio de comentários, e com cara de manuseado.. Sou louca? kkk Adoro um bom livro...
Lana.M
All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten.
Adoro o texto abaixo, espero que também apreciem.
Resolvi dividi-lo com voces após escrever meu último texto sobre as escolas bilingues.
Apreciem.
Lana.M
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN - Robert Fulghum
All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned: Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm.
Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum. See his web site at http://www.robertfulghum.com/ ]
Resolvi dividi-lo com voces após escrever meu último texto sobre as escolas bilingues.
Apreciem.
Lana.M
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN - Robert Fulghum
All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned: Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
- Share everything.
- Play fair.
- Don't hit people.
- Put things back where you found them.
- Clean up your own mess.
- Don't take things that aren't yours.
- Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
- Wash your hands before you eat.
- Flush.
- Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
- Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
- Take a nap every afternoon.
- When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
- Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
- Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
- And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm.
Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum. See his web site at http://www.robertfulghum.com/ ]
Bilinguismo no Brasil
Quer colocar seu filho numa escola bilíngüe?
Tire alguns minutos para refletir. Texto no.01
Estou aqui matutando como começar esse texto sobre um assunto que para mim é tão importante uma vez que meu filho de três anos e 10 meses é bilíngüe e as decisões que temos de tomar como mães ou pais, como a escolha da escola, são muitas vezes tão importantes como difíceis de tomar.
Bem, permitam-me contar um pouco da minha história pessoal para que, de certa forma, possam até mesmo dar um pouco de crédito as minhas preocupações, idéias e opiniões.
Morei na Inglaterra por cinco anos e fui professora e coordenadora de cursos de inglês durante tantos outros. Desde a época em que meu filhinho era apenas um projetinho de bebê em meu ventre comecei a falar em Inglês com ele. O tempo passou, ele nasceu, passei a só falar com ele em Inglês. Num outro momento poderei falar das técnicas que utilizei para facilitar o processo. Ao completar dois anos chegou o momento de entrar para a pré-escola e é nesse momento que começo esse texto.
No caso do meu filho, nada mais natural que a opção por uma escolha bilíngüe. No caso de muitos outros pais uma escolha por uma proposta de alto valor agregado para o futuro de seus filhos.
Fique bem claro aqui a minha escolha da palavra proposta e não escolha. Sim, pois usar aqui a palavra escolha seria dizer eu estar a favor dela; quando na verdade, a proposta nem sempre condiz coma a prática.Oque me leva, novamente, a minha necessidade desse texto escrever: as dúvidas.
Comecemos do começo.
O bilingüismo é um fenômeno muito recente no Brasil e único. Único porque ele não se encaixa por completo em nenhum outro tipo de bilingüismo estudado e publicado mundo a fora. A literatura é vasta, entretanto sobre o caso do bilingüismo no Brasil estamos muito na base das conjecturas.
Gosto de descrevê-lo como um bilingüismo "forçado", pois diferentemente de diversos outros países onde ele é um fenômeno decorrente da necessidade de imigrantes estrangeiros de falar a língua do país onde se encontram, que é diferente da sua língua materna e geralmente falada em casa; no Brasil é uma língua a ser utilizada como veículo de comunicação apenas no ambiente escolar e não em sociedade, ressalvo casos onde um dos pais ou ambos não falem outras línguas com a criança.
O fenômeno é recente, dez, quinze vinte anos, no máximo. Entretanto, acredito eu, que veio para ficar. Já se mostra uma tendência tanto para escolas de ensino fundamental e infantil como para escolas de idiomas. Ele surge como resposta a uma necessidade de um país, um mundo, cada vez mais globalizado, que quer uma maior quantidade de informação em muito menos tempo. Essa demanda vale tanto para a leitura e escuta dessas informações em outras línguas assim, bem como o próprio processo de aquisição do segundo idioma.
A PRIMEIRA DÚVIDA
Optar por uma escola bilíngüe ou uma internacional? Há diferença?
Sim, há!
Uma escola internacional segue um currículo internacional. Assim como calendários escolares e festivos também internacionais. Trabalha sob regime integral ou semi-integral (das 8:00 às 15:00). A cultura do país de origem da língua falada na escola sobrepõe-se ao ensino da cultura do país em que se encontra no nosso caso; o Brasil.
A meu ver, ideal para filhos de estrangeiros ou brasileiros que têm a intenção de morar fora. Não têm o vestibular como parâmetro para a elaboração de seu programa curricular e seus respectivos conteúdos e nem sua avaliação.
Já a escola bilíngüe BRASILEIRA segue o currículo brasileiro (MEC) e calendários brasileiros. Oferece tanto a proposta de estudo durante apenas um único período, como também integral (esse muitas vezes opcional). Como segue currículo do MEC, visa a longo termo o vestibular. Difunde a cultura brasileira prioritariamente.
Optei por essa proposta.
O que é mais importante: Proposta pedagógica, qualidade do idioma falado pelos professores, valores ensinados pela escola, cultura difundida, estrutura física ou qualidade da PRATICA pedagógica? Acredite, infelizmente, algo você terá de abrir mão. Tentarei aqui, através de muita leitura que já fiz sobre o assunto e experiência como mãe e professora, lhes ajudar a fazer essa escolha da forma mais consciente possível. Para que, como no meu caso, aconteceu e acontece de suas expectativas você não frustrar.
Qualidade do inglês produzido pelas professoras - Condição Sine-qua-non.
Em minha opinião, um dos itens acima não é negociável. A qualidade do inglês falado pelas professoras é condição sine-qua-non uma vez que tantas outras escolas sequer levei em consideração por não serem bilíngües. Eis onde mora o perigo.
Os cursos universitários quer sejam Letras ou Pedagogia, cursos geralmente cobrados dos profissionais da área, não foram pensados para essa nova realidade. Não preparam seus futuros profissionais em termos de fluência e precisão no falar da segunda língua. Isso quando se quer os preparam, pois nem todos os cursos de pedagogia oferecem cadeiras de línguas estrangeiras.
Qual o conteúdo programatico previsto para o ensino infantil? Isso é muito importante saber, uma vez que o MEC não exige nada até o ensino fundamental. Até lá são apenas sugestões.
Estou rindo agora, pois quem lê meu texto pode estar pensando que fiz tudo isso e que tenho todas as respostas. Ora, pois sim! Bem que eu gostaria de ter lido um blog antes de optar pela escola de meu filho. Escrevo baseada em meus erros! Meu filho está na segunda escola e a cada dia que passa aprendo mais sobre a ainda rudimentar realidade das escolas bilíngües em nosso pais. As minhas dúvidas e receios é que me motivam a escrever.
A análise na hora da escolha é muito importante, pois além de todos os aspectos que dizem respeito à escola, ainda temos os que dizem respeitos aos nossos filhos. Do momento em que eles se encontram em seu desenvolvimento infantil. Teremos de lidar com a adaptação à escola, mudança em seus horários, rotina diferente, adaptação do seu sistema imunológico para o convívio diário com outras crianças, dentre inúmeros outros aspectos.
Uma vez adaptado, a mudança de escola, mesmo que possível, é de uma maneira geral, um processo doloroso para a criança. Vale à pena gastar um pouco mais de tempo na hora de optar pela primeira.
Nos textos que seguirão falarei sobre:
Caso alguma mãe precise de ajuda antes dos meus dedos postarem no meu blog tudo o que meus coração e mente vêm me pedindo para ser falado sobre o assunto, não hesitem em me escrever.
Lana.M
Tire alguns minutos para refletir. Texto no.01
Estou aqui matutando como começar esse texto sobre um assunto que para mim é tão importante uma vez que meu filho de três anos e 10 meses é bilíngüe e as decisões que temos de tomar como mães ou pais, como a escolha da escola, são muitas vezes tão importantes como difíceis de tomar.
Bem, permitam-me contar um pouco da minha história pessoal para que, de certa forma, possam até mesmo dar um pouco de crédito as minhas preocupações, idéias e opiniões.
Morei na Inglaterra por cinco anos e fui professora e coordenadora de cursos de inglês durante tantos outros. Desde a época em que meu filhinho era apenas um projetinho de bebê em meu ventre comecei a falar em Inglês com ele. O tempo passou, ele nasceu, passei a só falar com ele em Inglês. Num outro momento poderei falar das técnicas que utilizei para facilitar o processo. Ao completar dois anos chegou o momento de entrar para a pré-escola e é nesse momento que começo esse texto.
No caso do meu filho, nada mais natural que a opção por uma escolha bilíngüe. No caso de muitos outros pais uma escolha por uma proposta de alto valor agregado para o futuro de seus filhos.
Fique bem claro aqui a minha escolha da palavra proposta e não escolha. Sim, pois usar aqui a palavra escolha seria dizer eu estar a favor dela; quando na verdade, a proposta nem sempre condiz coma a prática.Oque me leva, novamente, a minha necessidade desse texto escrever: as dúvidas.
Comecemos do começo.
O bilingüismo é um fenômeno muito recente no Brasil e único. Único porque ele não se encaixa por completo em nenhum outro tipo de bilingüismo estudado e publicado mundo a fora. A literatura é vasta, entretanto sobre o caso do bilingüismo no Brasil estamos muito na base das conjecturas.
Gosto de descrevê-lo como um bilingüismo "forçado", pois diferentemente de diversos outros países onde ele é um fenômeno decorrente da necessidade de imigrantes estrangeiros de falar a língua do país onde se encontram, que é diferente da sua língua materna e geralmente falada em casa; no Brasil é uma língua a ser utilizada como veículo de comunicação apenas no ambiente escolar e não em sociedade, ressalvo casos onde um dos pais ou ambos não falem outras línguas com a criança.
O fenômeno é recente, dez, quinze vinte anos, no máximo. Entretanto, acredito eu, que veio para ficar. Já se mostra uma tendência tanto para escolas de ensino fundamental e infantil como para escolas de idiomas. Ele surge como resposta a uma necessidade de um país, um mundo, cada vez mais globalizado, que quer uma maior quantidade de informação em muito menos tempo. Essa demanda vale tanto para a leitura e escuta dessas informações em outras línguas assim, bem como o próprio processo de aquisição do segundo idioma.
A PRIMEIRA DÚVIDA
Optar por uma escola bilíngüe ou uma internacional? Há diferença?
Sim, há!
Uma escola internacional segue um currículo internacional. Assim como calendários escolares e festivos também internacionais. Trabalha sob regime integral ou semi-integral (das 8:00 às 15:00). A cultura do país de origem da língua falada na escola sobrepõe-se ao ensino da cultura do país em que se encontra no nosso caso; o Brasil.
A meu ver, ideal para filhos de estrangeiros ou brasileiros que têm a intenção de morar fora. Não têm o vestibular como parâmetro para a elaboração de seu programa curricular e seus respectivos conteúdos e nem sua avaliação.
Já a escola bilíngüe BRASILEIRA segue o currículo brasileiro (MEC) e calendários brasileiros. Oferece tanto a proposta de estudo durante apenas um único período, como também integral (esse muitas vezes opcional). Como segue currículo do MEC, visa a longo termo o vestibular. Difunde a cultura brasileira prioritariamente.
Optei por essa proposta.
O que é mais importante: Proposta pedagógica, qualidade do idioma falado pelos professores, valores ensinados pela escola, cultura difundida, estrutura física ou qualidade da PRATICA pedagógica? Acredite, infelizmente, algo você terá de abrir mão. Tentarei aqui, através de muita leitura que já fiz sobre o assunto e experiência como mãe e professora, lhes ajudar a fazer essa escolha da forma mais consciente possível. Para que, como no meu caso, aconteceu e acontece de suas expectativas você não frustrar.
Qualidade do inglês produzido pelas professoras - Condição Sine-qua-non.
Em minha opinião, um dos itens acima não é negociável. A qualidade do inglês falado pelas professoras é condição sine-qua-non uma vez que tantas outras escolas sequer levei em consideração por não serem bilíngües. Eis onde mora o perigo.
Os cursos universitários quer sejam Letras ou Pedagogia, cursos geralmente cobrados dos profissionais da área, não foram pensados para essa nova realidade. Não preparam seus futuros profissionais em termos de fluência e precisão no falar da segunda língua. Isso quando se quer os preparam, pois nem todos os cursos de pedagogia oferecem cadeiras de línguas estrangeiras.
1. Procure assistir a uma aula, ouvir o inglês da professora (exposição a uma segunda língua falada de forma errada na infância, pode trazer inúmeros problemas na vida adulta). Se você não fala inglês, leve alguém com você que possa avaliar.
2. Assistir também a uma aula da última turma em que seu filho nessa escola chegará. Lembrar-se sempre que PROPOSTA é como promessa, nem sempre se cumpre na PRÁTICA. O inglês que esses alunos puderem produzir será possivelmente o que o seu filho deverá conseguir não importando se as professoras sejam nativas ou não.
3. Ao visitar, procurar escolher um dia da escola em funcionamento.
4. Ouvir os alunos em sala de aula. Como é a produção oral deles? Lembre-se que temos de ser mais exigentes do que nunca no fator língua, uma vez que seu filho está deixando de ser exposto a um Português “perfeito” em detrimento de um segundo idioma.
Uma vez satisfeita com o nível de inglês falado pelas professoras e alunos, aí sim considero partir para a análise da proposta pedagógica. Não podemos desperdiçar todo o potencial para o desenvolvimento da linguagem de nossos pequenos (que tem seu auge em torno dos 3 ou 4 anos de idade) expondo-os a uma língua estrangeira falada de forma errada, em detrimento da exposição de um Português de qualidade. Seria desperdício de potencial infantil e dinheiro! Pensem nisso. - Pensamento meu, ultimamente muito persistente ao avaliar o progresso de meu filho na escola.
Uma vez esclarecida qual a proposta pedagógica, não esqueçamos de questionar valores para nós importantes. Pais e escola partilham desses valores? Estão em sintonia? Esse foi o motivo da saida do meu filho da primeira escola.Qual o conteúdo programatico previsto para o ensino infantil? Isso é muito importante saber, uma vez que o MEC não exige nada até o ensino fundamental. Até lá são apenas sugestões.
Estou rindo agora, pois quem lê meu texto pode estar pensando que fiz tudo isso e que tenho todas as respostas. Ora, pois sim! Bem que eu gostaria de ter lido um blog antes de optar pela escola de meu filho. Escrevo baseada em meus erros! Meu filho está na segunda escola e a cada dia que passa aprendo mais sobre a ainda rudimentar realidade das escolas bilíngües em nosso pais. As minhas dúvidas e receios é que me motivam a escrever.
A análise na hora da escolha é muito importante, pois além de todos os aspectos que dizem respeito à escola, ainda temos os que dizem respeitos aos nossos filhos. Do momento em que eles se encontram em seu desenvolvimento infantil. Teremos de lidar com a adaptação à escola, mudança em seus horários, rotina diferente, adaptação do seu sistema imunológico para o convívio diário com outras crianças, dentre inúmeros outros aspectos.
Uma vez adaptado, a mudança de escola, mesmo que possível, é de uma maneira geral, um processo doloroso para a criança. Vale à pena gastar um pouco mais de tempo na hora de optar pela primeira.
Nos textos que seguirão falarei sobre:
1. O processo de aquisição da linguagem
2. Os prós e os contras de expormos nossos filhos a um ambiente bilíngüe desde cedo.
3. A aquisição simultânea de dois idiomas
4. O que devemos ou não fazer durante esse processo para ajudar em casa.
5. Relatos das minhas experiências positivas como também as que me preocuparam e ainda preocupam.
Caso alguma mãe precise de ajuda antes dos meus dedos postarem no meu blog tudo o que meus coração e mente vêm me pedindo para ser falado sobre o assunto, não hesitem em me escrever.
Lana.M
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