I read a very interesting article written by Jessica Bell
called Enhancing learning of children from diverse language backgrounds: Mother
tongue-based bilingual or multilingual education in the early years. Long title and a little bit of a long
article, but worth the read.
Children that have the opportunity to learn in an
environment that the mother-tongue is used are more likely to enroll and
succeed in school, and parents are more likely to communicate with teachers.
There is a need for the children to stay connected with their communities and
the family pass the usual household use of the language, formal education and
exposure to positive attitudes should be used to encourage the use of
mother-tongue language.
I find it very interesting that the definition of mother tongue
instruction is not the same as mother tongue-based instruction. Mother tongue instruction includes 1-2 hours
of formal instruction. Mother tongue-based
instruction goes across the curriculum and throughout the school day. The little that I know of different cultures
from friendships and reading, I know that women across the country can have it
hard, it is the same when it comes to language.
I had not seen it as clearly as I do now,, women are more likely to be
exposed to scholarly information, be a part of a salaried labor force, and are
usually migrated to the national language.
A few interesting facts that I ran across are that children
with learning disabilities (or low general intelligence) have the capacity to
learn more than one language. I think
that all children can learn and at different paces and different ways, but I
found it interesting that the author would use low general intelligence. Children can learn 3 or more languages
starting at an early age, and their cognitive and metalinguistic awareness
shows up earlier. The support to keep
the languages up stills needs to be ongoing.
The article also states that languages don’t compete for mental
space.
I want to help children that I come into contact with to
reach their optimal development- and like the UNESCO’s it means to help
children to be effective in their own current context and be ready for changes
that are coming, and to learn different cultures and skills that will allow
that to happen.
I agree that children's education can be enhanced when learning in the same language they encounter at home. However, it has been my experience that many of the families of the children we enroll that do not speak English at home are relying on us to teach their children English before they begin formal education.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. It is my desire to help all children reach their maximum potential. I find facinating that language is so deeply intwined in cultural beliefs and even the economy of a culture. It is so vital that we maintain languages and do our best to have them throughout the curriculums.
ReplyDeleteI have seen so many examples of children learning two or three languages at their early age and being perfectly able to communicate in all of them. I was teaching ESL for almost ten years and I know how fast children can pick up words from another language. It is an amazing ability and we should encourage multicultural families to use all languages when communicating with their children.
ReplyDeleteHi Carmellia, your information on mother tongue instruction and mother tongue based instruction is interesting. I didn't know there was a difference either. Is mother tongue based instruction more effective than mother tongue instruction? I also found it interesting that one's ability to learn a second language has little to do with intelligence. I also agree that we need to do whatever is necessary to help our students reach their full potential. Thanks for sharing. Delores
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