Thinking and Speaking in Two Languages (Bilingual Education and Bilingualism)

In this book Pavlenko collates relevant research in the area of bilingual the context of thinking and speaking in two languages. second language learning. contrastive analysis of cognitive restructuring in monolinguals and bilinguals is.
Table of contents

Dr. Aneta Pavlenko - Bilingualism and cognition

They also came from cultures that were similar in many ways to mainstream U. It was easier for them to assimilate into American society because, once they abandoned their home language, they looked like any other "American. They have clear physical attributes that mark them as different from white Americans. Long after they have learned English and acquired jobs in this country, they are still subject to racial discrimination and hate crimes.

To summarize, earlier immigrants would have benefited from special programs if they had existed. Instead, we lament the fact that so few Americans know a "foreign" language. The older a person is, the harder it is to acquire a second language. This depends on many things. First, it appears that different locations in the human brain are responsible for different language learning tasks.

Some of these tasks, like acquiring native-like pronunciation in a second language, are easier for children. This doesn't mean it's impossible for adult learners to sound "native-like"--it may just be more difficult. Other language learning tasks, like acquiring grammar, vocabulary, syntax, and literacy, are easier for older learners because they already have developed proficiency in these areas in their native language, and this language ability "transfers" to another language.

The language(s) of thoughts and dreams

Older immigrant students whose native language literacy skills are well developed acquire English proficiency significantly faster than younger immigrant students. Cummins, However, we must remember that age is only one factor affecting language learning.

Others, such as motivation, attitudes toward the two languages, social context, and the learning environment itself, also have a powerful impact on the degree to which people do or do not acquire a second language. Immigrants don't want to learn English. Immigrants recognize that English is the language of power in this country and they are learning it as quickly as they can.

Given a supportive learning environment, it takes 2 years to develop basic conversational skills and years to be fully literate in another language. Immigrants who want to learn English are being turned away because there aren't enough classes. In Los Angeles, for example, schools run 24 hours a day and 50, students are on waiting lists for ESL classes. It is important to distinguish those who cannot speak English at all and those who speak English and another language.

If everyone agreed to speak only one language, we wouldn't have so much war and interethnic conflict. Of course people need a common language to understand one another. But that doesn't require eliminating minority languages; it only requires bilingualism. Switzerland has four official languages and has never had a war. Finland has three Finnish, Swedish, and Lapp. Hawai'i has had two co-official state languages since -- English and Hawaiian -- and no civil strife has resulted.

On the other hand, much of the conflict in the world has erupted in places where there is only one language. For example, in the U. Thus language is not the "glue" that binds us together. What really binds us as a nation is a common belief in freedom, including the freedom to speak any language we please. It costs taxpayers too much money to provide government services in languages other than English. The use of a language other than English can make it easier and more expedient to serve taxpayers.

For example, in Arizona recently, a bilingual state employee found it easier, quicker, and less expensive to collect medical malpractice information from claimants who were more comfortable conversing in Spanish. Communicating in a language one is not proficient in takes more time and may result in dangerous miscommunication, especially in life threatening situations.

Although some people say the number of translated government documents are "overwhelming", a recent survey found that out of , documents, only were translated into languages other than English. For the little that it costs the government to provide certain translated documents and services in languages other than English, a great benefit is gained: The right of Americans to communicate with their government and to receive public services that are guaranteed by the Civil Rights Act for all Americans, regardless of race, gender, or national origin.

HCE is the native language of most children and adults in Hawai'i. It is a fully developed language or variety, just as "good" as standard English in every way except that it suffers from low social prestige. If speakers of HCE controlled more of the resources in the U. The situation is very similar to that of African Americans, many of whom speak a variety known as Black English or African American English.

It too is a systematic, fully grammatical language with rules and standards of its own. In Los Angeles and several other places, new programs have been developed in the schools to help students learn Standard English, which they call the "cash language" because it is related to economic opportunities. However, they also make sure that students maintain their African American English, which is the language of the home and community. Students in this program become "bidialectal" proficient in two dialects.

Likewise in Hawai'i, people do not have to lose pidgin in order to speak Standard English-- they can have both! It is pointless to try and revive the Hawaiian language; it's dead. For the last 10 years, the Hawaiian language has been undergoing a very powerful renaissance.

It is now far from dead, but it is still not "out of the woods". Thanks to the dedicated efforts of many native Hawaiians in the Punana Leo and Kula Kaiapuni immersion preschools and schools , there are now over children from preschool through 9th grade who speak Hawaiian.

However, they are still small in number, compared to the , Hawaiians and part Hawaiians who live in Hawai'i. The language needs to be continually nurtured through programs for children and for adults. It is especially critical for parents and other adults to begin speaking Hawaiian to their children at home, for this is the only way we can ensure long-term survival of the language. There are other examples of languages that have been revived from near oblivion, so we know that it is possible to do this for Hawaiian as well, provided the community continues to feel it is an important goal.

The Hebrew language was considered dead, but it is now a living language again in Israel. Catalan in Spain has also been revitalized in the last twenty years. The law does not require fair treatment of non-native speakers of English, non-English and limited-English speakers. The law does not require "special" treatment of those who do not speak English, or who speak English with an accent. However Federal and State law require equal and fair treatment of these classes of people in many contexts: While English is recognized as the language of broader communication in government and commerce, discrimination based on language is prohibited under United States and Hawai'i constitutional and civil rights laws.

Failure to provide bilingual education for non-English speaking students is a denial of equal access to educational opportunities, constituting a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of Denial of access to federally-funded government services and benefits on the basis of language is also considered discrimination, and a violation of Title VI.

Common Myths About Bilingualism

In employment, discrimination based on accent and English-only rules are unlawful absent relationship to a strong business justification, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of Both state and federal constitutional due process protection guarantee the rights of non-English or limited-English speaking defendants. Hawai'i civil rights law makes discrimination on the basis of national origin unlawful in employment, housing, and public accomodations.

Language is considered a characteristic of national origin. Both the Hawai'i and United States constitutions provide for equal protection of the laws, which extend to national origin and language minorities. The Hawai'i Constitution establishes Hawaiian as an official language with equal dignity to English. Hawai'i has promoted several initiatives in education, language access to services, and Hawaiian language revitalization, in efforts to comply with the spirit and letter of the law. If the law prohibits language discrimination, there is no reason for further concern about the issue.

Compliance with civil rights laws has not been complete.

Access Check

We need to do more. Effective enforcement of the legal prohibitions against language discrimination will continue to demand resolve, commitment, and resources.

Congress is considering English-only legislation similar to that which has been passed in several states, undermining the rights of language minorities and weakening our anti-discrimination laws. Passage will mean denial of full participation and access to government services and benefits for non-English and limited-English speakers, and will undermine efforts to revitalize Hawaiian and other indigenous languages. Linguist Veroboj Vildomec reported that a multilingual who spoke some Russian dreamed that he was speaking fluent Russian. But when he woke up, he realized that it had been in fact a mixture of Czech and Slovak, with a bit of Russian Dreams are just that Thinking and Speaking in Two Languages.

Personality , thinking and dreaming, and emotions in bilinguals. I'm not fluent enough in any other language, to consider myself bi-lingual. However, I have wondered about this very topic, as it would apply to a person who is deaf. We aural perceptive people, "hear" words that we speak to ourselves in whatever language, as you stated in this article They have no point of reference to a auditory sensation I have an acquaintance who is mostly deaf, and I've asked her.

The problem is that she has been able to hear a little bit, using hearing aides. However, that has deteriorated in the last few years, so she can't do that anymore, and I've noticed that her messaging on FB or other places, reads just like a hearing impaired person would speak.

This tells me that she probably talks to herself this way. I'm not Deaf but bilingual in two oral languages so I have often been asked this question. I was also never caught speaking out aloud in my sleep, at best only making some noises I have a very good friend who is fluent in 14 languages If the US Gov't, as his employer, would allow him to do it!

He says that some people collect cars I always thought that was interesting, does it happen to anyone else? Many thanks for your comment. It is well known in psycholinguistics that one recalls the gist of what one has heard and less the form. This is what seems to be happening to you. However, there is also evidence that we remember some aspects of the form e. That may encourage you to think in the language the person was speaking. I remember my first "bilingual" or was it "trilingual"? In I studied psychology for a year at the University of Geneva, working very hard to learn French.


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I dreamed that I was speaking with my friends from the C. My French was fluent, effortless, and accent-free. Then someone showed up who insisted on speaking Swiss German. There were many students who came from the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but they normally spoke French. In fact, my first "accent" in French was a Swiss-German one! I thought that this person's insistence on using Swiss German was rude. And I was frustrated by the fact that I could not understand everything that was being said in German.

I'm Romanian but I studied English and French in school for years.

Bilingualism and cognition

Because, back in Romania, language lessons were focused on reading and grammar with hardly any conversation, when I immigrated to Canada, I could hardly open my mouth even though, on the other hand, I knew the irregular verbs really well. Naturally, I became more fluent later, and that has something to do with exposure I went to some course in French and to college in English. Before I became more fluent, I started to dream in French or in English, respectively.

I was wondering whether that kind of experience is frequent or nearly universal. I also had the experience of getting very tired each day after being exposed so much to the new language, or having trouble focusing in class because the teacher was talking too much, and then getting used to it.

Life and Reality , among other books. She is the author of The Bilingual Mind and many other books and articles. The number of bilinguals in the US has practically doubled since Are language learning gifts unequally distributed among men and women? Back Find a Therapist.

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