Language and Power

Aria by:  Richard Rodriguez

     In this text the author saw himself as a socially disadvantaged child who considered his native language of Spanish to be a private language and part of his individuality.  Rodriguez did not believe that he could speak a public language such as English which in turned delayed his ability to become bilingual.  His delay was so much that the nuns came to his home and encouraged his parents to only speak in English to which they complied.  This created a new quiet at home where the feelings of closeness decreased and his family life and sense of self would be changed forever.  Rodriguez's father retreated to silence and his mother became troubled and anxious as his own confidence grew with his newly acquired language.  However, he still found comfort in his culture while in the community among Spanish speakers.  The dynamics of acquiring the English language today is taught differently than how the nuns taught it in the 1970's.  It is less rigid, doesn't rob one of their own identity and can be acquired at one's own pace as demonstrated by the next texts.


Teaching Multilingual Children by:  Virginia Collier

    In this text the author provides seven guidelines on teaching English to second language learners by incorporating each student's different languages and life situations.  This is a very different approach than the nuns approach in the text Aria where it was understood that the students needed to learn to speak English at whatever the cost to their own identity.  Collier writes that there are predictable stages that first language learners go through to learn that are similar to the strategies that second language learners go through.  There are also different variables such as age, learning style and desire between first and second language acquisition in children.  This text states that teachers should be aware of "caregiver speech", speech used by mothers and fathers with their children, and try to emulate it as well as be aware of social and emotional factors that can have an impact on learning. The goal is to help student's master the language used in formal schooling, without eliminating the first language. There are many methods to teaching in a bilateral classroom.  It is recommended that "code switching", the use of both languages in speech by bilingual students, be allowed in the classroom.  The author states that too many ESL programs don't emphasize academic literacy only the importance of spoken English. To incorporate literacy into the curriculum research shows that a student should first become literate in their primary language and those skills both written and oral will transfer to the second language.  The goal is to make learning a second language as culturally relevant as possible for the student as well as the teacher.  These guidelines made learning English less pressured and more relevant to the learner's culture than the techniques or lack there of in the text Aria.

Teaching Bilinguals (Even If You're Not One):  A CUNY-NYSIEB Webseries

     This webseries encourages the use of all languages in the classroom.  It is critical to be flexible, intentional and creative when teaching bilinguals.  Different teachers in the state of New York were interviewed regarding the techniques they used in today's bilingual classrooms.  The underlying theme is to create a classroom of culture that acknowledges the student's identities and strengths.  This was done by incorporating multicultural literature and graphic novels in the classroom and labeling a cultural portrait of oneself.  Their focus was not just on teaching English but on the longterm goal of teaching an emergent bilingual. In order to accomplish this one needed to be aware of body language, incorporate home language, become a co-learner and have patience and empathy.  If I were a student in an ESL classroom today I would choose to be in one of these teacher's classes.  They make learning the language much less intimidating than the nuns did in Aria.