No child left monolingual
Video summary
In the video “no child left monolingual”, Kim Potowski, talks about multilingualism focusing on The United States of America’s educational system. Arguing that more than half of the planet are bilinguals or multilingual and that the country does not have an actual official language, she began to talk about the myths of multilingualism and its advantages, stating that multilingualism is not damaging for either the individual or society, but rather the opposite, and that code-switching (which is very common on bilingual people) shows their identities, and they should be proud of it. She introduces the different types of programs that some, but not most, of the schools in the USA have in order for children to learn English. First, there is the Only English education, where everything is taught by using English as a vehicle language (most of the schools in the States); second, there is Bilingual education where they teach in both English and Spanish (with a lower percentage) but still with the main aim is to incorporate the students to an all English class as fast as possible (which she does not really consider bilingualism); and third and last, the Two-way immersion programs which consist on teaching mostly in Spanish and then a small percentage in English, and after a few years and when the students become older, languages are divided on a 50%-50% level through the classes and course. Moreover, based on studies done in 2006, she pleads that being part of this last program helps students do better in the English subject and many others, as well as outperform their peers who are not part of this program. By the end of the video, she encourages bilingual American families to use their heritage language at home by speaking and/or reading to their children with their language, as well as take advantage of these two-way immersion programs (and ask for them in case they are not offered in their state or town).
Reflection on monolingualism and bilingualism based on my own social and educational context
The video we have briefly introduced before catches the reader’s attention, especially bilingual or multilingual personas, as the topic of the United States being mostly monolingual when it comes to education is not too big of a surprise. However, it is also interesting because it encourages bilingualism by talking about advantages and why children sometimes might become monolingual when having bilingual families or coming from immigrant families. Likewise, it introduces the different education systems that they are offered in the country (not all States, but could be if parents start asking for it). The video overall is very informative and surprising.
There are a lot of bilingual and multilingual inhabitants in the USA. However, from what I can see through “famous internet” people and based on people’s experience that can be found on the internet as well as the numbers Potowski presents to us, a majority of them struggle a lot to speak their heritage language due to the fact that they do not use it in school and, in some cases, neither in their homes. This is tragic because they are losing part of their identity and bilingualism should be embraced and not go astray. Likewise, when it comes to free ESL classes (English as a second language class), as Powoski states around minute seven of the video, they mostly have waiting lists of several months and even years, which makes us realize that these programs are not accessible for everyone, and therefore not everyone can benefit from bilingual education in the USA. Eventually, as the title said, no child will be left monolingual, but that can only happen if both schools and families encourage their children to be bilingual, to use their heritage language, rather than only English. The country seems to encourage monolingualism, while most of its population are not (mostly because of immigration).
When it comes to schools in Catalonia, as we can read in my previous entry Multilingualism in Catalan territory, the reality is not as different for immigrants as one might expect. While Catalonia, opposite to the USA has two official languages (the American country does not have any official language), its educational system is not far from resembling the American system, in some type of way. In the Catalan system, we follow the program that in the video was introduced to us as ‘Bilingual education’, which in reality is not bilingual. Bilingual education should not be more than 50% classes in one language, and less than 20% in another language; bilingual education should, in an ideal context, be 50-50% and mix languages in the different subjects, at least starting from a specific age. Again, Catalonia follows rather a ‘developmental immersion’ where both official languages are taught in schools from a young age, but the percentage of use regarding each one is very different (mostly Spanish is taught as a specific subject instead of being used on the same level as Catalan). When it comes to most immigrant students who do not speak the Catalan language, they are placed in classes where the main teaching language is Catalan. Yes, they are offered help and immersion programs for them to “familiarize themselves and learn the language”, but the reality is that classes are taught mostly in Catalan, while having one or two Spanish courses and then, an English course.
Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that the USA education and Catalan educational system are exactly the same, (as it is mandatory for all schools in Catalonia to teach both languages with the goal that at the end of their studies, students will have the same level in both languages), but they are not as different as one would believe at first, especially when it comes to bilingualism. The ideal, when it comes to bilingual education itself, would be similar to what Powoski explains in her Tedtalk about the two-way immersion grades 5 to 8: 50% modules in one language and 50% modules in the other. This is not followed in most schools in Catalonia or the USA.
Bilingualism is a daily reality in Spain, and most parents I have known encourage their students to be multilingual (whether it is because English has become the Lingua Franca that everyone is able to use at different levels or to encourage their identities). When it comes to Catalonia, identity is everything to them, (as it is primarily a political part of the Spanish country) so the knowledge of different languages is encouraged in the vast majority. While not necessarily speaking all the languages their children are learning, bilingual families tend to keep their heritage language at home or even mix it with the country’s official language. Whereas in the United States of America one can believe that the educational system does not encourage bilingualism much, the reality is that as time passes most people are bilinguals (again, mostly due to immigration) and therefore believing that soon, there will be no child left multilingual in the world, is not an unrealistic assumption. As time goes by and humans evolve, the knowledge and the fostering of bilingualism are becoming more of a reality in most countries.
Nowadays, more than half of the population is also bilingual or multilingual. And we should, with no doubt, encourage it. Bilingualism and multilingualism are beneficial to individuals, and it can also help us become more social as we can communicate with individuals from different cultural backgrounds, thanks to the knowledge and usage of more than one language. Bilingualism and multilingualism are the future, monolingualism is starting to be part of the past times.
References used on this entry:
TEDx Talks. (2013, May 3). No child left monolingual: Kim Potowski at TEDxUofIChicago [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSs1uCnLbaQ
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