In this assignment you will see an example of a multilingual 16-year-old boy, Tim Doner, who speaks approximately 20 languages. Tim lives in the United States where he grew up speaking English and learning French in school. At the age of thirteen, after successfully having taught himself Hebrew, he started learning multiple foreign languages more actively and has been learning them ever since. In the video that you will watch, Tim will tell his story and talk about why he has been learning languages. Following the video, you will investigate the stereotype that Americans only speak English and think about how languages are represented on maps. In the end, you will reflect on what it means to others when you learn their language.
The assignment will take about 45-60 minutes.
recognise and explain the stereotype that Americans speak and are only interested in English
be able to compare American (US) linguistic diversity to Dutch linguistic diversity
reflect on multilingualism
For teachers who want to adapt this assignment into the classroom, a small set of instructions can be found here.
Before you start watching, please read the questions that are in part 2 below carefully. Then watch the video on the left.
Why does Tim act differently in each language he speaks?
Loraine Obler thinks Tim’s talents are extraordinary.
a. Explain why she thinks that and include in your explanation where the stereotype that Americans do not speak and like to learn foreign languages comes from.
b. Have a look at the linguistic map of the U.S. It depicts the most common languages spoken at home after English and Spanish. What does the linguistic landscape look like? Compare it to what Loraine said about Tim.
c. Browse through the language maps on this website. When having looked at a couple, find the one that covers the Benelux area.
i. When you look behind standard languages, you find regional varieties. Do you identify yourself with one of these varieties, or perhaps with one not mentioned on the map? Why?
ii. Regional varieties are not the only types of languages spoken in this area. For the Netherlands, which languages do you think people speak the most on a daily basis after Dutch, Frisian or a local variety? Why?
d. Compare the maps from b. and c. Describe the similarities and differences.
When Tim lists the languages he speaks, you see a map highlighting corresponding countries, except for Ojibwe, where a region is highlighted.
a. Do you think this is an accurate representation of reality?
b. What message does this send out?
c. Consider other places where the languages Tim speaks are spoken. What would the map look like then?
d. Look at your answer from 3c. In what ways would doing this alter the stereotype described in 2?
Tim says he had a breakthrough in studying languages. What is this breakthrough he mentions?
Mention three benefits that Tim gives for studying multiple languages and explain.
At the end of the talk, Tim quotes Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa. In South Africa, there are 35 languages spoken, of which 11 are recognised as official.
The quote is:
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart”.
Do you agree? Write down your thoughts on this quote. Try to provide personal examples and take into account the languages you speak and/or are learning. Also include in your response what you have learned from the video.