Stephanie
Blog #1 - About me
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ ,
My name is Stephanie Lim and I am Korean. (Of course, from South!)
I strongly love animals, nature, good foods, jazz, gaming, and my bed!! 😍
I came to Canada in 2007 with my family and two dogs. It was very difficult to learn foreign languages when I came here since it was not only English that I had to learn but also, French. I've studied some English basic grammar when I was young in Korea, but when my parents decided to send me to a French primary school, I totally had a mental break down. I was in "classe d'accueil" with friends that are from every where in the world who were also learning French. I did not know how to speak French nor proper English. I had to go to French class three times a week if I am not wrong, and had to learn from the very beginning like how to pronounce alphabet, how to count in French, etc. By going to French school and interacting and communicating with my friends in French, French has become my second language rather than English. During my high school years, I've realized how much I loved learning languages. I would try to learn my friend's language whether it is Dari, Mandarin, Spanish or Arabic, and desire to learn about their culture.
I firstly was studying in Travel and Tourism, however I found out that Dawson had a Languages program hence I re applied for this program. Therefore, here I am in Languages profile at Dawson now! And I just cannot believe this is going to be my last semester, hopefully...!
To conclude,
"I.... Just.... Wanna.... Graduate........."
Blog #2 - Final topic
My topic for this project:
I've decided to do my project on "Bilingual/multilingual children".
As an immigrant and/or as a child of immigrant parents in Canada, I had to acquire both languages; English and French. It has always been a challenge for me, of course until today. It is very difficult to master one language perfectly when you are using three languages in everyday life. Also, since I went to a French high school, the terms I've learnt in mathematics classes or science classes, etc, I still have no idea what they are called in English. It really depends which topic I am talking about, and where and in which language I've learnt those terms therefore this is the reason why it is still challenging for me.
Many children are raised bilingually nowadays, especially when they immigrated or were born in foreign country as 2nd generation. They have to acquire more than one language since at young age and this could lead to their identity confusion as well. Due to these reasons, I would love to know more on this topic.
I will research about raising bilingual/multilingual children and also about their identity.
Blog #3 - Sources
"Raising Bilingual Children" by Antonella Sorace and Bob Ladd
There are many reasons, but the two most common reasons why we raise bilingual children are: when the parents speak different languages (interracial couples) and when the parents speak the same language but live in a community where most people speak something else (immigration). This article was very helpful for me since there were all the answers I've been wondering about raising bilingual children. For example, don't children get confused when they hear two languages spoken around them? The answer is no. According to this article, children are incredibly sensitive to different ways people speak and the bilingual situation is just a matter of another difference between people. One of the advantages to being bilingual or knowing more than one language is that children can have more flexible thinking. Contrarily, the disadvantage will be that bilingual development sometimes results in slower language development than for some monolingual children. For children, they can learn more than one language without difficulty and it doesn't do any harm to them. They might be slow but it is important that they have enough natural exposure to both or more languages, and need to hear both languages often and in a variety of circumstances.
"What It's Like to be the Child of Immigrants" by Michael Rain
This video was very interesting to watch since he tells us about his experiences and stories when he was young as a first generation immigrant. He considers himself as an American, an African and a Ghanaian. However, when he is with American friends, he feels different than them, but also, many of his black American friends couldn't understand why he sounded different than they did or why his parents seemed different than theirs. He began to notice the distinction between what was unique to his family and what was common for everyone else. He was clearly confused with his identity therefore when he shared his story to his father, he also shared his own confusion over the significance of when he first came to the US. It is interesting that another immigrant from different country and different ethnicity than mine shares his childhood identity confusion.
"Raising Bilingual Children: Common Parental Concerns and Current Research" by Kendall King and Lyn Fogle
Many of U.S. parents view bilingualism as a laudable family goal nowadays. They desire to maintain ties to the parents' heritage language and culture, to provide children with academic and cognitive advantages, and to promote cross-cultural understanding and communication. However, the research indicates that success in raising children to be bilingual remains the exception in the United States, as most children eventually become English dominant or even monolingual in English. The author explains "this is due at least in part to the high status of English and the limited number of opportunities available for children to learn languages other than English". I found this very interesting that it becomes harder to acquire a second language when you're an English dominant speaker. Just like how English speaker tend to have more difficulty to learn French than French speakers learning English for a second language.
The author also mentions about language delay. Of course children had experienced or were likely to experience language delay as a result of their dual language environment. Children who hear more than one language at home will be slower than monolingual homes. Yet, they will eventually acquire both languages or more with the time and the author adds that "the long-term benefits of bilingualism are important".
“I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype" by Canwen Xu
In this video, Canwen talks about race and identity by sharing her story of growing up Asian-American. She moved to the United States when she was two years old so almost her entire life has been a blend of two cultures especially living in all states with incredible little racial diversity, it was difficult to reconcile her Chinese heritage with her mainstream American self. As a child, she quickly realized that she had two options in front of her: conformed to the stereotype that was expected of her, or conformed to the whiteness that surrounded her. Later on, Canwen confesses that oftentimes by interacting with others, they made her want to reject her own culture because she thought it helped her conformed. "I distanced myself from the Asian stereotype as much as possible by degrading my own culture."
After listening to her story, I was deeply agreed with her. I could understand how she must've been feeling with this identity confusion between her own culture and the culture where she belongs to.
"Benefits of Multilingualism in Foreign Language Learning" by Emrah Dolgunsöz
Today, it is common and natural to meet individuals having 2 or more languages, especially in Canada where we use French and English along with many multicultural immigrants. There are a variety of bilinguals with different definition and situation on how they've acquired both languages. Also, the more languages one knows, the easier it becomes to acquire an additional language since multilinguals have already had the access to at least 2 linguistic systems. Multilinguals showed greater flexibility in switching strategies than monolinguals and bilinguals.
Being able to use more than one language, being multilingual give many benefits such as improving critical thinking abilities, having a better ear for listening and sharper memories, and learn further languages more quickly and efficiently than monolinguals.
"Bilingual Identity" by Karmela Liebkind
In this text, Liebkind portrays what bilingual identity is.
She gives two questions: first, who is bilingual?, the second, what is identity?
From a sociopsychological perspective, not every bilingual people have a bilingual identity. She states that identity is psychological and it has to do with the way in which we define ourselves, how we experience ourselves, and with what other individuals and groups we identify ourselves. Therefore, feeling oneself to be bilingual implies a bilingual identity.
It is possible that someone who defines himself or herself as bilingual does not master one of the languages very well, or feels bilingual while other people disagree on that matter. Moreover, it is possible that someone who masters two languages extremely well and is considered bilingual by everybody else still has a completely monolingual identity.
Only when a person has an integrative attitude toward two languages simultaneously and both languages influence identify of this person can he or she be said to have a bilingual identity.
I believe most of immigrants' children tend to have bilingual identity. They use both languages since at a young age, but they might have different influence outside their home in case they only use their mother tongue at home. I think their influence affects a lot more than bilingual children who speak two languages from the beginning of their lives. Due to this, they sometimes face their identity confusion; they get confused where they belong.
"How Does Language Change Your Brain?"
Swedish Armed Forces interpreter Academy had a study where students were tasked with learning a language at a very fast rate. MRI scans were showing that specific parts of the brain were developing in size; they were getting bigger just because they were learning a language. However, another group was tasked with learning something else other than leaning a language, and their brain structures didn't change in size at all.
Learning a language also significantly improves cognitive function when you pick up a language. A new study found that young adults proficient in two languages performed better on attention tests and had better concentration than those who spoke only one language. (Journal Frontiers in Psychology) When you learn a second language at an early age, you have a better cognitive function at an older age than monolinguals. It slows down brain aging and holds off Alzheimer's for more than 4.3 years.
"The Benefits of Multilingualism" by Jared Diamond
There are many benefits of multilingualism and you cannot forget about its cognitive effects of multilingualism. Studies show that children raised bilingually develop a specific type of cognitive benefit during infancy, and that bilingualism offers some protection against symptoms of Alzheimer's dementia in old people.
Usually people tend to think raising children bilingually will confuse them and will cause slower development in their speech. Even immigrants whose native language is not English often believe that their children should learn only English otherwise will be confused by learning two languages simultaneously.
It is true that bilingual children acquire language more slowly than monolingual children and they also achieved smaller vocabularies. But other variables correlated with bilingualism in those early studies such as schooling and parental socioeconomic status confounded their interpretation.
The clearest difference identified by these studies involves an advantage that bilinguals have over monolinguals, rather than a disadvantage. Our minds are assaulted by varied sights, sounds, and other external sensory inputs, plus thoughts and proprioceptive sensations.
"Benefits of a Bilingual Brain"
Learning how to think and communicate in another language gives our brain a powerful cognitive workout. Bilingual brains are more developed in areas that organize and process speech such as: the Motor Cortex which controls the lips and mouth, the Wernicke's Area where the brain organizes language for active speech, the Broca's Area where language sounds are processed, and the Auditory Cortex where auditory stimuli is received.
The research shows that bilingual students enjoy better academic outcomes in the classroom. They demonstrate increased reading comprehension, better long-term memory and find it easier to apply logic.
In 2004, two psychologists: Ellen Bialystok and Michelle Martin-Rhee conducted an experiment between two groups of young people; one monolingual and one bilingual to divide a collection of objects by shape and color. The result came out that those who could speak a second language had greater success. Also, Bialystok's research showed that the brains of bilingual adults are more resistant to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
Moreover, studies have compared the attitudes of bilingual and monolingual elementary students towards Spanish speaking people and found that the former viewed them more positively. By reading dual language texts, students are exposed to other cultures and are more likely to value inclusivity and embrace diversity while dual language learners demonstrate increased levels of empathy because they're able to see things from multiple perspectives.
"How Learning a New Language Helps Brain Development" by Whitby School
This blog explains how many benefits multilinguals can have. Learning a new language extends past just having a simple conversation or having access to different words, concepts, and metaphors.
A recent study shows that young adults proficient in two languages performed better on attention tests and had better concentration than those who spoke only one language. Dr. Bak tested 853 participants in 1947, when they were all 11 years old. They were retested in 2008 and 2010, when they were in their early 70s. He found that those who became bilingual performed better than expected. The strongest effects were seen in general intelligence and reading. The results showed that learning a new language in adulthood still has positive results, meaning there’s never a reason to feel too old to gain the cognitive benefits of learning a new language.
Learning a language helps improve people's thinking skills and memory abilities. Bilingual students concentrate better, ignoring distractions more effectively than those who only speak one language. “Because the language centers in the brain are so flexible, learning a second language can develop new areas of your mind and strengthen your brain's natural ability to focus."
"7 Incredibly Useful Benefits of Learning a New Language"
When we speak a foreign language, our facial features, actions and reactions are all slightly different than when we speak our mother tongue, and we only have one life. However, the more languages you speak, the more lives you can have and experience within one life span.
When we learn a language, we also learn a lot of valuable lessons such as the importance of being humble, of knowing yourself, of trial and error, habits, a belief in yourself, its culture, its history.
All human being across the globe have the same desires, the same actions, the same thoughts, and the same reactions and apparently, we're different through the barrier of languages.
"Every language that you learn is like a key that unlocks a new pathway to human experience."
"The Importance of Being Bilingual" by Maria Giannini
Giannini shares her story as a being a daughter form an immigrant from El Savador. Her mother met her American-born father and got married. Her mother only spoke Spanish and her father only spoke English. She and her siblings grew up understanding both languages but English was her dominant language. When the Civil War in El Savador broke out, her grandparents came to live with them when she was 7 years ago. That's when everything changed because she was forced to speak Spanish since they only spoke Spanish. "Growing up in a bilingual household is a gift."
She also shares her beautiful and remarkable story. When she travelled to Italy when she was 10 years old, and she met a young Italian girl. They became friends but she only spoke Italian so Giannini spoke to her in Spanish. Then they figured out a way to communicate together since both languages are similar. Giannini says that it was that moment when she recognized the gift that she had in being bilingual.
She then mentions about her carrier saying that she is very fortunate to have been doing what she loves. She has produced events all over the world, has worked for companies like YouTube, Google, Pixar films, NBA and a lot more. She admits that speaking Spanish has opened that opportunity for her: being bilingual, being able to speak Spanish.
"Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going."
-Rita Mae Brown
"Our nation can only grow stronger if all of our children grow up learning two languages. Our global economy demands it; out children deserve it."
-Former U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley
Blog #4 - Conclusion
Doing this blog; researching about my topic was such a great experience.
It was very interesting and I learned many things that I've been always wondering and curious about. I feel like I've gained deeper knowledged on this topic and I can confidently recommend and encourage people to be bilingual or to learn a new language. Adding each of my researches on this blog and commenting one by one really helped me a lot to write my final paper. It is very organized and easy to find which soruce talk about what.
My challenge was to keep up with this blog. Researching more sources, adding them on blog, commenting on each, and editing the blog to make it better. It was a challenge due to the COVID-19 and the absence of my motivation. However, I feel very accomplished in the end of the day, I am proud of myself after looking at my blog pretty filled with my sources and comments!! I really think this blog helped many of us. Truly worth the effort!!