Bilingual; Bicultural
Teaching for diversity is my personal ideology for bilingual instruction in the classroom. Bilingual teaching is an important part of education, by teaching language we are building multicultural competence and creating a powerful learning environment. The students who are exposed to a dual language program use being bilingual as a resource. “The expansion of available multilingual resources for teaching opens up worlds, experiences, and possibilities. And the ability to read and write multilingual texts enables students to gain different perspectives”(Garcia, 2012, p.2). There are so many advantages to bi-literacy instruction; future languages are easier to learn, job opportunities are available, enhances creativity, and builds community. Students in a bilingual programs are exposed to learning new cultures, learning from each other, and appreciating each others differences to create knowledge. Being bilingual means being bicultural, “A bilingual person is not two monolinguals in one, with each language linked to a separate culture. Instead a bilingual person is one person with complex language and cultural practices that are fluid and changing depending on the particular situation and the local practice”(Garcia, 2012, p.3).
While working with dual immersion students during both of my student teaching placements I was exposed to translanguaging, “the language practices of bilingual people… the position that language is action and practice” (Garcia, 2012, p.1). During my second placement, I was working in a fifth grade classroom. I had the opportunity to interact with a student coming from Mexico who was very advanced in her studies. At the start of 2017, her family decided to move to the United States and place her in an all English classroom. Being that “foreign or second language immersion programs are designed to achieve full bilingualism and biliteracy over a grade span from kindergarten through six grade”(Mora, 2016, p.13) and we were half way through the year, she was placed in an all English setting. This environment did not provide the teacher with the resource knowledge on how to assist this new student. After two weeks of despair the school granted this student the opportunity to join our DI- classroom. Ofelia Garcia states, “If students do not understand the language in which they’re taught, they cannot possibly understand the content and learn”(Garcia, 2012, p.2). Although she struggled with the transition at first, after a few weeks she opened up. Exposing her to her dominant language allowed her to display confidence. “ In bilingual immersion setting, students communicate with peers and teacher to make meaning, explain, describe, and problem solve in both their native and second language… All students receive instruction in their native language, providing the necessary linguistic foundation for the later acquisition in their L2 and development of full proficiency in both languages” (Mora, 2016, p.12). She exposed the classroom to her experiences with the Spanish language and being able to communicate with her peers allowed for a connection.
“The most important language practice of bilinguals now and especially in the future is their ability to use language fluidly, to translanguage in order to make meaning beyond one or two languages. Translanguaging builds the flexibility in language practices that would make students want to try out other language practices, increasing the possibilities of becoming multilingual”(Garcia, 2012, p.2). My personal ideology is to do my best to support all my students and their needs. I believe no school or classroom will ever be perfect, but the more we learn about each other, the more we can grow and appreciate each other. With cultural knowledge we expose ourselves to new opportunities. Being bilingual means we can speak without borders and barriers. We create community, we create diversity.
Kerper Mora, J. (2016). Spanish language pedagogy for biliteracy programs. San Diego, CA: Montezuma Publishing.
García, O. (2012). Theorizing translanguaging for educators. In C. Celic & K. Seltzer, Translanguaging: A CUNY-NYSIEB guide for educators, pp.1–6. Dual language and English learner Education San Diego State University.
