Fall 2020 – Educational Sociolinguistics

The Benefits of Being Bilinguals

Sabrina Chang

Edwards (2004: 7) states that “Everyone is bilingual….there is no one in the world (no adult, anyway) who does not know at least a few words in languages other than their maternal variety.” Why do people strive to become bilinguals in present days? In Asian countries, parents tend to let their children learn English as early as they can. They do not want their children to fall behind others due to the lack of language learning experiences. So, I want to talk about the benefits of being bilingual.

If you happen to speak some terms in other languages, chances are, you belong to the world’s bilingual and multilingual majority. Being a bilingual has several benefits. First, being a bilingual means you can travel more easily. You might encounter some challenges or problems while travelling which can be solved by communicating with others. Second, by being bilingual, your brain will be healthier than those who are monolingual. In the video that I have posted below, it states that being multilingual gives your brain some remarkable advantages. It can also help delay the onset of diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia by as much as five years. Moreover, getting to know various languages can broaden your horizons by making you more open-minded. When we learn a language, we would also learn about the country’s culture and customs which is highly beneficial if we are heading to that country in the future. Last but not least, the advantage of being a bilingual also includes other benefits for brains. It reinforces the executive function, problem solving ability, and the function of switching between tasks of the brain. Even if you didn’t learn a second language at a young age, it is never too late to learn a language in this modern world.

For me, being a bilingual indeed brings a lot of advantages to my life. Since I was little, I was immersed in a bilingual environment. Learning a language is not a difficult task when it happens at a young age which is related to the critical period. I admit that being a bilingual increases my self-esteem and the confidence of communicating with others. We cannot deny that learning an L2 in the critical period is the best situation due to the flexibility of children’s brains, so that’s why parents are trying to let children become bilinguals as soon as they can. Therefore, I definitely agree with having children learn an L2 at a young age. Do you agree with the benefits that I have mentioned above? What is your language learning experience? Please share your thoughts with me!

The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain

References:

Nicholas, H., & Starks, D. (2014). Language education and applied linguistics: Bridging the two fields. New York: Routledge.

Treating Language as a Strength: The Benefits of Bilingualism

Internet Abbreviations and Acronyms

Sabrina Chang

In present days, people are gradually getting used to communicate on the Internet. Whether it is by text, audio, or video formats, technology indeed brings out hearts together. During the process of this development, some new terms popped up especially for the younger generation. People would use abbreviations and acronyms on the Internet or social networking websites due to the laziness of typing the whole word. For example, I usually use “prob” for “probably” and “LOL” for “laugh out loud”. Gradually, people even use these internet slang not only on the Internet but also face-to-face.

Explore the Interwebz: 30 English Slang Terms for Internet Noobs

So, what are the differences between abbreviations and acronyms? Let me tell you. An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase used mainly in writing to represent the complete form such as “tmrw” for “tomorrow” and “QT” for “cutie”. The interesting thing is, when people are reading these words, the sound of the original words actually come up to our minds quite fast. On the other hand, an acronym is a pronounceable word formed mostly (but not always) from the initial letters of a descriptive name or title. For instance, “B/C” stands for “because” and “FYI” stands for “for your information”. These acronyms seem to be difficult and confusing to a newbie of the Internet world. They will have to do additional research on those terms used by more experienced users. However, I think it is quite interesting to use these terms in our daily lives since we are living in this society where everything shifts fast.

Other questions hit me when I was doing a research on the Internet slang. Since when did these terms start to become popular and why did they become popular? Who started to use these terms also interests me. It seems that one of the main reasons is Internet. Internet brings people from different places, cultures, and languages together. People from different places could share their point of views, combine thoughts, and develop new terms that are especially for netizens. However, some problems arose too. When younger generation started to use these Internet slang, they might gradually forget the original spelling of the words and use the slang in formal essays. In addition, popular students are more likely to use abbreviations and acronyms during communications. If some students are not familiar with Internet slang, it would lead to failure of communication just like the picture below. We couldn’t deny that these abbreviations and acronyms do make the conversations on Internet more convenient, however, I suggest that we don’t bring those terms into real-life situations.

What are the Internet slang including abbreviations and acronyms that you usually use? How do you think it benefits your life and your time? Are there also disadvantages in terms of using these terms? Let me know what you think!

References:

50 Popular Texting Abbreviations & Internet Acronyms

https://www.smart-words.org/abbreviations/text.html

Why did the words in Internet slang become popular? What made them popular?

https://www.academia.edu/10946105/Why_did_the_words_in_Internet_slang_become_popular_What_made_them_popular

Internet Slangs

Internet Slangs

Explore the Interwebz: 30 English Slang Terms for Internet Noobs

Explore the Interwebz: 30 English Slang Terms for Internet Noobs

What’s the difference?

Rahman.S.
Plurilingualism and Translanguaging

Plurilingualism, translanguaging, pluriculturalism were all new terms that I was introduced to in the first year of my MA in Second Language Education program.

Plurilingualism is a theory that aims to recognize an individual’s entire repertoire, but also takes into consideration their pluricultural background (Li, 2018 & Piccardo, 2019). Code switching generally refers to a linguistic strategy by speakers using two languages where the properties of those languages mainly remain separate from the other language (Herk, 2018 & Li, 2019). On the other hand, translanguaging is a strategy used by language learners to make use of their plurilingual background and is different from code switching. The boundaries of language structure in translanguaging between languages are often blurred and therefore more transfer happens between other languages (Li, 2018). Both code-switching and translanguaging occurs daily in a multilingual city like Montreal where multiple languages are spoken.

Some examples that I have observed are the following:

Code-switching:

“C’est pas comme ca. Tu dois faire ca en premier and then after press down here.” (It’s not like this. You need to first do this and then after press down here.”) [French and English]

“Eomma, ulli meonjeo mowhanenengeoya? Are we going to eat breakfast?” (Mom, what are we going to do first? Are we going to eat breakfast?) [Korean romanized and English]

Translanguaging:

“No, I am bahs-ing the kapoor right now. Ami poray jabo.” (No, I am folding the clothes right now. I’ll go later.) [English and Bangla]

As an individual with different languages in my repertoire and as a teacher who has worked with plurilingual students, I always find it interesting the way we all employ language. In many language learning institutions and educational settings, there is a push to achieve a ‘native’ like proficiency in the language being learned. However this standard, as I have observed and from my own personal experience, puts a strain on learning a new language and can often cause frustration. I have noticed this particularly with my older English language learner students in elementary school. Parents’ expectations along with peer pressure often places an added stress factor in the language learning process.

Implications for Teaching

In order to offer an alternative I think we should look at language teaching from a plurilingual approach. By doing so, we are validating all the languages a student has as an important resource for learning a new language. Students use code switching and translanguaging on an everyday basis and by allowing students to use these strategies in the classroom, it can be a useful tool to help students communicate while they are developing their proficiency in the new language.

Below is an example of how students are using their knowledge of language in English and Spanish to further and deepen their understanding of how language works.

Know Your Terms: Code Switching

This clip is an example of code-switching. In the clip, you will notice that in both instances English is being used, but a different variation. I think it’s important to remember that code-switching or having a plurilingual background does not only consist of one language, but all the variations as well. As educators we can use this remind our students that even though they may speak only one language, they still have a plurilingual background consisting of different language knowledge.

-Can you think and describe of an example of code-switching and/or translanguaging that you used?
-Why did you use that (code-switching/translanguaging) in that particular instance?

References

Herk, G. V. (2018). What is sociolinguistics? Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell.

Li, W. (2018) Translanguaging as a practical theory of language. Applied
Linguistics, 39(1), 9–30.

Piccardo, E. (2019). “We’re all (potential) plurilinguals”: Plurilingualism as an
overarching holistic concept. Cahiers de L’ILOB, 10, 183–204.

Education and Poverty

Sabrina Chang

Being a bilingual or even multilingual person has become a norm in Taiwan lately. Parents are eager to have their children learn English as early as they can. One of the students I tutor is only 2 years old, cannot deliver Chinese sentences properly but knows what the “Statue of Liberty” is. Her mom is very anxious about her child getting behind other children of the same age so she asked me to teach her daughter English as much as I can. On the other hand, my sixth-grade student in a local school does not even know what an “airplane” is. They only learn English for two hours per week and have little contact with this language. Their parents are not able to provide a good language learning environment for them. What led to this phenomenon?

From my point of view, it is directly related to class and poverty. Parents who are more economically available want to immerse their children in a bilingual environment. Whether it is to hire a tutor for them or send them to cram schools, parents use whatever means they can to help their children get ahead of others. On the other hand, people who are in a lower class do not have as much choice. They work from 9 to 5 every day and have no extra money for their children to go to cram schools. It is not to say that children from lower classes have lower achievements than those from higher classes, however, they must be work twice as hard to reach the same height as them.

According to my students who are studying in international schools, most of them have one-on-one tutors who guide their homework at least once a week. Parents are willing to pay high salaries to teachers who are able to help their children improve. I have also asked my students in local schools whether they have tutors. The answer is, most of them do not. If you ask me whether these two groups of students have differences in terms of academic performance, I will have to say, absolutely. However, they do not have much choice, do they? Children living in poverty may have to make money as soon as they are old enough. While other children are doing their schoolwork and holding spring fairs, those children, especially girls, must stop going to school and make money so they have food to eat.

People always say, education ends poverty. But how is education going to be fair when children start at an unfair place from the moment they are born? How can teachers help students have an appropriate language learning environment when they have difficulties maintaining their basic needs?

References:

HOW DOES EDUCATION AFFECT POVERTY? IT CAN HELP END IT.

https://www.concernusa.org/story/how-education-affects-poverty/

Understanding the Connection Between Education and Poverty

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/poverty-education-satistics-facts/

China safeguards interests of children in poverty

https://archive.shine.cn/nation/China-safeguards-interests-of-children-in-poverty/shdaily.shtml

The impact of poverty on educational outcomes for children

http://ubitaiwan.org/zh/2018/07/16/the-impact-of-poverty-on-educational-outcomes-for-children/

Repeat “No, I cannot speak in the library.”

Cynthia Desjardins

I have been working as an online ESL teacher for the past six months. I teach students that live mainly in Asia in a one-on-one format with the curriculum developed by the company. As a busy full-time M.A. student, I appreciate not having to develop classes and am happy to teach what they provide. However, as a trained ESL specialist, I find myself questioning the curriculum’s efficacy.

The classes usually have similar formats, especially within the same ‘level’. There is vocabulary introduction, grammar conjugation, sentence structures, reading, drilled phonics and math. I did not include writing, since it is extremely minimal. This morning I found myself teaching a young learner of approximately 6-7 years old at a beginner level, where they cannot read independently yet. Following the curriculum, our class proceeds as usual with the repetition of the vocabulary, conjugating the verb ‘to speak’ and repeating the main sentence structure for this class: “No, I cannot speak in the library.’’ This phrase may not seem daunting to produce by fluent speakers of English, but for a beginner ESL student the yes or no answer+ verb+ adverb structure can be difficult to memorize and requires a lot of repetition.

Repeat after me.

This led me to question the usefulness of teaching long, pre-established phrases, repeating verb conjugations and drilled phonics. How often will they realistically need to use these in their lives? Will they even remember such a long and complicated phrase after class, never mind in a year from now?

Reflecting upon it, this very structured, formatted approach reminds me of behaviourism, a teaching approach that was very popular in the 1940’s-1960’s. Essentially, this theory states that language learning is the result of imitation, practice, positive feedback and developing habits (Lightbown & Spada, 2013). This simple yet very explicative YouTube video further explains this theory. Watching it helped me realize that a lot of the curriculum is indeed repetition, habit formation and positive reinforcement. We are expected to explicitly correct grammar and pronunciation mistakes.

This theory was replaced over the decades by numerous ones and by the time I completed my B.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language, we were taught that a communicative approach in more suited for ESL classes. The contextualization of classes is expected to naturally elicit the student’s vocabulary. This approach also focuses on learning by doing and fluency over accuracy, as mistakes are seen as an integral part of language learning. This inductive way of learning is learner centered and the teacher seem as a guide and facilitator (Shastri, 2009). Essentially, what I was taught for four years in my B.A. and the drill -focused, repetitive curriculum I am currently teaching differ greatly. This begs the following question: Would a communicative approach to the curriculum be more appropriate?

Is it noteworthy that the vast majority of the students that are currently taking classes are young beginners. This could make it very difficult to elicit language in a communicative manner. I can understand the rationalization behind the more repetitive, drilled structure of the classes, but I still feel doubt over its efficacy. My parting questions are these:

How can ESL classes be made more communicative with beginner level students who do not necessarily have the vocabulary and grammar to express themselves?
Are drills and repetitions the only way to give them a basis in English?

References

Lightbown, P., & Spada, N. M. (2013). How languages are learned (Fourth ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Payne, M. & Sitler, S. [Sharon]. (2014, March 22). Behaviorist Theory of Second Language Acquisition [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvOIbDI2fro

Shastri, P. D. (2009). Communicative approach to the teaching of English as a second language. Global Media. Retrieved from https://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=3011323

Wikihow (n.d). Encourage students to speak only English in the classroom. [Image]. Retrieved October 5^th, 2020 from https://www.wikihow.com/Teach-English-As-a-Second-Language-to-Beginners#/Image:Teach-English-As-a-Second-Language-to-Beginners-Step-8.jpg

Deliberate Mismatch of Home and School Languages

By: Tianyi Long

Van Hertz (2018) discussed language mismatch of students in educational systems, stating that in communities, bilingual communities as an example, students may use different languages at homes and at school. Such phenomena were assumed to be negative, preventing students (especially working class students) from achieving academic success and endangering the trust of parents in the educational system. However, my engagement with my local communities provides examples of an alternative possible attitude toward the language mismatch: students or their families are eager to abandon their own language features to cope with that of educational system. Moreover, this attitude is most likely to happen among working class or immigrant families.

It may be important to note firstly, that today’s society still tends to regard some languages, registers, or speaking varieties as “more valued” than others. The word “valued” here means speakers of those languages are usually seen as belonging to a higher social status and/or have easier access to social resources. Languages used in educational systems are either an approximation of such valued languages, or at least a necessity to access higher education, which usually brings decent career and higher social status. Bearing these in mind, you may find my observations below are actually understandable:

There are occasions when families, usually from working class or lower social status backgrounds, feel the need to shape their children’s language competence (or repertoire) to approximate those valued languages. Further, they are willing to abandon their home languages or language features in order to achieve this.

For example, the Ningbo dialect spoken in my hometown is quite different from Mandarin, the Standard Chinese. Although the Ningbo dialect is their L1, many people of the older generation deliberately expose their children to, and communicate with them only in Mandarin, which is also the language of schooling. In some families (mine included), parents use dialects for communication with each other, but talk to the children in Mandarin, resulting to an imbalanced distribution of language competence with the children, usually being able to listen and comprehend, but not to speak the parents’ dialect.

The top concerns of those families are firstly to integrate children into the schooling system as smoothly as possible, and to erase possible dialect influences on children’s Mandarin accents so that they may sound more “educated”, or more “local” in the cases of immigrant families.

Whilst this attitude facilitates students’ language learning at school in general, thus my reference to “positive” above, and is usually positively described as “a strong learning motivation” by teachers and researchers, we can see there are hidden dangers. First, the epistemology behind such an attitude tends to be purely pragmatic, where the values of schooling and language learning are reduced to a pure tool for obtaining social resources. Individual development, therefore, is more or less neglected (for example, it does happen that the only expectation for some students is to obtain a diploma or university degree.). Second, abandoning the home languages often accompanies the abandoning of student’s ethnic or regional identity, and can be seen as a micro-scoped “colonisation” – conquering occurs when the major, dominant identity replaces and erases the minor, marginalised one.

Do you have similar observations in your learning/teaching/living community? Leave a comment and let me know!

References:

Van Herk, G.(2018). What is sociolinguistics? (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell.