Connecting two readings this week became quite
a challenge after first reading ‘Early
Dual Language Learning’. Persevering through the reading list, goggling bilingual
maths whilst skimming through three reading’s : 1) ‘Running the numbers’ 2) ‘Finding’s
of addition and subtraction in infants are robust and consistent’ and
3)Encouraging Young Mathematicians to Pose Problems’ forming a argument or
alignment to connect two readings required ideally thinking around the connection
literacy and numeracy prevail in children’s everyday experiences. My main focus
relates to the reading on ‘Early Dual Language Learning’.
What?
The article proposes three main concerns:
1. Is it a good idea to raise children bilingually?
The article proposes three main concerns:
1. Is it a good idea to raise children bilingually?
2. Is it normal for children to learn two languages
at the same time?
3. What if infants and toddlers become confused
if they exposed to two languages?
So What?
Environment plays a huge part in raising children bilingually. When
families speak a different language it can be essential for children to learn the
language at home whilst social aspects in the community may require another
language. Communication is a key factor as
explained in the story below:
About 5 years ago when eating a meal in a Swiss
restaurant overseas my husband and I noticed a young waiter speaking to the
customers in many languages. When he finally served us we asked him ‘how many languages
did he speak? His answer was five. Astounded by his response he said ‘that
language held a huge priority in the education of Swiss children and that he
had learnt five languages’. Continuing
he described the way his environment played an important part in his learning
the languages as Switzerland is surrounded by Italy, France, Austria and
Germany; the country having four official languages, (Swiss German, French, Rumantsch and Italian) his
also included English. In his explanation he said it was a way of life, connecting
to the other countries close by and that many children were multilingual from a
very young age.
Research
suggests that children under two learning two languages can experience a minor
delay in their learning of about 2 or three months but does not affect overall learning
of the two languages, suggesting it helps with the sounding of words that are similar.
Now What?
(Genesee, 2002) refers to code switching or code mixing where both
languages are intermixed from the very early years in children. Genesee et al, points
out the importance of parents, carers and teachers using one language in each
language context which then inevitably, supports the individual languages.
Research supports not just the amount of exposure but the quality of this
exposure in enhancing the development of bilingual children. Connections to
numeracy articles outline the learning of literacy and numeracy being connected
in our everyday environment which then suggests bilingual children will develop
their literacy and numeracy through both languages.
References
Genesse, F Early dual language learning. Zero to Three, 29 (1), 2008 pp. 17-23
(N) Stites, J. (19Life with two languages:
An introduction to bilingualism pg,6 http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VqGpxZ9pDRgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=how+many+languages+in+switzerland&ots=AOvdiDBecj&sig=tvnSCncD6jbqUsJ0AnvpaIINcFs#v=onepage&q=how%20many%20languages%20in%20switzerland&f=false
( wynn, k. (2000). findings of ad Running the
numbers: The rumination of John Allen Paulos. Omni, 15(6), 34-36+.
(N) Wynn, K. (2000).
Findings of addition and subtraction in infants are robust and consistent:
Reply to Wakeley, Rivera, and Langer. Child Development, 71(6), 1535-1336.
Wallace,
Ann H, Abbott, Deborah & McAlhaney Blary, Reneé 2007, 'Classroom that math
built: encouraging young mathematicians to pose problems ', Young Children,
vol. 62, no. 5, pp. 42-48
I found this read really interesting thank you! at my placement I have a few bilingual children and also the teachers all have a second language so lately we have been doing a bit of language, some of the points you brought up were interesting I will have to take them with me to placement so we can improve things for these children.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. I found that reading this was beneficial to become aware of children who may be from bilingual families or background. This has not yet been brought to my concern through placement and previous experiences, but your reading has informed me about ways I can go about catering for the development of a bilingual child, and what general barriers may become apparent.
ReplyDeleteI found this reading post very interesting, as children speaking dual languages has yet to be fully covered in my studies and is not something I know much about, yet I expect to be working with a lot of bilingual children in the future considering our very multi-cultural country. I did not realise that children could experience minor delays in their language learning due to experiencing more than one. This was a great introduction to bilingual children and how we can help benefit them in an educational environment, thanks for the read!
ReplyDeleteHi, I found your reading very interesting. I have not yet worked with bilingual children but your reading has informed me about ways to cater for these children's learning. I found it really interesting that children under two learning two languages can experience a minor delay in their learning of about 2 or three months but does not affect overall learning of the two languages, suggesting it helps with the sounding of words that are similar.
ReplyDeleteGood job!