Growing up Bilingual in America, the Implications of Multlingualism and ESL

By Caroline Villafrank

Hi, I’m Caroline, I’m a first year Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Graduate Student here at SUNY Fredonia. Becoming a TESOL teacher has been a natural evolution for me. I moved to the U.S when I was 7 from Germany. Growing up with an American Father and German mother, language and Bilingualism have been part of my identity for as long as I can remember. Upon arriving in the United States, I spoke virtually no English, as my parents raised me to speak German. This posed numerous challenges for me as a student, as I was not given an English as a Second Language teacher or assistance, and was forced to navigate the English only school system by myself, an arguably daunting task for a 7 year old, though I eventually did become fluent in English.

Growing up Bilingual has shaped my identity, I feel incredibly fortunate to not only have dual citizenship, but to fluently speak two languages. Being bilingual has numerous benefits such as improving cognitive skills, and even a lower risk of developing dementia later in life. One benefit that bilingualism has granted me is the ability to stay close to my culture. When visiting Germany I am able to speak the language and to experience the culture without restrictions, I am also able to stay close to my family, culture and heritage, as well as read and experience things I may not have been able to in English. Additionally being bilingual is an increasingly sought after skill by employers. As the world becomes increasingly globalized, the demand for bilingual professionals continues to increase.

As a future TESOL Educator I hope to instill in my students the importance of not only learning English, but in developing and maintaining their native languages. It is an unfortunate reality that being bilingual isn’t always respected or valued in the United States, though we tout ourselves as a country of multiculturalism and diversity. There have been several instances in my life when people have told me to “forget German” or to speak English only. One instance that sticks in my mind was when I was speaking German to a friend when a middle aged man remarked that it was a shame that immigrants can’t speak English anymore, to which I replied in fluent English that the United States has no official language policy and that he could stand to broaden his horizons by learning another language.

Part of this negative attitude stems not only from Xenophobia, but also from an Education system that is focused on accountability and high stakes testing. Part of the reason why languages aren’t valued is because of the linguistic landscape of the United States. In Europe countries are smaller and closer together with various languages coexisting. Though the United States has no official language policy, English is viewed as the defacto language of business and culture. Another reason why some people reject the notion of learning a second language is that they feel that it has little to no utility, as English is considered to be a lingua Franca or Global language. Through colonization and globalization English has spread to seemingly every corner of the globe. And though it is quite likely if you travel abroad you will encounter some form of English, it is my belief that you cannot truly experience another culture in your own language. Being bilingual allows you the freedom to travel and experience a culture without restrictions, it can open a door you didn’t even know existed.

Becoming a TESOL educator has been the best decision I have ever made. I love helping my students achieve their goals and I enjoy meeting students from all around the world. Besides being a teacher and assisting my students, I hope to be a positive bilingual role model for my students, as well as an advocate for bilingual education and multilingualism. Studying TESOL here at Fredonia has solidified the importance of being bilingual. All languages in the world have value, no matter how many or how few speakers they may have. Here at Fredonia we are lucky to have a wonderful modern Languages Department that allows students to not only learn a language, but to also gain cultural awareness and an understanding of what it means to be a bilingual in today’s globalized world. I am fortunate to have been raised Bilingual, not only has it opened career opportunities for me, it has allowed me to grow as an individual and to experience indescribable cultural experiences that I would have otherwise not been able to experience. I hope that you will consider taking a language class after reading this post, not only is knowing another language a great career choice, as it can lead to jobs in government, education and diplomacy, it can also lead you to experiencing new cultures and creating a lifelong and insatiable wanderlust.  "One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way."- Frank Smith

About the Author

Caroline Villafrank is a Graduate Assistant and TESOL Graduate Student at SUNY Fredonia. She is particularly interested in Bilingualism, Languages and Linguistic Policies and how Politics shapes Educational Policy. In her spare time she enjoys tutoring students at EC English on Campus, as well as tutoring German and continuing to learn Spanish.  Upon graduation she hopes to teach in a K-12 or University setting and eventually pursue a Ph.D in Linguistics or Foreign and Second Language Education.

Multilingual Parenting Roundtable Discussion

On April 9th, 2015, a panel of professors from a variety of different disciplines took part in the event: Multilingual Parenting Roundtable Discussion. This discussion focused on the methods and impact of multilingual parenting. Each professor shared his or her own experience of raising their child(ren) in a multilingual environment. These professors included: Korrin Mundo (Project BELA), Alex Caviedes (Political Science), Chiara De Santi (World Languages), Daniela Peterka-Benton (Criminal Justice), Iclal Vanwesenbeeck (English) and Guangyu Tan (Curriculum and Instruction).

Mundo spoke first and focused the methods and benefits of raising a child multilingual. Mundo spoke about Family Language Policy (FLP), which is the use and choice of language in a home setting and among family members. A family could choose to speak English outside the home and only speak Spanish (in Mundo’s case) at home. Families can choose to speak one language during the week and one on weeks. Families can also create a rotating schedule of when each language is used. Mundo also spoke about code-switching, which is the natural mixing of two different languages without conscious thought of doing so by multilingual people. In addition, she discussed the cognitive benefits of being multilingual. A person who is multilingual has a greater metalinguistic awareness. Another benefit is that the person has a better handle on his or her executive control system. This involved switching between activities and inhibiting previously learned responses. However, one fear is that speaking multiple languages to children will cause a language delay for the child. It is important to note that there is no clear research linking being bilingual to any kind of language delay in children.

Mundo also stated that both high quantity and high quality are important for the maintenance of language. Children need to have opportunities to play with other children in their minority language. Speaking and reading a lot in the minority language is extremely important. In addition, it is important to expose the children to the culture because language and culture go hand in hand.

Caviedes spoke next as a product of growing up in a multilingual household. Caviedes grew up as a German in Canada. German was spoken in the home and English was used in school. Caviedes’ family took frequent trips to Germany and culture was maintained through books, toys and records. His family made being German and learning German fun and cool, which led to him having pride and interest in being German.

De Santi talked about raising her two daughters in an English and Italian household. She first believed that she could raise her first daughter bilingual if she only spoke Italian and her husband only spoke English to their daughter. This was not as successful as they had hoped and they made a change. Now De Santi still continues to speak only Italian to her daughter but her husband speakers Italian 25-35% of the time in Italian and the rest in English. De Santi’s approach to speaking to her daughter has included always speaking standard Italian to her daughter (no dialects, no childish language), obligating her child to speak Italian, never correct mistakes, and stressing the importance of being at least bilingual. After spending last summer in a daycare in Italy, the oldest daughter is now speaking Italian fluently with some mistakes. De Santi and her husband are awaiting on how their second daughter progresses with Italian and English.

Peterka-Benton spoke next about raising her daughter with English and Austrian (German). Peterka-Benton’s oldest daughter was born in Austria and learned English in day care. Peterka-Benton chose to keep her daugher in Pre-K for an extra year in order for her daughter’s English to develop. Peterka-Benton speaks German to her daughter and her daughter responds in English. Her daughter has faced issues with fitting in at school because others can see that she is different. Peterka-Benton has been helping her daughter combat this through encouragement and continuing to foster German. Peterka-Benton’s youngest daughter can understand German in complete sentences.

Iclal Vanwesenbeeck is a native Turkish speaker and her husband is a native Flemish speaker, together they have been raising their children in a multilingual home. Although, Vanwesenbeeck has been happy to raise their son this way she has worried about outside perception and her son fitting in. Her son has shown comprehension of the languages by making puns, poems, and creating a metalanguage through the use of all three of the languages. Vanwesenbeeck has worked to facilitate language development by creating an environment where her son is comforted and reassured. Music, reading, expression and having an outlet for language frustration has been used to help her son.

Guangyu Tan has a one year old son who she has been speaking to mostly in Chinese, however, she sings in English and in Chinese. Her husband speaks English to their son. It is too soon to see how their son with develop as he is hearing both languages.

Overall, this discussion provided a variety of methods and outcomes of children being raised in a multilingual environment with different language. It will be interesting to see the further impact of living in a multilingual home as these children grow up.

Jordan Holmes: Spanish Adolescent Education Major

Meet Jordan Holmes, a Spanish Adolescent Education major here at Fredonia. Jordan first recalls becoming interested in Spanish in eighth grade. He recalls being really interested in the culture and music and when he saw the movie, Selena, featuring Jennifer Lopez, he fell in love with Spanish. This love grew when Jordan traveled to Spain for a week during his senior year of high school. He felt like he couldn’t get enough of it. He felt inspired to continue learning Spanish and become a Spanish teacher.

During his time studying Spanish, Jordan has faced some challenges with the language. The most challenging aspects were speaking with confidence while using different verb tenses and pronunciation. However, Jordan says that the key is to stay patient. You must realize that you won’t be able to say everything, which is why circumlocution is so crucial. Jordan also said that learning a language is something you have to practice as much as you can. You have to keep challenging yourself and get out of your comfort zone to improve.

Jordan has also had the opportunity to study abroad. He spent a semester in Madrid, which was a center of culture and business in Spain. To Jordan, it felt like living in New York City but he loved it. Madrid may be an international city but it still felt like a small town where Jordan had the opportunity to build relationships with the locals. Jordan is also planning to study abroad this summer in Mexico. In the future, Jordan would like to travel to Argentina because of the dialect and the mix of Latin and European culture.

Jordan’s favorite Spanish class so far was called “Historical Perspective in Art,” which he took in Madrid. In this class, Jordan learned about the history of Spain through artwork. Part of the class was taught in the classroom and part of the class was experiencing the art in the Museo Nacional Del Prado and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.

If Jordan could recommend any piece of literature in Spanish, he would recommend reading Margarita poems by Gabriela Mistral or La Casa en Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

To Jordan, being a Fredonian means being an open-minded person in a supportive community. Even for a small town, Fredonia is a diverse and well-rounded community full of opportunities for students to grow.

In ten years, Jordan would like to be an established Spanish teacher in a bilingual classroom. His goal is to have the opportunity to teach both in Spanish and in English.

French: The So-Called “Dying” Language

By Zachary Jones

I can’t even recall how many times someone has asked me, “Isn’t French a dying language?” after I tell them that I study French.  As a French and Spanish Adolescence Education major, the idea that my first foreign language of study is “dying” is beyond terrifying and disappointing to me.  After doing some research about this American taboo, I was pleasantly shocked at some of the statistics that I found regarding this so-called “dying” language.  

French is the official language of twenty-nine countries, second only to English.  French is one of the very few languages spoken globally, ranked the sixth most widely spoken language after Mandarin Chinese, English, Hindi, Spanish, and Arabic.  There are currently over 220 million speakers of French worldwide.  Diplomatically, French is evident in many international organizations as one of the working languages of the United Nations, one of the three procedural languages of the European Union, and the sole language of the Universal Postal Union.  French-speaking countries play an active part in the world economy, accounting for some twenty-percent of the world trade in goods. In addition, French is one of the official languages of the Olympics.

French is a bit unusual in the sense that it often exists alongside other languages in multilingual contexts.  French is Europe’s second-most widely spoken mother tongue with over 77 million speakers.  Demographers forecast that France’s birth rate will make French the most widely spoken mother tongue in Europe, ousting German by 2025.  

A recent study by the French investment bank Natixis suggests that French could be the most-spoken language, ahead of even English and Mandarin, within 40 years.  This projection, which estimates 750 million French speakers by 2050, is based on the fact that the language is spoken in the fastest-growing areas of the world, particularly sub-Saharan Africa.  

As for the future of this “dying language?”  It isn’t going anywhere. French is alive and well; perhaps better than ever.

"The Status of French in the World." France Diplomatie. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy-1/francophony-1113/the-status-of-french-in-the-world/>.

"Why Study French?" Why Study French? N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://m.fll.vt.edu/French/why-french/index.html>.

Zach in Mexico for Spring Break 2015

About the Author

Zachary Jones is a French and Spanish Adolescence Education major here at Fredonia.  Zach is especially interested in the science behind second language acquisition, international education, as well as the advocacy of French education in the United States.  He enjoys traveling and has visited Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. Zach will be studying abroad this summer in Oaxaca Mexico under the direction of our very own Dr. Carmen Rivera.  Zach plans to pursue a career in foreign language education or administration, international law, or diplomacy.  

Teaching Spanish in Sweden

Hello, my name is Chelsea Marzullo. I graduated from Fredonia in 2011 as a Spanish-Education major. Since graduating from Fredonia I have moved to Sweden and have been teaching Spanish at an International English school. I am currently in my third year of teaching at the school, Internationella Engelska Skolan i Sundsvall.

Spanish has opened many doors and opportunities over the years, but living abroad and teaching my passion is by far the greatest. Even though I teach Spanish at the school I interact with students on a daily basis who are learning English as a Second Language. So over the past two and half years I have not only seen students Spanish grow and improve, but their English as well.

Since starting at the school I have help start many new events. One being foreign language week and ``Språkfesten´´ or Language Party. In the different year groups we focus on a different cultural point of the language. In year 6 we learn the history of piñatas, and then the students get to make piñatas in class.

A fellow colleague and myself also started a fashion show at the school where students learn organizational skills, leadership skills, how to have a sense of good self esteem, and much more. Students model clothing donated from stores, choreograph and perform dances, and sing/ play songs. This is what I am most proud of since I've moved to Sweden, and without Spanish I never would have gotten to experience this.

L’Alliance Des Amis Français

French Club Members

L’Alliance Des Amis Français (French Club) is a lively cultural group on Fredonia’s campus. The members of the executive board include: William Webber (President), Rita Cain (Vice President), Mikayla Kozlowski (Treasurer), and Terese Caiazza (Secretary). The goal of this club is to bring together people who have a common interest of the French culture and language. This is done so through meetings and events.

French Club meetings are a place where people come together whether or not they speak French. Each meeting includes discussions, fun activities or presentations for anyone to learn more about the French culture. French Club also has various events throughout the year. Starting this school year, French Club began celebrating National French Week, which is a week long celebration of all things French in schools and communities across the United States. During this week, French Club hosted a variety of events, which allowed the French culture to be celebrated throughout campus. Events included a movie night featuring Les Misérables, a formal French dinner, a French professor career panel, a library exhibit, a make-your-own crêpe station and more. French Club also recently hosted a Mardi Gras formal French dinner and will be hosting an upcoming trivia night on April 21st at 8pm in the Global Connections Lounge.

French Club Library Exhibit

The secretary of the club, Terese Caiazza gave some amazing insight about French Club. Terese first became interested in French Club when she heard about it at an Open House. After one semester in the club, she decided that she wanted to become more involved. Terese loved the events that French Club puts on but really thinks that General Body meetings are where the magic happens. Terese is a French minor and believes that the club gives her a strong connection to French culture and the francophone world. When describing the club, Terese said, “In my opinion, French Club is a representation of one of the many multicultural experiences that the campus has to offer. It’s an environment where you don’t need base knowledge to come and understand so it is an opportunity for everyone to come and learn.” Her favorite French Club event so far has been National French Week because she enjoyed the club reaching out to the entire campus to get involved in the various cultural events. She also said that the National French Week was a fun experience and represents what French Club has been able to accomplish. In the future, if Terese could plan any event, she would plan to have a language workshop for the club before a trip. In her opinion, it would be fun to teach phrases, regional dialects, and cultural norms to fellow students. The club would be divided into groups based on their level of knowledge of French so that it would give everyone a chance to participate and apply the language. In closing, Terese said, “French Club is really important to me. I’m glad that it’s here and that people have a place to talk about something that American culture takes for granted sometimes.”

French Club is a group that spreads French culture in a friendly, fun and lively environment. Join them at meetings, spend an evening savoring French cuisine or attend one of their events.

French Club meets every Tuesday in the Global Connections Lounge at 8pm.

French Club's Facebook

French Club's Twitter

World-Famous Writer and Dr. Zlotchew

Fall 2015:  The Department of World Languages & Cultures:  Dr. Clark M. Zlotchew will again offer a Senior Seminar based on world-famous Argentine author, Jorge Luis Borges.  Zlotchew not only has studied this giant of Latin American literature and had numerous articles on him published in Spanish and English in literary journals on four continents. He has also presented papers on Borges at international conferences around the world.

            Borges, by the 1970s, if not earlier, was the best-known, most admired, most widely translated living writer in the Spanish language. Very few authors have been as argued over and discussed, widely praised, attacked, loved, or abhorred as he was. Many critics assert that Magic Realism in Latin America starts with Borges’ first short story.

Professor Zlotchew interviewed Borges at his apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1984, and chatted with him over dinner at a conference at Allegheny University in Meadville, Pennsylvania in 1985, just one year before Borges’ demise. The complete interview in Spanish was published in Plural, the literary/cultural magazine of Excelsior (largest circulation newspaper of Mexico), January 1994.  Dr. Zlotchew’s English version of the interview was published in the prestigious American Poetry Review (1988), attracting attention as far afield as Mumbai, India.  Later it was published in Zlotchew’s book, Voices of the River Plate: Interviews with Writers of Argentina and Uruguay, which was first published by Borgo Press in 1995,  then re-published in 2011 as an Authors Guild Backinprint.com Edition.

            With reference to Voices…, one Borges scholar says, “Zlotchew cajoles, insists, ignores bursts of temper, repairs errors of memory, elicits buried details, leads firmly but allows meandering.” (Edna Aizenberg, Professor of Spanish, Marymount Manhattan College.)

In 1998 the English version was included in Richard Burgin’s collection of Borges interviews, Jorge Luis Borges:  Conversations, and has appeared in Bangla Desh and India in Bengali translation.  In 2008, this interview was published in Chinese. Richard Burgin’s book, which contains this interview, was translated from English into Mandarin and published in Shanghai, China.

            Referring to Zlotchew’s publications on Borges in refereed journals, Borges scholar Carter Wheelock writes, "Zlotchew is a thorough and meticulous scholar whose work on Borges, the greatest twentieth-century writer in the Spanish language, bypasses the critical clichés and moves into little-explored areas where his seminal and definitory observations have opened up new paths of inquiry.  His powers of synthesis, abetted by his knowledge of world literature, give his critical commentaries both a depth and a breadth that are uncommon in the study of Borges' fiction.  By going always to the core of a literary problem, with economy of language, he adds brevity to cogency; and this, combined with an objective modesty and clarity of style, makes his work admirably readable."  Letter to Kasling Committee, 12/2/89.  (My emphasis).

            In addition to his own interview with Borges having been published in many venues, Zlotchew translated Fernando Sorrentino’s Seven Conversations with Jorge Luis Borges into English (Original title, Siete conversaciones con Jorge Luis Borges).  In addition to translating the seven conversations, Zlotchew included notes, wrote an appendix of short biographies of Hispanic personalities mentioned in the interviews, and a fore­word.  This book was initially published in hard cover by Whitston Publishing in 1982, and republished as a new edition in paper by Paul Dry Books in 2010. Choice, March 1982, wrote,  “Clark M. Zlotchew's meticulous annotations will help American readers to understand the many allusions to Argentine history and letters, and to Buenos Aires popular culture and geography." 

            The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Elie Wiesel used  Seven… in a class, and said,   “We used your Seven Conversations with Jorge Luis Borges for my course [at Boston University] "Literature of Memory:  Writers on Writing" --and may I add, that it was very well received by my students?"  (letter to Zlotchew 11-27-96).

       

            Dr. Zlotchew’s SPAN-423 of Fall semester on Borges, an icon of 20^th-Century Latin American fiction, poetry and essay, should be an informative and enjoyable course.

Clark Zlotchew