Being Multilingual

The two articles, Aria by Rodriguez and Teaching Multilingual Children by Collier talk about what it means to be a multilingual student. Aria gives the student's perspective and then Teaching Multilingual Children gives the teachers perspective.

In Aria, Rodriguez shows readers how difficult it was to fit in with an English society. In class, he had troubles with pronunciation and following the overall language. He never raised his hand and would always look down in hopes the bell would ring soon if he were called on to answer. Once teachers noticed his and his siblings troubles speaking English, they visited his parents asking them to speak English at home as well to help them in learning the language. Once this happened it tore the family apart because they no longer knew how to communicate and they weren't in the comfort of their familiar Spanish sounds. As time went on Rodriguez contributed more to class but then started to forget how to speak Spanish and carried a guilt for it. 

Two quotes in this article that I liked a lot were:

1. "Supporters of bilingual education today imply that students like me miss a great deal by not being taught in their family's language. What they seem not to recognize is that, as a socially disadvantaged child, I considered Spanish to be a private language. What I needed to learn in school was that I had the right­ and the obligation-to speak the public language of los gringos."
2. "But I couldn't believe that the English language was mine to use."

• I like these quote because it shows why he was struggling. not too long ago English was the primary language. If you didn't know English you were considered an outsider. those who already felt like outsiders more or less felt like they weren't allowed to use the English language because its not in their heritage. 

In Teaching Multilingual Children, the text is more directed to teachers. this article shows that multilingual students do struggle, especially if they can't use their inherited language. along with the struggles, collier points out many ways to help teachers assist multilingual students to be successful. 

Two ways to help teachers are that I personally liked were:

1. "3. Don't teach a second language in any way that challenges or seeks to eliminate the first language."
2. "5. Do not forbid young students from code-switching in the classroom. Understand the functions that code-switching serves."

• I like these two because they serve as good reminders and should be something all teachers should be mindful of including myself. The second one is a way for students to progress in their education, and if teachers take away that they're no longer being beneficial to their students success. 

Question: Could part of the reason that there are difficulties in the classroom relate to lack of resources?