Introduction
The development of the contemporary society is characterized by the growing impact of multilingualism on the society. In such a situation, children grow up in the bilingual or multilingual environment that creates favorable conditions for the development of bilingualism in children. In this regard, the development of bilingualism is not just the matter of learning two languages by a child but also the matter of the expansion of the child’s cultural experience, worldview and intensive cognitive development. Moreover, the acquisition of two or more languages stimulates additional brain activity that contributes to the efficient brain development as well as the development of multiple skills and abilities. In such a situation, my decision to focus on the webquest of teaching my child to be bilingual was determined not only by practical concerns but also by my intention to stimulate the diverse, culturally and intellectually rich development of my child. In fact, this decision was driven by the favorable environment for the development of bilingualism in my child, since the child grows up in the bilingual environment as we use Arabic at home and English within our community. In addition the child grow up using both languages, while the promotion of bilingualism will facilitate the learning of the two languages and stimulate the cultural enrichment of the child. In addition, the bilingualism will stimulate faster and more efficient cognitive development due to the use of the full potential of those parts of the brain responsible for language and speech use. In such a way, the project will focus on the development of bilingualism in my child through the intensive acquisition of English outside, within our community and at school and the acquisition of Arabic through the use of this language at home and in the family environment.
Tasks
The current webquest focuses on Studies of bilingualism and bilingual children give implications to the positive impact of bilingualism on the children’s cognitive development. In terms of my we quest, we are going to know how teach kids to be bilingual and observe the progress and effects of bilingualism in my child. This experience will be useful for my professional development and may be applied to other children
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Processes
First of all I will determine goals of the project clearly and I will focus on achieving those goals. In this regard, the primary concern and goal is teaching my child to be bilingual that means that, by the end of the project, should use both Arabic and English language fluently and approximately at the same level of the language competence. At the same time, one of the goals of this project is the revelation of specificities of teaching children at the early age two languages (Baker, 2000). Hence, the project will help me to reveal what differences may be traced between monolingual and bilingual language acquisition in children at the early age. IN addition, the project will help me to elaborate effective approaches to teaching children at the early age to be bilingual. I can use this experience in my further professional development as well as in my personal life.
Furthermore, the project is a long run. This is why it is possible to process results of the project in the long term to find out whether the project smoothly and resulted in the overall success in the future if the child was able to learn this period. In other words, if the child has proved to be successful in the language acquisition by the end of the project and can use both Arabic and English language fluently respectively to the particular age of my child, then the project is successful. If the child faces difficulties in either language or both languages, then the project has failed (Cummins, 2000).
Most bilingual children speak their first words by the time they are one year old. From time to time, children may mix grammar rules, or they might use words from both languages in the same sentence. This is a normal part of bilingual language development. So, when a second language is introduced, some children may not talk much for a while. This “silent period” can sometimes last several months. This is normal too. At the same time, children overcome their embarrassment and difficulties in learning two languages (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000). Moreover, there further language acquisition may be more successful than the language acquisition of a monolingual child. At any rate, the language experience contributes to the better use and understanding of language and expands the child’s language and cultural experience.
I will use many things as a resource when I do this project such as: Books-Audiotapes-Videotapes -Language programs- education programs. The use of these resources will help me to reach the major goals of the project since these resources contribute to the faster and better language acquisition by a child, if they are used properly. The application of diverse tools will help the children to diversify the language perception and learning skills. Using different resources, the child will learn how to acquire language using those resources effectively. At the same time, I will also learn efficient ways of applying those resources to teach my child to be bilingual.
The process of the implementation of the plan will include the use of only one language at home. My child can learn the second language when she goes to school and communicates with English-speaking peers. The use of two languages from the start will help my child to learn them faster and to grow accustomed to using both languages in the different environment. For instance, if my child is at home, she will use Arabic language to communicate with us. If she is at school, she will definitely use English. However, at this point, she may confront the problem of the integration into her English-speaking environment, which is different from Arabic-speaking family environment. Nevertheless, giving her a personal example of using English, while communicating to English-speaking population will encourage my child to follow my lead and use English fluently (Curtiss, 1995). In this regard, the communication with English-speaking peers will be of great help for her. Give my child many opportunities to hear and practice in everyday “in normal way without pressure”. Learn two languages at home, at school and in the community together.
Valuation
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Good 1 |
Better 2 |
Best 3 |
Score! |
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Explanation of responsibilities of Job. |
Does not follow directions. Shows little if any effort. |
Explanation could use a more work. More time could be spent on preparation. |
Follows all directions. Explanation is clear and concise. |
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Quality of Material Given |
Does not follow directions. Shows little if any research was done. |
Material presented was lacking. |
Material given is appropriate and shows adequate research was done. |
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Demonstration of gained knowledge |
Does not follow directions. Has little if any knowledge about the career the group chose. |
Students have gained some knowledge, but are unable to answer questions about the career. |
Students can answer questions posed by other students. Have a good understanding of the career. |
Conclusions
In actuality, teaching my child to be bilingual is essential for the maintenance of her cultural background, traditions and identity, on the one hand, and the successful integration into the mainstream culture and community, on the other. At the same time, the case of my child will not be exceptional, because, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 21 percent of Americans speak a language other than English at home. Of those, three-quarters also report that they speak English “well” or “very well” — a strong indication that they are bilingual (Perry, 2013). Therefore, every fifth child in the US using a language other than English at home and that does not raise any substantial barriers in their communication with their peers and other people.
At the same time, while teaching my child to be bilingual, I should take into consideration specificities of bilingualism. The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment (Bhattacharjee, 2012). Speaking two languages may increase blood and oxygen flow to the brain and keep nerve connections healthy—factors thought to help ward off dementia (Perry, 2013). Moreover, researchers point out that the effect is strongest in people who learned a second language before the age of five and in those who are most proficient at their second language (Perry, 2013). Therefore, teaching my child to be bilingual may contribute to the faster progress and the development of language competency and skills in my child along with the overall intellectual progress.
At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that people use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks (Bhattacharjee, 2012). Therefore, teaching my child to be bilingual will contribute to the development of multiple skills and abilities and facilitates her further cognitive development and socialization.
Researchers have used brain imaging techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate which brain regions are active when bilingual people perform tasks in which they are forced to alternate between their two languages. For instance, when bilingual people have to switch between naming pictures in Spanish and naming them in English, they show increased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a brain region associated with cognitive skills like attention and inhibition (Marian & Shook, 2012). Consequently, teaching my child to be bilingual is useful for the development of her bilingual skills. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that along with the DLPFC, language switching has been found to involve such structures as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), bilateral supermarginal gyri, and left inferior frontal gyrus (left-IFG), regions that are also involved in cognitive control (Marian & Shook, 2012).
In fact, researchers (Perry, 2013) point out that when bilinguals are rapidly toggling back and forth between their two languages — that is, in “bilingual mode” — they show significantly more activity in the right hemisphere than monolingual speakers, particularly in a frontal area called the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (the source of the bilingual advantages in attention and control) (Perry, 2013). In such a way, bilingual children stimulate their brain activities more than monolingual children. The contemporary neuroscience research is showing promise for evaluating and treating bilingual patients who lose the ability to produce or understand speech after a brain injury (Perry, 2013). Therefore, the completion of the project will help me to prove the aforementioned findings and to enhance the cognitive development of my child.
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Permissions:
We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is granted for others to use and modify this WebQuest for educational, non-commercial purposes as long as the original authorship is credited. The modified WebQuest may be shared only under the same conditions. This is just analyze tasks to learn how can teach kid.
References
Baker, C. (2000). A parents’ and teachers’ guide to bilingualism. 2nd Edition. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Bhattacharjee, Y. (2012). “Why Bilinguals Are Smarter?” The New York Times. Retrieved on November 24, 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-benefits-of-bilingualism.html?_r=1&
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power, and pedagogy. Bilingual children in the crossfire. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Cooper, T. C. (1987). “Foreign Language Study and SAT-Verbal Scores.” Modern Language Journal 71 (4): 381-87.
Curtain, H., and C. A. Pesola. (1994). Languages and Children: Making the Match, 2d edition. White Plains, NY: Longman.
Curtiss, S. (Speaker). (1995). Gray Matters: The Developing Brain. (Final Script of Radio Broadcast) Madison, WI: Wisconsin Public Radio Association.
Genesee, F. (1987). Learning Through Two Languages. Cambridge, MA: Newbury House.
Marian, V. and Shook, A. (2012). “The Cognitive Benefits of Being Bilingual,” The Dana Foundation. Retrieved on November 24, 2013 from http://dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=39638
Perry, S. (2013). “The Bilingual Brain,” Brain Facts. Retrieved on November 24, 2013 from http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/language/articles/2008/the-bilingual-brain/
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2000). Linguistic genocide in education-or worldwide diversity and human rights? Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Teacher Introduction
This lesson was designed for international parents who are facing challenge to learn their kids a new language to be bilingual. How can start to learn her kids a new language. Also the teachers to help them to teach the international kids skills and language.