In his article Viva Bilingualism, James Fallows analyzes such issue as bilingualism in the United States, in particular, the author argues that two or even more languages can successfully co-exist in America and it will not pose any threat to the dominance of English. In addition to that, he believes that there are some myths or stereotypes about bilingualism, which should definitely be broken. His overarching thesis is that multilingual community can effectively function and the members of such community will have no difficulties, while interacting and communicating with one another. Overall, it seems that his argument is well-grounded because recent research findings in linguistics have proved that under certain circumstances, a person can master two languages and he or she will be able to use them efficiently. Moreover, there are many regions, in which people speak several languages and there is no tension or animosity among them. Nonetheless, at some moments, Fallows tries to be very non-committal and prefers not to express his opinion about rather stressing problems. Apart from that, some statements, which the journalist makes, are not quite evidence-based.
James Fallows says that many countries are promoting bilingualism and such policy does not have any detrimental effects on the society. The author draws such example as Japan, where many people are willing to learn English; however, it does not mean that Japanese has come out of use. Besides, the journalist mentions Scandinavian countries, like Sweden or Norway, where people may speak several languages, apart from their own, and it does not cause any problem or difficulty. These cases illustrate the authors point. The thing is that now many politicians in the United States believe that bilingualism will eventually result in separatism or make the population of the country ghettoized. The author points out that this belief is based on common misconception, because separatism is cause mostly by governmental and administrative controversies. James Fallows says that the United States will never have its own Quebec. Nevertheless, we need to say that the author overlooks the dynamics of emigration process in the United States, for instance, according to recent estimations, there are approximately 50 million immigrants in the United States, they can be either legal or illegal, and the majority of them come from Spanish-speaking countries. In the near future, this number will definitely increase. So, Is it not possible that the dominance of English may suffer a severe blow? Certainly, it will not happen soon, but in thirty or forty years, the situation may dramatically change. James Fallows compares the United States to Japan, but these countries are similar in terms of cultural and linguistic tradition. The land of the Rising Sun has always been more occlusive than America, and Japanese is spoken by ninety five percent of the population, whereas in the US there is no such unanimity.
Furthermore, he says that in such countries as Canada, Belgium or Sri Lanka, the problems, which arise in connection with bilingualism, are primarily motivated by tense relations between the ethnic groups. The situation is drastically different in America. Immigrants are trying to adapt themselves to the new conditions and the best way to do it is to learn English. James Fallows demonstrates that that there is no need to be afraid of Spanish, French or other languages. He says that that English is “not a fragile blossom, about to be blown apart by the blasts from the Spanish-speaking world” (Fallows, p 261). Again, we need to stress the idea, that in the long run, English may turn into a “fragile blossom” because, even now a great number of immigrants do not see the reason, why they should learn this language. If the government gives official status to other languages, we may not speak about any English supremacy.
It seems the journalist carefully avoids the problem of linguistic ghetto. Naturally, he says that many people, who have come to America from other regions, are willing to learn English, yet we cannot forget that there are many Spanish-speaking communities, or even ghettos to be more exact, and we cannot say that they have effectively integrated into the mainstream of American life (Hayakawa, 4). He mostly discusses bilingualism in connection with the dominance of English. No one can deny the fact that it is very unlikely to be substituted by some other language (at least in the near future). It stands to reason that English is the most spoken language in the world but it has to be admitted that in modern America the division between some ethnic groups is still strongly marked, and there are many people who prefer to live in separate areas and have practically no contact with English-speaking world. Subsequently, it prevents them from becoming full members of American society, which seems even hostile to them.
Perhaps, the question of bilingualism should be discussed from a slightly different standpoint. It goes without saying that James Fallows makes some very reasonable statements but he pays too much attention to the English language and its role in modern American society and in the world. Promoting bilingualism will make America, itself friendlier to the immigrants, because very often, they are ill-treated just because they do not speak good English. By allowing them to speak their mother tongue in federal institutions or learn it schools, the government of the United States will definitely make the country more attractive to the immigrants.
Therefore, it is quite possible for us to arrive at the conclusion that James Fallows has outlined the advantages of bilingualism in modern American society, namely, he has stated that there is no possible threat to the dominance of the English language not only in the country but in the world as well. Yet, it appears that the author has preferred not to discuss the problem of linguistic and social ghetto and how these notions are connected with each other.
Bibliography
James Fallows. Viva Bilingualism. The New Republic, 1986.
Samuel Hayakawa. “Bilingualism in America: English should be the only language”. USA Today, 1995.
This paper will discuss what affects the resistance or reception of bilingualism. This paper will begin by explaining what bilingualism is. This paper will also seek to explain how social psychology has been a factor in influencing the reception and resistance to bilingualism. This paper will also discuss literacy as another factor that determines the reception or resistance to bilingualism. This paper will discuss why literate people are more likely to be bilingual as opposed to their non literate counterparts. This paper will also discuss attitude as a factor in determining receptivity or resistance to bilingualism. This paper will discuss how positive and negative attitudes can affect bilingualism.
Discussion
“Bilingualism can be described as people in a community or individuals speaking two different languages. People who can speak different languages are called polyglots” (Cooper, 4). Bilingual people usually learn one language during their early stages in their lives.This is what is referred to as “mother tongue”. These people may later learn other languages through interaction with the native speakers. Second language acquisition is effective when one is still young and the ability to learn reduces as one gets older.
Experts say that literacy is vital for the acquisition of a second language. Literate people are more willing to learn other languages as compared to illiterate people. Literate people understand a new language more easily and therefore their reception of a different language is high.
Social psychology
Social psychology has been identified to be vital in the acquisation of bilingualism. “Social psychology allows us to understand how the social context affects perceptions, social attitudes drive acceptance, stereotypes can promote prejudice or acceptance, norms enforce views, and how social identity is inherent to bilingualism. Norms are a greater influence on bilingualism” (Cooper, p. 43). An individual’s ability to speak another language is influenced by the society’s stand on bilingualism as opposed to the feelings of a person. Social psychologists have experimented and proved that norms in a society determine behavior more than an individual’s personality.
Attitude
Another aspect that affects the reception of bilingualism is attitude. If there is a warm relationship between two different groups, there is likely to be accommodation in terms of linguistics. “Attitudes are evaluations that can be positive or negative at the cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels” (Cooper, p. 67). In the Scandinavian countries there is always encouragement for people to be proficient in two languages because the countries are very proximate to each other. In Canada, there are two official languages which are; English and French. However, the attitudes of the people have reigned and English enjoys a higher status than French. This discrimination has been brought about by these attitudes.
Conclusion
This paper has discussed what bilingualism is and also explained resistance and receptivity to bilingualism. This paper has discussed how literacy is vital in determining the resistance or receptivity to bilingualism. Most bilingual people are literate and thus they learn new languages faster. This paper has also discussed social psychology as another impact on receptivity or resistance to bilingualism. This paper has explained that an individual’s ability to speak another language is determined and influenced by the society. This paper has also discussed how attitudes determine if bilingualism is to be accepted or rejected by people. Positive and negative attitudes will determine whether people will be bilingual or not.
Works cited
Cooper, Robert. Language planning and social change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. (1989).
The articles Bilingual ed. immersion found to work equally well by Zehr and Students learning English benefit more in two-language instructional programs than English immersion by Myers describe different approaches to learning English among children. Scientists and researchers of linguistics have repeatedly suggested that teaching a foreign language can be more effective when using various methods. In his work, Myers notes that elementary school students who learn English in parallel in two languages perform better in academic performance than those who know English directly by immersion (2014). The researcher does not identify patterns and does not establish the cause of this phenomenon. However, according to practical research, children who learn two languages do learn English better. Zehr makes a statement that there is no fundamental difference in the language of instruction (2010). Based on the findings, it can be revealed that regardless of the language of instruction, children learn the material equally well. Scientific works on the methods and principles of learning English can be actively used in the Departments of Education policy concerning ELs’ method of teaching.
The main goal of any education is fast and high-quality assimilation of new knowledge. The higher these indicators are, the more efficient and better the educational system is considered. The use of the above research allows the Department of Education policy to introduce new practices and standards for teaching children the English language. It was previously believed in the scientific discourse that learning English is best done in the process of immersion in the language environment. When a student is unable to speak his native language, the process of mastering new words, phrases, and constructions is faster. However, recent research demonstrates an alternative perspective on learning. For the education system, this primarily means that there is more variability in the provision of academic courses. Moreover, the use of the techniques mentioned by Myers allows for strengthening the student’s knowledge of both English and the native language. Consequently, the learning process as a whole will be more efficient.
The bilingual and immersion methods have both advantages and disadvantages. In the first case, children can learn the language for a long time and understand the rules and structures. However, training can be more effective in the long run. In the second case, students at the initial stages of the educational program may not understand what is being discussed, which will significantly slow down the learning process. Almost all researchers agree that it is better to master the basics of the language and then move on to the immersion method. There is no agreement as to exactly when such a transition should be made. One study compared schoolchildren who learn English as a foreign language using their first language and those who know English exclusively by immersion without translation (Gazzola, 2017). Research has shown that the immersion method gives quick initial results, but then progress slows down. Students who studied in the traditional bilingual way progressed more slowly but eventually learned more.
The combination of approaches allows us to use the best aspects of each method of teaching English, leveling out the disadvantages. Despite the advantages of the bilingual system over the immersion method, this approach also has weaknesses, expressed in the slower learning process when a certain level of knowledge is reached. The dual method is exceptionally relevant for those with an intermediate level of English. It is suitable for students who think they are ready to start using English in a real-world setting but do not want to quit traditional classes.
Language development and its leading features are of great interest to psychologists from various countries. Understanding the main ideas behind the aspects of linguistic maturity requires a thorough scientific insight, which can be obtained during the childhood stage (Barrett, 2016). Even though there are various difficulties impeding research, such opportunities are vital for the studies on bilingualism. In this essay, fundamental traits of early language development will be discussed, and code-switching and its impact on education will be presented.
A thorough comprehension of linguistic characteristics seen in the early phases of child growth is a challenging subject. Some researchers provide an examination of such stages, stating that an individual’s learning of a specific language starts at pre-linguistic communication (Barrett, 2016). Prior to acquiring particular words and phrases, the child must show signs of willingness to interact with another person, which is a leading trait of this phenomenon (Barrett, 2016). As this stage passes, the toddler begins to grasp particular chinks of words, which is an action that starts with word detection (Barrett, 2016). The child ascertains various clusters of sounds in order to gain knowledge of syllable sequences which offer meaning. Finally, at one of the last steps of language development, the individual attains certain words, accumulating a vocabulary of meanings, short sentences, and other available information, the complexity of which increases with age (Barrett, 2016). Overall, the process of language acquisition is a highly complicated phenomenon, enveloping various actions and stages.
Bilingualism and its main aspects are one of the popular topics of psychological research. As stated by Barrett (2016), the age at which a child develops natural bilingualism may vary depending on the environment this individual is presented with. Most commonly, bilingual features manifest after the age of 3, given that there are sufficient conditions for their development. However, the author explains that this criterion is highly arbitrary, as there are no specific features on simultaneous learning of two languages (Barrett, 2016). Additional insight on this phenomenon is needed in order to present a thorough understanding of its main aspects.
A fascinating occurrence of code-switching can be seen in bilingual children. Code-switching is described as a process in which a child with knowledge of two different languages can shift between them during a conversation or in writing (AlHammadi, 2017). This action is often involuntary, as the individual tries to find a correct word or phrase for a specific context (AlHammadi, 2017). Furthermore, children might also perform this act during the early stage of acquiring grammatical structures (AlHammadi, 2017). Altogether, the process of learning multiple languages is seen in early stages of development.
Reflexes discussed might create various difficulties for young people during their education, as they might be bullied or misunderstood by other children. The impact of this phenomenon on a learning adolescent can vary depending on the circumstances, but the child’s academic achievements will likely be lowered. Finding a specific word in a language which is not commonly spoken in this person’s family is a process that requires additional time and, thus, impedes possible efficiency. Moreover, thought processes might be influenced by code-switching as well, as the necessity to switch to another language appears. The child’s decision-making might become slower, causing them to struggle during learning or in everyday conversations.
To conclude, there are various difficulties encountered by children during the language development stages. Linguistic acquisition most commonly starts at a pre-linguistic level, allowing the individual to grasp phonetic sequences prior to learning words and intricate structures. A phenomenon known as bilingualism can occur during language evolvement, presenting the person in question with an opportunity to speak two languages at once. Code-switching is described to appear in bilingualism, and it may cause several difficulties connected to academic advances and decision-making.
References
AlHammadi, F. S. (2017). Prediction of child language development: A review of literature in early childhood communication disorders. Lingua, 199, 27–35. Web.
Barrett, M. (2016). The development of language. Psychology Press.
Bilingual education in modern America is of great importance due to the country’s multicultural population. The multinational diversity contained in the territories of the States requires the introduction of the study of several languages in the practice of teaching children. Until the age of 13, children ae at the age when it is most convenient and easy for them to master new languages, the second or even the third. Learning several languages at the same time, although suitable for children from a cognitive point of view, raises concerns of a different character. The purpose of this essay is to examine the language immersion or bilingual teaching techniques used in modern American language schools. The intellectual and cultural benefits of multiple language learning opportunities for children are clouded by the many barriers imposed by the conditions of interaction with social institutions.
Positive Sides
Discussing the positive opportunities that bilingual practices bring to the education system, it should be noted its importance for representatives of other cultures. The ability not to lose your native language in the new social and civil conditions may be of fundamental importance for the bearer of the culture of his people. Migrant parents periodically experience anxiety that by learning only English, their children may lose touch with the language, and therefore not only with the culture, but also with their own personality. Initial language skills can be supplanted by English if it remains the only way to interact in the main environment of intellectual development, that is, at school. The ability to preserve and improve the native language seems to be a fundamental advantage of bilingual education, which realizes the value of the native cultural and linguistic individuality.
The second and also quite weighty argument in favor of Dual Language Learning is associated with the ability of children to memorize and process information at a young age. Children before adolescence are extremely sensitive to information and register a large amount of data. In the context of teaching and learning languages, this information-processing ability of the young brain holds great promise for every student. There are assumptions of scientists according to which the study of two languages is able to affect the infrequently used parts of the human brain and stimulate them. Such a fuller use of its functions by the brain should accompany a more complete development of the personality and its intellectual perfection. Probably by learning languages at a young age, a child gets the opportunity to express their potential much more vividly.
Finally, it seems necessary to mention how the process of education is improved for students who perceive information in a bilingual format. Children from other cultures have proven to be more successful in learning English if they remember how to speak their native language. Parents often refuse to send their children to bilingual classes for which there are a number of prejudices. Many parents claim that they could independently educate their children in a language they already know. Parents who did not initially speak English and whose language skills are not so strong are sure that the successful career and happy future of their children depends on the knowledge of the English language.
Therefore, parents may be inclined to send their children to a program that is more focused on the rapid acquisition of English. However, as statistics show, many children have embarked on this type of education, yet were not even able to finish it (Films Media Group, 2009). The negative impact of the introduction of the English language on the educational skills and performance of non-English-speaking children is due to a number of factors. This is both great pressure from the education system, and an alien language environment with a lack of adaptation mechanisms. At the same time, studying the school curriculum in another language provides opportunities for development that go beyond the scope of education. Knowledge of several languages turns out to be fundamentally useful in a multicultural world, where bilingual persons get more opportunities, for example, in work and business, not to mention culture.
Obstacles and Barriers
It is necessary to note certain obstacles arising in the sphere of this type of institutions on the way to bilingual education and thinking. The social pressure experienced by children from another culture in an English-speaking environment usually motivates them to use English in their communication. It seems to them necessary in order to exist in a more socially comfortable linguistic situation, not to feel excluded from the team. As a result, this type of social adaptation can lead to the fact that the child forgets his native language. The bilingual school here also shows its advantage, since in a different language situation, for example, when studying in a fully English-speaking school, the child would be guaranteed to completely forget the language.
The monolinguistic beliefs of a large segment of American society also build cultural barriers to creating the most favorable multi-lingual education for children. A notable paradox in American society is both an approving and tolerant attitude towards representatives of other cultures, but at the same time a painful fixation in the English language. Most Americans do not see the need to learn even a second language because of the perceived sense of the absolute cosmopolitanism of English. The lack of interest of Americans in other languages and a strong concern for preserving their language really represent a kind of ideological monopoly that limits the free study of languages in the country. Many parents fear that as they explore other cultures, children might forget the American one, which will be supplanted, but this hypothesis is mostly wrong.
Two examples should be given to characterize the typical experiences of parents, especially from another culture. Victor, the father of Kelly, who is studying at a Chinese bilingual school, worries that her daughter will not communicate with her parents in English, which is their only language. At the same time, the Hispanic migrant Jose worries about his son Jason – if he starts to forget Spanish, the connection between parent and son will be broken. The problem of generational interaction in non-American families can become quite acute when children are receiving multilingual education. With this in mind, for my future practice, I would strive to focus on more involvement of parents in the needs and interests of their children. Parents should not oppose the activities of a multicultural school, but a neutral and passive attitude can also cause dissonance in a child. Therefore, in practice in the field of bilingual education, it is necessary to pay additional attention to the balance of the child’s life in the family aspect, which constitutes a real everyday environment.
Immersive Teaching Strategies
The difference between bilingual and immersive teaching methods essentially lies in the intensity of their introduction into another culture. Bilingual teaching clearly distinguishes between English and other language subjects, while immersive teaching creates the hermetic illusion of another culture. In a Chinese-English school, for example, children learn national Chinese dances, and most of the subjects are taught immediately in Mandarin (Films Media Group, 2009). It is important for teaching that a teacher who is associated with a Chinese-speaking subject cannot speak English with students.
Interaction with children at a multilingual level should start at a very early age. When discussing language education for very young children, engaging ways such as naming objects play a useful role in building a child’s vocabulary (Eastern Connecticut State University). Dramatic scenes that simulate real situations in the required language are also useful because in a playful way they force children to prepare for solving possible real problems (Colorado Department of Education, 2021). The main difference of the immersive method lies in the exclusive focus on another language culture, however, the English language should at least in a small form be represented in the educational program. To summarize, the following can be called immersive practices – communication with native speakers, associating a teacher with a specific language, using positional vocabulary and dramatic dialogue-staging. All of these techniques are appropriate for the development of the child and can be used by the teacher from a very young age.
Conclusion
Thus, a bilingual educational environment can be extremely beneficial for the intellectual, cultural and social development of a child. Being in a multicultural space enriches knowledge, improves educational skills, instills tolerance for cultures and nations. Involving the parent in this child’s learning process could eliminate the likely personality or identity discord that might arise from cultural conflict. Immersion techniques used in this education system contribute to cultural adaptation and fusion with the language environment.
References
Colorado Department of Education. (2021). Real conversations during a pretend lunch [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Films Media Group. (2009). Speaking in tongues. Films On Demand. Web.
Eastern Connecticut State University. (n.d.). Using positional words during toddler play. Web.
Bilingualism has been a matter of detailed exploration for decades. The peculiarities of modern human society make this phenomenon common for many regions or populations. Globalization contributes to the increase in the number of bilinguals or even multilingual individuals as people interact with different groups in diverse settings. In addition to providing multiple advantages related to business and daily routines, bilingualism is associated with various positive effects on brain development and functioning. It is believed that bilingual people’s brain deteriorates at a slower pace compared to monolinguals, but developmental changes still occur (Whitford & Titone, 2017). However, insufficient evidence is available on the matter, and further studies are necessary. The use of technology facilitates the process, and new insights are gained with the help of imaging or EEG/ERP, which is specifically valuable when studying brain development. The proposed study will be concerned with the comparison of brain functioning with a focus on the switching of bilinguals in different age groups.
Literature Review
Bilingualism and Multilingualism
Bilingualism and multilingualism (hereafter, these phenomena will be used interchangeably) have been analyzed in terms of the peculiarities of bilinguals’ cognition and perception, as well as language processing, cognitive and perception differences between bilingual and monolingual people, and the characteristics of bilingualism in people of different ages. Bilingualism is referred to as the ability to process two languages, while multilingualism is an individual’s capacity to process several languages (Hayakawa & Marian, 2019). Hayakawa and Marian (2019) have explored the neural structure of bilinguals and monolinguals and stated that the latter have stronger and more complex neural networks, which is associated with better cognitive functioning. Notably, researchers have added that monolinguals’ and bilinguals’ performance may differ depending on the task and involved brain areas. Hayakawa and Marian (2019) have stated that multilingualism also affects the way people process languages and perform other connected tasks. It is stressed that a more comprehensive approach to multilingualism research may be beneficial and that researchers can concentrate on a combination of functions rather than focusing on a single parameter.
The research on language processing suggests that bilingualism is associated with positive changes in brain structure and functioning, resulting in people’s better cognitive performance. For example, Grey et al. (2017) have found that bilingual adults’ processing of a new language is more efficient as compared to monolinguals, and the former display cognitive processes typical of native speakers when processing languages. Structural and functional differences between the brain of bilingual and monolingual people have been analyzed in detail as well (Anderson et al., 2018). However, the peculiarities of specific functions and processes that take place in bilinguals need further analysis (Anderson et al., 2018). Language processing is a complex phenomenon, including diverse components such as switching, decoding, encoding, attention, memory, and so on.
Differences Between Younger and Older Bilingual Adults
As with any other function, language processing ability changes with age, which has been examined in relation to diverse aspects of the issue. Developmental changes lead to poorer cognition and perception in older adults. Neural networks and brain structure transform, which leads to lower processing capacity (Whitford & Titone, 2017). For instance, reading first- and second-language texts differs in younger and older adults, which is associated with the functional changes that take place when people age (Whitford & Titone, 2017). That, in some areas, such as word predictability, no meaningful difference was found, so this kind of cognitive process is not affected by developmental changes in older adults (Whitford & Titone, 2017). Therefore, some functions remain unchanged or even develop with age, which can be related to enhanced language processing capacity. At that, the studies resulting in similar findings are not numerous, which may be accounted for by researchers’ concentration on a set of processes and functions that are mainly linked to attention, problem-solving skills, and other specific language processing components.
In the domains such as subcomponents of attention, bilingual older adults display better results as compared to older monolinguals. When older and younger bilinguals are under study, the latter respond slower compared to younger bilinguals (Dash et al., 2019). Moreover, recent research suggests that multilingual perform and function differently in diverse social settings, and their knowledge and skills are not often associated with age or other characteristics (Pot et al., 2018). Therefore, further research may shed light on the differences between younger and older bilinguals in terms of different aspects of language processing and use.
Switching
Switching is one of the key tasks bilinguals perform on a daily basis when using different languages. This process encompasses the disengagement of one language and the engagement of another one (Blanco-Elorrieta et al., 2018). Switching is mainly characterized by enhanced activation in the anterior cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex. Pot et al. (2018) have stressed that switching often occurs with the consumption of less effort in bilinguals. However, it is acknowledged that monolinguals often perform switching tasks as well when decoding diverse cues. Switching helps individuals to solve various problems in all spheres of their life. For instance, switching is an integral part of people’s routine and social interactions. Hence, this skill needs careful examination using a comprehensive approach as the analysis of the performance of particular tasks in laboratory settings can hardly compare with switching in natural contexts.
Research on switching peculiarities in multilingual tends to involve the comparison between this group and monolinguals. It is found that bilinguals display increased sustained attention as well as more rapid task-set reconfiguration as compared to monolinguals, which is attributed to the use of different processing methods monolinguals and bilinguals employ (López Zunini et al., 2019). Dash et al. (2019) also found that bilingual older adults outperform monolinguals of the same age group in task-switching, which is associated with higher attentional control and neural efficiency. Blanco-Elorrieta and Pylkkänen (2017) note that switching and overall language processing are less effortful in natural settings rather than during laboratory experiments. The researchers have claimed that bilingualism is a social phenomenon, so it may require a shift in the usage of techniques and methods.
Researchers have paid considerable attention to the analysis of the difference between the switching capacity of bilingual and monolingual older adults (López Zunini et al., 2019; Rieker et al., 2020). However, less attention has been devoted to the comparison of switching of bilinguals of different ages. At that, it is important to estimate the capacity of older age groups to trace any changes that take place with aging. A focus on switching as one of the elements of language processing can provide insights into the different aspects of brain functioning unrelated to the linguistic sphere.
Behavioral Neuroscience and Methods Employed to Analyze Bilingualism
Numerous methods and designs have been utilized to explore the peculiarities of bilingualism and related phenomena. Recently, behavioral and neuroscientific methods have prevailed and proved to shed light on numerous mechanisms associated with bilingualism and processes that take place in the human brain. The development of technology has enabled scientists to expand a range of methods and strategies they could employ. Now, researchers manage to examine participants’ behaviors and the changes that take place in brain structure or functioning in different settings (Poarch & Krott, 2019). Eye movement, reaction speed, and the ways tasks are performed provide insights into people’s behavioral patterns. These techniques were the primary research method, but now they have started playing a more complementary role as neuroscientific tools are available.
The use of electroencephalogram (EEG) and the recording of the so-called event-related potential (ERP) have been widely used in modern research of bilingualism. Brain imaging is another common technique, but it requires more advanced equipment (Grundy et al., 2017). EEG and ERP imply the use of electrodes that are placed on the scalp (in specific locations). The electrodes measure the variation of electrical brain activity associated with the functioning of the bulk of brain cells (Grundy et al., 2017). These tools help researchers to identify the exact brain areas involved in each process related to processing languages. The extent to which these areas are activated in different groups of people or in diverse situations is another domain to be explored.
This brief review of recent literature suggests that various aspects of multilingualism have been analyzed with the use of diverse methods and techniques. Nevertheless, certain gaps are still apparent and need further exploration. For instance, although the superior cognitive ability of bilingual older adults as compared to older monolinguals is properly researched, the comparison of similar functions in bilinguals of different ages (or genders or socioeconomic groups) has not been implemented in the necessary detail.
Each component of language processing in different populations among multilingual is also an important domain to be further investigated. It is possible to assume that older bilinguals may perform better in social contexts as they have developed diverse skills due to their longer exposure to such environments. For instance, Pot et al. (2018) have stressed that the intensity of language use enhances language processing skills irrespective of age. As mentioned above, a shift towards more natural contexts in research is becoming more common in academia, which is beneficial for research in bilingualism. Therefore, the present study will aim at addressing some of the gaps highlighted in this brief review of the current literature on multilingualism.
Research Questions and Hypothesis
The purpose of this study is to identify the difference between switching capacity in bilingual younger and older adults. As mentioned above, quite a considerable bulk of data on switching in older adults is available (Cargnelutti et al., 2019; Chan et al., 2020). At that, the performance of this cohort is often juxtaposed with the capacity of monolinguals of the same age group. The focus of this study is also on the performance of bilinguals in situations close to real life. Researchers’ attention to this aspect has been limited, although some studies have been implemented, such as the research by Blanco-Elorrieta and Pylkkänen (2017). The researchers included elements of real-life situation simulations and unveiled certain peculiarities of people’s switching.
Based on the previous research, it is possible to hypothesize that older adults will exhibit poorer switching capacity compared to younger bilinguals due to the developmental peculiarities of the two age groups. It is also possible to hypothesize that older bilingual adults have lower switching capacity when completing real-life simulation tasks compared to younger bilinguals as the overall brain functioning deteriorates with age. The null hypothesis can be formulated as follows: No statistically significant difference in the switching capacity of older bilingual and younger bilingual adults can be found.
In order to address the hypothesis guiding this study, the following research questions are posed:
Do younger bilinguals perform better on switching tasks in laboratory settings compared to older bilinguals?
Do younger bilinguals perform better in real-life simulation tasks compared to older bilinguals?
Methods
Participants
The participants will be recruited among the residents of a community that is culturally heterogeneous. Home-residing older adults and the residents of nursing homes above 65 years old will be recruited with the help of handouts and leaflets sent to nursing homes and distributed in residential areas (in parks, stores, supermarkets, non-profit organizations, and healthcare facilities). Younger adults (aged between 35 and 45 years old) will be recruited with the help of the leaflets and online advertisements. Caregivers or relatives of older participants will be able to participate in the research.
The major inclusion criteria will be the participants’ linguistic status. Bilinguals (including multilingual people) speaking English and Spanish irrespective of other spoken languages will be included. The English and Spanish languages are chosen due to the number of Hispanic people in the community. The expected sample size will be 300 people (150 younger and 150 older individuals). Ideally, approximately 70 people in each age group will be males to ensure the heterogeneity of the sample. The recruitment process will be terminated when the expected number of participants sign written consent forms. That, if the gender distribution is not met, the recruitment process will be continued.
This number of participants is sufficient for the purpose of this study. Although the generalizability of the research will be limited as the study will include the residents of a comparatively small community, the research will unveil an existing difference (if any) between the two age groups as far as switching is concerned. The research will also serve as a pilot study using a real-life simulation element that can be further developed and employed with a larger sample. As mentioned above, language has been regarded as a social phenomenon (Blanco-Elorrieta et al., 2018). Therefore, laboratory restrictions may be associated with potentially distorted (at least to a certain extent) data regarding people’s usage of languages in real-life settings.
The leaflets will contain a general description of the study and the contact details of the researcher. Those who will contact researchers will receive more detailed information in invitation letters that will include a brief description of the research and a written consent form. Although in many cases, the major goal and objectives established by researchers are not articulated in order to avoid bias. Those who will sign the form and send it via one of the methods (a letter sent via post, email, a picture sent via a mobile device) mentioned in the invitation letter will participate in the study.
Procedure
This study will encompass a combination of techniques based on the utilization of EEG/ERP technology. The participants will complete surveys containing demographic details prior to the main part of the experiment. Participants will be offered two options: they will be able to complete the questionnaire online at any time prior to the time of the experiment, or they will complete the questionnaire before the experiment. The questionnaires will include the following data: age, gender, ethnicity, spoken languages, employment status, education, marital status, residential status (home, nursing facility, and so on), and income. This approach can help in reducing the time of the experiment implementation without any negative effects.
After the completion of the questionnaires (or when the participants arrive if completed surveys are available), the samples are invited into the laboratory, where they perform two tests. The equipment will include a desktop computer (and the participants will have two white buttons on the keyboard for choosing among the alternatives) and Matlab software. The room will be deemed in order to make visuals more visible, and external noises will be minimized as the participants will complete tasks one by one. Any distractions will be removed to avoid potential distortions or errors. The participants will be asked to concentrate on doing the assignment, which should contribute to their diligence. The participants will have electrodes on their heads to measure their brain activity.
In order to address research question 1, a modified color-shape task switching used by Chan et al. (2020) will be used. The participants will be asked to categorize a colored shape by its shape (triangle or square) or its color (blue or yellow). The task cue for the color-based task will be a round shape with a color gradient on the screen. The task cue for the shape-based portion of the test will be a set of four round shapes. The participants will have 10 trials to prepare for the test and will have a mixed block of 20 shapes and 20 colors trials. The variable in this test will be the switching (non/switching) cost reaction time (RT) and global RT (mean overall RT). The latency and amplitude will be the measurements denoting switching cost. It is also possible to note the brain areas that are activated when this or that task is performed.
The real-life simulation component will imply the use of a combination of visual and audial cues based on a modified test employed by Blanco-Elorrieta and Pylkkänen (2017). Two bilinguals will be asked to have a conversation on a set of topics, and their conversation will be recorded. They will provide their consent for recording the conversation and taking a few pictures for the development of the visuals for the study. The conversation will be divided into several sets of records based on the discussed topic. The speakers will use one language (either English or Spanish) during some parts of the discussions. They will also switch languages without any external cues or transitions.
The participants will be first introduced to the speakers by viewing the pictures and listening to their introductory utterances. Blanco-Elorrieta and Pylkkänen (2017) have noted that the introduction of speakers makes the situation closer to a real-life environment where people have to meet and interact with their interlocutors. After a one-sentence introduction, the participants will be given some time to look at the picture and simply relax to prepare for the test per se which will commence with an audial cue.
The participants will be asked to choose between two alternatives based on the topics discussed. First, the participants will see a picture of the two speakers discussing an item in one of the languages. Two words will appear on the screen immediately after the audial input, and the participants will choose between two items (on the left and on the right) based on the extract they heard. The participants will listen to 30 trials (short records in two languages) that will be switched randomly. The records will be no longer than 30-45 seconds to avoid positive issues related to poor memory or attention. The participants will need to press the right or left button according to the information they hear. The participants will have five trials to prepare for the test as well. The variables will be the same as in the previous test (switching (non/switching) cost RT, global RT, latency, and amplitude).
Data Analysis
Descriptive statistics will be used to analyze participants’ demographic data. The calculation of the variables mentioned above will be conducted with the help of separate hierarchical multiple regressions. Statistical software will be employed to avoid errors and increase the efficiency of the analysis process. The analysis of the correlation of the participants’ age and their switching capacity will be the focus of this study. Other demographic details will be discussed briefly, and some assumptions can be made, which can serve as a background for new studies aimed at more specified cohorts. The primary attention will be paid to such aspects as age and education level. It can be assumed that people with a high-school education or higher are likely to perform better irrespective of their age.
Timeline
The proposed study will last from seven to eight weeks, depending on the recruitment period (see Table 1). The preparation stage will involve the development of leaflets, further refinement of the methodology, and obtaining all the necessary permissions from facilities and organizations (as well as the laboratory) to distribute leaflets. This phase will also include the recording of the conversation and material preparation (developing tests). This stage will take up to two weeks, and it can overlap slightly with the recruitment process.
Table 1. Timeline for the proposed research
The recruitment process may start on week 2, depending on the readiness of organizations to cooperate. The recruitment process may take up to four weeks, but data collection may start during week 5 only. No simultaneous implementation of these stages is possible as it will be necessary to start data collection when all participants provide the written consent forms as the recruitment process may stop after saturation as it is decided to achieve even gender distribution in both age groups. The recruitment process involves such components as reaching people, responding to calls (as well as visits, emails, and so on), and contacting the participants who have signed the written consent form in order to agree on the time of the experiment implementation.
Data collection may take up to two weeks as a considerable number of participants will take tests in a laboratory. Data analysis will last for up to three months and may start on week 5 as the measurements can be processed as far as they are obtained. The write-up may start on week 6, or even earlier, as some parts of the paper do not require the availability of the results of the experiment. These sections include literature review, theoretical foundation, and introduction, as well as some parts of the significance of the study and its limitations. These are quite tight deadlines, but the project can be conducted within this timeframe.
Significance of the Study
The Impact on the Field of Multilingualism
The proposed study can have multiple effects on the development of the field of multilingualism research. First, the research will provide insights into the mechanisms of bilingualism in a particular area of language processing. Switching is an important aspect of language processing, as well as overall cognitive function (Zhang et al., 2020). People’s ability to switch is critical in diverse settings, so it is pivotal to explore this skill in detail.
As mentioned above, the current research is mainly associated with the comparison of bilinguals and monolinguals of different ages or gender. Some studies are concerned with the analysis of the difference between younger and older bilinguals. However, little is known about such differences in each aspect of language processing. Switching is one of the areas characterized by the lack of evidence regarding the differences in the performance of younger and older bilinguals.
It is still unclear whether the functioning of the brain differs in laboratory settings and natural contexts. The present study can shed light on these areas and offer a sound methodology for this analysis. This study contributes to the investigation of switching in laboratory and semi-laboratory (or real-life) settings. This area is still underdeveloped and needs substantial exploration. Blanco-Elorrieta and Pylkkänen (2017) have emphasized that language should be analyzed in natural contexts as people processing languages are often affected by multiple factors that shape their behaviors and their brain functioning. The researchers have found that the use of real-life simulations uncovers these effects, so this method can be used in further research.
The proposed study also employs similar techniques, so people’s switching in more natural settings can be measured in terms of neuroscientific methods. Clearly, it is difficult to assess some brain functions in truly natural settings that are characterized by various distractions, making it difficult to trace the changes in the chosen variables. However, this study, using the simulation tried in another research, can be instrumental in the creation of an atmosphere close to real-life social interactions. The use of records can be further developed, and the benefits of speakers’ introduction can be verified. This study offers new insights into the blend of behavioral and neuroscientific tools.
The Impact on Society
The effects the proposed study can have on society are also manifold as important data on multilingualism can be obtained. In addition to the obvious benefits of being able to interact with people of diverse linguistic backgrounds, people can acknowledge the positive influence of multilingualism on brain functioning. This research will become another piece of evidence supporting the claim that studying languages can help in preventing brain functioning deterioration associated with aging. If switching capacity does not deteriorate with age in bilinguals, and this ability is associated with other cognitive processes not related to language processing, studying languages can be seen as a way to prevent the development of different mental health issues as well. Recent studies show that bilinguals are better at switching and performing diverse tasks compared to monolinguals. However, this study can be instrumental in gaining insights into the extent to which bilingualism affects people’s cognition at different developmental stages.
This study can become another important source of empirical data to facilitate the development of various programs for adults and older adults to enhance their cognitive capacity. These projects can involve learning a foreign language or training skills multilingual people use (such as switching). The understanding of neurological patterns typical of multilinguals’ language processing can help in creating effective programs for language learners pertaining to different age groups. The programs can be developed for use in education (colleges and high schools) or healthcare settings (nursing homes, community-based health organizations). Thus, the present study can contribute to the development of the educational and healthcare spheres.
Finally, the dissemination of the results of this study can facilitate the discussion of the benefits of multilingualism or learning foreign languages in society, which can be beneficial for many people. Policymakers, practitioners in the fields of education and healthcare, non-profit organizations, and individuals can collaborate to create effective educational incentives and promotional campaigns. It can be beneficial to develop a promotional campaign using empirical data and motivating people to learn at least one foreign language.
Language ability assessment is important for the timely identification of abnormalities; it includes various tests for children to demonstrate their use and understanding of grammatical and vocabulary structures. Bilinguals require a more comprehensive approach because their fluency might differ from the norms as multiple factors, such as developmental background, sociocultural experiences, and learning capabilities (Bedore & Peña, 2008). Monolingual children have a more straightforward way of obtaining lexical and syntactic structures, while their bilingual peers struggle to organize their linguistic system (Bedore & Peña, 2008). Thus, the potential barriers to language ability assessment are the lack of adjustable tests with norms for various bilingual variations and the absence of specific criteria for language acquisition evaluation.
Language ability assessment tests are generalized and aim to identify the same learning trajectory in representatives of various sociocultural backgrounds. Because of this barrier, bilingual children’s test results might display that they have language impairment and are unnecessarily assigned to a specialized education group. Furthermore, monolingual children might fit the normal rates of assessment criteria, and bilinguals might have unique language acquisition conditions that do not comply with the standards (Wyatt, 2012). This barrier must be addressed because young learners need to build lexical and syntactic systems, and bilinguals need to receive personalized assistance.
Modern speech-language pathologists can break the identified barriers by expanding the range of language ability assessments and including translation and conversation-based exercises. The comprehensive approach should also involve family members who can provide additional information about the speaking attitudes, environment, prevalence of one language, and the frequency of using another (Bedore & Peña, 2008). Clinicians can also expand the language acquisition evaluation based on their location and adjust the criteria by eliminating the biases (Wyatt, 2012). For instance, in regions with Spanish-English speaking populations, assessment frameworks can address the distinctions and consider the studies about this type of bilingual individuals.
References
Bedore, L. M., & Peña, E. D. (2008). Assessment of bilingual children for identification of language impairment: Current findings and implications for practice. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11(1), 1-29.
Wyatt, T. (2012). Assessment of multicultural and international clients with communication disorders. In D. E. Battle (Ed.), Communication disorders in multicultural and international populations (4th ed.). (pp. 243-278). Mosby.
Identification of language impairment in bilingual children requires two different assessment versions for each spoken language. The assessment process in bilingual children is complicated by the lack of available standardized tools which can provide reliable results (Bedore & Peña, 2008). Adaptation or translation of one test to another language was common in traditional practice. However, Pascoe and Norman suggested that developing new assessment methods is easier and more ethically correct than adapting existing assessments by addressing the differences in locations, languages, and cultures (as cited in McLead et al., 2017, p. 695). The increase in the population’s diversity emphasizes the difference between learning styles and values, signaling the need for more innovative assessment approaches and strategies to address cultural differences (Nellum Davis & Banks, 2012). Some newly developed tools feature different versions of tests and measures in two languages to provide more accurate results for assessing language impairment in bilingual children. This essay will compare and contrast the differences between different language versions of such tools using the example of a language sample analysis tool.
Discussion
Firstly, in order to ensure acquiring more useful information about the differences between different language versions of assessment tools, it is necessary to define the most suitable type of assessment tool for bilingual children. The language sampling analysis tool uses language sampling, which focuses on the collection and transcription of language, but provides more information about an individual’s language abilities. Language sampling is more flexible and informal than standardized testing, implying that the sampling results will be more reliable.
Next, in assessing language impairments in bilingual children, the language sampling analysis as a criterion-referenced measure is more ethically correct and flexible than standardized tests. Several measures in the language sampling assessment tool can signal language impairments in bilingual children and eliminate potential errors by comparing their skills across different languages (Ebert, 2020). Language sampling tool allows speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to use materials more familiar to culturally diverse children than standardized tests, eliminating cultural bias (Mercier, n.d.). In addition, bilingual children tend to code-switching, which occurs when a child switches to another language in the same sentence to use a specific word or phrase. Code-switching in standardized tests targeted at monolingual speakers could indicate language impairments, but language sample analysis does not consider code-switching as an error.
Implementation of a language sampling analysis tool requires a range of associated measures. Firstly, the administration requires parental consent for the assessment. In the Spanish version, the assessment requires confirmation of the child’s bilingual status through a report from parents and teachers. Next, in both versions of the tool, the analysis requires collecting samples from child’s storytelling or retelling and conversation with SLP. Depending on SLP’s background, the Spanish version of the assessment can include help from interpreters of native speakers trained to administer the assessment. The use of stimuli is encouraged in the conversation part in both versions of the assessment tool. The stimuli can include prompts or questions to lead the conversation and increase the chances of observing a child’s use of more complex language for explanations or storytelling.
After the collection of the samples is complete, the SLP transcribes the samples. The results of the transcribed samples include such items as the total number of utterances, mean length of utterance, number of morphemes, words, and questions, and percentage data of grammatically correct and incorrect utterances. The English version of the assessment can include additional items that identify the presence of key structures, such as pronouns, verbs, and plurals, and estimated vocabulary size.
Thus, comparing the items used in different language versions of the assessment determined that there are slightly more administrative complications added to the Spanish version. Furthermore, depending on SLP’s language knowledge background, the assessment of the Spanish version can involve additional assistance from native speakers. In the case where assessment requires additional help in interpretation, the transcription process will depend on the SLP’s knowledge of phonology. In order to ease the transcription process in such cases, the experts suggest using additional help in the form of audio and video recordings of the assessment (McLeod et al., 2017). The comparison identified that language sampling analysis could be more informative in the English version as it utilizes more items connected with the use of syntax and semantics. Perhaps, the integration of more items from the Spanish language can equalize the informativeness of the two versions of the assessment tool.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper explored the complexities of identifying language impairments in bilingual children. The paper determined that despite the rising diversity of the population, there is a lack of a standardized assessment of bilingual children. The language sampling analysis tool is more applicable for use in diverse populations because it allows SLPs to address cultural differences and eliminate biases in the assessment. However, the different language versions of the same tool use different analysis items, which can negatively influence the results. Furthermore, the assessment can be limited by SLP’s language proficiency or interpreters’ availability. Thus, while there is progress from the use of adaptations of standardized assessments, more reliable results require additional resources and the development of additional analysis items in different languages.
McLeod, S., Verdon, S., Baker, E., Ball, M. J., Ballard, E., David, A. B., Bernhardt, Berube, D., Blumenthal, M., Bowen, C., Brosseau-Lapré, F., Bunta, F., Crowe, K., Cruz-Ferrerira, M., Davis, B., Fox-Boyer, A., Gildersleeve-Neumann, C., Grech, H., Goldstein, B., … The International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children’s Speech. (2017). Tutorial: Speech assessment for multilingual children who do not speak the same language(s) as the speech-language pathologist.American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 26(3), 691-708. Web.
Nellum Davis, P., & Banks, T. (2012). Intervention for multicultural and international clients with communication disorders. In D. E. Battle (Ed.), Communication disorders in multicultural populations (pp. 279-296). Butterworth-Heinemann.
The study involves the problems of sociolinguistics since it addresses the problems of loss of native language by bilinguals. The topic is important for the study of language development because, nowadays, the linguistic community is especially aimed at preserving native languages and maintaining linguistic justice. This process is caused by the changes in the attitude of the minorities that are becoming the dominating ideology in Western countries. Bilinguals often experience shame connected with their native language and feel it is inappropriate to use their mother tongue in an official setting, such as in university. It leads to the attrition or loss of the language, which, in turn, reduces the number of languages worldwide. The present research aims to analyze the process of native language loss, in particular, the age when bilinguals cease to use their language and when they start to forget it.
Literature Review
Four sources have been analyzed in terms of preparation for the research described. The first article by Winstead and Wang (2017) addresses the shame that Spanish bilinguals experience while speaking their native language in some environments. It also describes the cases of language loss caused by people’s unwillingness to communicate in their mother tongue. Werker (2012) has analyzed the process of language acquisition in infant bilinguals. The article is relevant for the given research because it analyses the process of learning two languages from the earliest childhood. Levy, McVeigh, Marful, & Anderson (2007) examine the interference produced by the native language that causes the forgetting of the phonology of terms in the native language. Although the study is dedicated to forgetting the native language during the acquisition of a native language, it addresses mostly phonological levels. The given research has to be concentrated more at higher linguistic levels, not only at phonological ones. McFarlane, Cipolletti, & Weissglass (2020) describe bilingualism’s positive effects on cognitive abilities. The researchers provide a profound analysis of the beneficial consequences that it has on decision-making and judgment.
Proposal
The present research will address the number of questions related to native language attrition in bilinguals. It should analyze in which situations people tend to speak in their mother tongue and which situations are inappropriate for it. The research hypothesizes that bilinguals tend to consider the second language more prestigious and use it in official instances and business environments. If the hypothesis confirms, it will illustrate the linguistic injustice that forces bilinguals to forget their native languages. The study also should analyze the average age at which people tend to cease speaking in their mother tongue. In addition, the research should analyze which exactly language is forgotten. Perhaps, for the languages with large diasporas, the problem of language attrition is not so acute, as in numerous communities, people can speak the native language better than the second one. If it confirms, it will illustrate another side of the language situation and certain injustice that causes language loss and extinction.
Study Design
The study will analyze the natural speech of bilinguals who acquired a second language at an infant age. They can be either speaking one pair of languages or multiple languages. The participants will be randomly selected among children who attend educational facilities in areas with bilingual communities. The hypothesis is that the results will be slightly diverse for different languages. It can be explained by the fact that some diasporas are larger than others, so it is easier for some immigrants to find people who speak their native language. The research has to deal with their communication in a range of conditions. For example, people should remember which situations seem inappropriate for them to speak in their mother tongue.
It is proposed to analyze the bilinguals’ language habits in two steps during the research. During the first step, they can be divided into several groups. They will have to communicate on different topics. In one group, the bilinguals will have to speak about ordinary things, like family, hobbies, and so on. In the second group, the communication has to be more formal and involve business topics. The main confounding factor is that people can realize that they are being analyzed and behave not so naturally as they do in real-life situations. However, it is not expected to be a grave interference factor, as they should be interested in the research and why they forget their native language.
The methods to collect data will be based on qualitative research methods. As the participant will be divided into groups to communicate, the data will be collected with methods such as participant observation (Rahman, 2017). While quantitative research methods seem to be used more broadly than qualitative ones, as the research will be based on the communication process, researchers will be able to interact with participants directly (Rahman, 2017). Although qualitative research techniques analyze participants’ behavior and factors that influence behavior, some statistical analyses are expected to estimate the participants’ use of either language (Rahman, 2017). Finally, certain confounding factors, such as parents’ involvement during research, are needed to be considered to prevent muddling results.
References
Levy, B. J., McVeigh, N. D., Marful, A., & Anderson, M. C. (2007). Inhibiting your native language: The role of retrieval-induced forgetting during second-language acquisition. Psychological science (0956-7976), 18(1), 29–34. Web.
McFarlane, S. & Cipolletti P., & Weissglass, C. (2020). Thinking in a non-native language: A new nudge? Frontiers in Psychology. Web.
The realities of today’s living are being marked by an increasing role of information, as the foremost factor that defines the very essence of post-industrial social interactions. After all, due to exponential progress in the field of informational technologies, which had taken place during the course of latest decades, it now became a commonplace practice to transfer huge amounts of information from one corner of the globe to another, within a matter of an instant.
As it was pointed out by Clark (2010, p. 1): “We live in an ever-changing, evolving, constantly shifting world, where socially construed boundaries are becoming more obscured while simultaneously making visible the spaces, dimensions, and strategies of being and becoming multiple people in multiple places”.
In its turn, this results in producing the phenomenon of ‘overlapping identities’ – unlike what it used to be the case even as recent as fifty years ago; nowadays, more and more people begin to assess the subtleties of their individuality from essentially cosmopolitical perspective.[1] Therefore, it comes as not a particular surprise that, as time goes on, the issue of bilingualism continues to grow increasingly embedded into the very core of a number of today’s socio-political discourses.
The reason for this is simple – in highly globalized world, one’s ability to speak more than one language automatically increases the extent of his or her existential competitiveness. What it means is that, there are many fully objective reasons to expect that, in very near future, the number of bilingual individuals will increase dramatically.
And, it represents the matter of crucial importance for educators to be able to adopt a proper perspective onto the very essence of bilingualism/multilingualism, as it will increase their ability to design teaching strategies in a manner fully consistent with earlier mentioned process of Earth becoming ‘borderless’, in allegorical sense of this word.[2]
In this paper, I will aim to discuss theoretical aspects of bilingualism and to show how the practical implementation of bilingualism-inducing strategies in academic environment may result in substantial enhancement of teaching process’s effectiveness.
While elaborating on paper’s subject matter, I will also aim to promote an idea that the very tendency for more and more people to grow increasingly bilingual, which defines the social implications of Globalization, has been dialectically predetermined. What it means is that nowadays, becoming bilingual had effectively ceased to be an option for individuals who seek to attain social prominence.
Rationale-driven considerations for second language acquisition
Given the fact that the qualitative subtleties of just about any socio-historical phenomena are being defined by the dialectical essence of associated causes and effects, it will only be logical to suggest that there are fully objective motivations behind the process of people becoming increasingly bilingual/multilingual.
In her book, Baker (2001) provides us with the insight on what accounts for these motivations. According to the author, the rationale for second language acquisition can be generalized as consisting of three mutually supplementing sub-elements: ideological, international and individual.
Ideological rationale is being largely related to the fact that, ever since seventies, the policy of multiculturalism in Western countries had attained governmentally endorsed status. In its turn, this resulted in transforming the demographic pattern of West-bound immigrants.
Whereas; before the institutionalization of multiculturalism, it were predominantly White people immigrating to such English-speaking countries as U.S., Canada and Australia; nowadays, the bulk of newly arrived immigrants to these countries consist of those, commonly referred to as ‘representatives of racial minorities’.[3]
And, due to characteristics of these people’s visual appearance, their assimilationist anxieties emerge being much stronger, as compared to what it used to be the case with assimilationist anxieties, on the part European immigrants, for example.
This is the reason why an acquisition of host-country’s official language (e.g. English) represents the matter of crucial importance for these people – by becoming proficient in such a language, ethnic immigrants prove their ability to assimilate into host-society, and consequentially to become such society’s productive members.
There is another aspect to this – even though that it now became a commonplace practice to associate the concept of European colonialism with the notion of ‘oppression’, the native people from former European colonies continue to subconsciously associate this concept with the notion of ‘progress’. According to De Mejia (2002, p. 4): “An interest in the use of international languages is often associated with positions of social prestige in societies which have a colonial history…
In these countries the use of world languages (especially English) is considered by many of the governing elite as vital to the modernization of the economy and to the development of science and technology”. Apparently, as time goes on, more and more people consider one’s proficiency in a second language being utterly prestigious – pure and simple.
The international rationale behind acquisition of a second language is being concerned with the fact that, as compared to what it is usually the case with monolingual individuals; the bilingual ones are being put in advantageous position, especially when it comes to indulging in commercial activities. One does not have to be particularly smart, in order to be able to realize why – a particular individual’s proficiency in second language implies the increased extent of his or her exposure to information.
And, as it was rightly noted by Baker (2001, p. 112): “Languages provide access to information and hence power… For the business person and the bureaucrat, for the scholar and the sports person, access to multilingual international information opens doors to new knowledge, new skills and new understanding”.
Given the fact that, as it was being mentioned earlier, the realities of today’s post-industrial living are closely associated with essentially instant transfers of information on world-wide scale, those who can understand and speak more than one language are being more likely to take advantage of a number of rapidly emerging professional and commercial opportunities.
The individual motivation behind people’s decision to seek fluency in foreign languages has to do with the fact that such fluency results in increasing the extent of a concerned person’s cultural awareness. After all, it is only the people that have succeeded in familiarizing themselves with foreign cultures, which can be considered educated, in full sense of this word. And, within the context of such a familiarization, one’s proficiency in at least one foreign language will come as a great asset.
Yet, what it is being even more important is that individual’s acquisition of a second language usually results in enhancing the workings of his or her intellect. According to Ramirez (1985, p. 195): “Bilingualism could be an advantage in abstract thinking (conceptualizing things and events in relation to their general properties rather than relying on their linguistic symbols) and in encouraging mental flexibility”.
As compared to their monolingual counterparts, bilingual individuals appear being much more intellectually flexible, as the fact that they can express their thoughts in foreign language naturally predisposes them towards recognizing the validity of a number of moral, ethical and religious notions as being only relative to the affiliated circumstances.
The context of an earlier provided conceptualization as to what accounts for rationale in acquisition of a second language, implies that it is very important for teachers to be able to choose in favor of a proper set of bilingualism-inducing incentives, meant to apply in every individual case. After all, without being sufficiently motivated to indulge in studying of a second language, it is very unlikely that students will be able to succeed in it.
As it was rightly suggested by Dornyei (1998, p. 117): “Motivation provides the primary impetus to initiate learning in the L2 and later the driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning process… Without sufficient motivation, even individuals with the most remarkable abilities cannot accomplish long-term goals”.
And, given the fact that bilingualism-inducing motivations can be generally categorized as ‘integrative’ (concerned with addressing learner’s assimilationist anxieties) and ‘instrumental’[4] (concerned with convincing learner that becoming bilingual will increase the extent of his or her existential competitiveness), teachers must be capable of properly identifying what will account for circumstantial appropriateness of exposing learners to either set of motivations.
For example, it would prove very unlikely for practically minded students to think of attaining ‘cultural awareness’ as strong enough motivation to proceed with their studies. Alternatively, it will also be very unlikely for assimilation-seeking learners to be motivated to indulge in studying of a second language, because their eventual bilingualism would increase their efficiency as stock-traders, for example.
Theories of bilingualism
One of the foremost aspects of bilingualism-related discourses is the fact that there is still much uncertainty as to structuralist subtleties of how bilingual individuals perceive surrounding reality, in linguistic sense of this word, which stems out of conceptual incompatibility between the applied analytical methodologies.
As it was pointed out by Hamers and Blanc (1991, p. 1): “One of the major problems of an interdisciplinary approach (to bilingualism) is the integration of the macro- and the micro-levels of analysis”. Nevertheless, as of today, bilingualism’s neurological mechanics are being usually assessed within the context of Balance, Iceberg and Threshold theories.[5]
The proponents of Balance theory, such as Macnamara (1966), and Albert and Obler (1978), suggest that, due to the main principle of brain’s neurological functioning (people can only concentrate on doing one thing at the time), bilinguals’ increased proficiency in second language necessarily accounts for their reduced proficiency in native language.
In their book, Appel and Muysken (2005, p. 104) have outlined the conceptual premise behind Balance theory with perfect clarity: “If an individual learns more than one language, knowing one language rest nets the possibilities for learning other languages. More proficiency in one language implies fewer skills in the other ones”.
The empirical observations of immigrants’ linguistic behavior seems to support the validity of Balance theory’s provisions – after all, it does not represent much of a secret that, after having spent a considerable time living amidst foreign linguistic environment, people tend to ‘enrich’ their native languages with newly learned foreign words, as being the most semantically suitable.
This particular theory’s drawback appears to be the fact that, up to date, no evidence has been found as to brain’s limited capacity to memorize linguistic idioms.
The proponents of Iceberg theory (analogy), such as Cummins (1980), point out to the fact that the manner in how bilingual people go about expressing their thoughts in both languages reflects the inner working of their psyche. What it means is if, let’s say a particular person has been known to experience difficulties, while operating with highly abstract categories in his or her native language, this will also be the case with such individual trying to do the same, while utilizing second language.
In other words, according to the proponents of this theory, the acquisition of second language cannot produce detrimental effects onto a particular individual, for as long as the rate of his or her IQ appears adequately high.
The advocates of Threshold theory, such as Skutnabb-Kangas and Toukomaa (1976) and Clarkson (1992), are not sharing such point of view on the essence of bilingualism. According to them, the process of a particular person attaining proficiency in second language is being rather linearly defined.
Whereas; it is very unlikely for children-bilingualists to be utterly comfortable with expressing intellectually refined thoughts in both languages (due to their age-related underdevelopment), as time goes on, these individuals will continue to grow ever-more proficient in one language, at first, and eventually – in both languages.
This explains why, regardless of what was their age when they started to learn foreign language, most highly educated people have absolutely legitimate reasons to think of themselves as such that are being fully proficient in at least two languages. However, just as it is being the case with Balance theory, Threshold theory features a number of shortcomings. For example, its proponents do not specify as to what should be considered a criteria, when it comes to measuring individual’s bilinguistic proficiency.
Also, this theory does not take into consideration the specifics of bilingual people’s ethno-cultural affiliation. And yet, as it will be shown in this paper’s following sub-chapter, the particulars of bilingualists’ physiological/genetic makeup directly affect the degree of their linguistic expressions’ comprehensiveness.
Ability vs. aptitude
As we are being well aware of, people’s ability to learn foreign languages differs rather dramatically. Whereas; some individuals do not seem to experience any problems whatsoever, while acquiring second language, for others, learning a few basic foreign phrases appears to be the limit. How can it be explained?
As of today, there are two qualitatively different approaches to tackle the subject matter, concerned with the concept of ‘ability’, on one hand, and with the concept of ‘aptitude’, on another.
For example, according to Oller and Perkins (1978, p. 417), students’ likelihood to succeed in acquiring second language is being correlative with the rate of their Intellectual Quotidian(IQ): “It appears that some of the variance in verbal intelligence is common to variance in first and second language proficiency, some of which in turn may be common to the kinds of non-random sources of variance in self-reported data”.
In its turn, this explains why individuals who score high, while IQ-tested, often exhibit a particular talent in becoming proficient foreign-language speakers.
Nevertheless, given the fact that the very concept of IQ-testing is now being widely criticized, on the account of its ‘euro-centrism’,[6] it comes as not a particular surprise that recent decades saw the emergence of qualitatively new approach towards addressing the issue linguistic proficiency, commonly referred to as ‘aptitudal’ or ‘emotionally-intelligent’.
The proponents of this approach, such as Skehan (1998), argue that it is namely the fact that bilingualism-enhancing tasks, to which students are being commonly subjected in Western academia, can be best referred to as ‘emotionally exhausting’, which in turn explains some students’ lack of progress in becoming proficient bilingualists.
To put it plainly – many ethnic students’ linguistic failure should not be thought of as ‘thing in itself’, but rather as the consequence of educators’ failure to adhere to the principles of multicultural tolerance, while dealing with ‘ethnically unique’ learners.
The objective analysis, however, leaves few doubts as to the full appropriateness of a suggestion that the rate of one’s IQ does in fact reflect his or her capacity for learning foreign (particularly Western) languages. After all, individual’s ability to score high, while IQ-tested, extrapolates his or her ability to operate with utterly abstract mental categories. And, it does not represent much of a secret to linguists that English language alone features close to hundred thousand of highly abstract idioms.
Therefore, in order for just about anyone to succeed in learning English, as a second language, he or she would need to have an understanding of how abstract terms relate to emanations of surrounding reality. Unfortunately, this does not always seem to be the case among people endowed with primitive/rural mentality, who immigrate to Western countries from the Third World.
In his book, Bruhl (1928, p. 120) was able to define the qualitative essence of primitive perception of surrounding reality with utter precision: “Identity appears in their (natives’) collective representations… as a moving assemblage or totality of mystic actions and reactions, within which individual does not subjectualize but objectualize itself”.
Whereas, non-Westerners are being more capable of perceiving existential challenges through the lenses of utilitarian practicality, as compared what it is the case with native-born Westerners, their ability to define dialectical relationship between causes and effects appears significantly undermined – and yet, this is the foremost precondition that ensures success in learning Western languages.
As it was shown in Bruhl’s book, after having been asked to exclude semantically unrelated word out of wordily sequence axe – hammer – saw – log, indigenous people in Brazil, South-East Asia, Africa and Australia were experiencing a particularly hard time – in their eyes, the earlier mentioned sequence made a perfectly good sense as it was (due to what they perceived as these notions’ ‘usefulness’).
The fact that words axe, hammer and saw could be categorized as ‘instruments’, on one hand, and that the word log could be categorized as ‘material’, on another, never even occurred to these people.
Therefore, the fact that the foremost psychological characteristic of non-Whites has traditionally been their strive to ‘blend’ with the environment, rather than opposing it, as it is being the case with most Whites, created objective prerequisites for them to experience particularly hard time, when it comes to gaining proficiency in Western languages that feature a fair amount of abstractizations.
There is even more to the issue. As it was shown by Vanhanen and Lynn (2002, p. 194), the rate of one’s IQ is being predetermined by genetic rather than by environmental factors: “There is a positive correlation between brain size and intelligence so the race difference in brain size suggests a genetic basis for the difference in intelligence…Black infants reared by White middle class adoptive parents in the United States show no improvement in intelligence, contrary to the prediction of environmental theory”.
In its turn, this explains the phenomenon of ‘ebonics’, commonly referred to as ‘Black-English language’, which features an acute absence of even slight traces of an abstract terminology.
Therefore, it will only be logical to conclude that there exists a correlation between the particulars of one’s racial affiliation and his or her likelihood to succeed in becoming bilingual individual, in traditional context of this word. And, although the earlier articulated line of argumentation is being of rather theoretical essence, I believe that it does provide certain insights as to how proper and improper bilingualism-inducing academic techniques may be distinguished from each other.
Learning strategies
As it was suggested in paper’s earlier parts, there are good reasons to believe that the qualitative aspects of people’s physiological and consequentially psychological constitution, do affect their chances of becoming affiliated with bilingualism, as an integral element of their existential mode. Therefore, it will only be logical to hypothesize that, when it comes to designing educational strategies, meant to facilitate students’ proficiency in foreign languages, these aspects must be taken into consideration.
The validity of this suggestion can be well illustrated in regards to the fact that it now became a legitimate practice among teachers, to classify students along the lines of what defines the inner characteristics of their cognitive apparatus, before subjecting them to a particular learning strategy.
According to Carrell and Monroe (1994), the individuals that indulge in liberal studying (e.g. learners of foreign languages), can be categorized as extroverts (sensing, feeling, interacting), on one hand, and as introverts (judging, thinking, abstracting), on another.
The insights, contained in their article, directly relate to the subject of this paper’s discussion, as the successful implementation of two qualitatively different linguistic input-related strategies, which are being commonly referred to as ‘structuralist’ and ‘meaningful’, cannot be ensured without teachers taking into account the specifics of learners’ psychological predisposition.
According to the advocates of structuralist approach to language-teaching, such as Skinner (1957), the process of students attaining proficiency in foreign language is being mainly concerned with memorization. This is the reason why the practitioners of this approach have traditionally been known for their tendency to place a particular emphasis onto drill and repetition, as success-ensuring keys to bilingualism.
Ever since early seventies, however, an entirely new approach to teaching foreign languages was becoming increasingly popular – a so-called ‘meaningful’ one.
According to one of the most prominent advocates of such an approach Dell Hymes (1996, p. 33), in order for students to be able to succeed in memorizing foreign words, they must be seeing them as such that convey an easy-to-recognize social meaning: “The linguistic features that enter into speech styles are not only the ‘referentially-based’ features usually dealt with in linguistics today, but also the ‘stylistic’ features that are complementary to them, and inseparable from them in social communication”.
What it means is that the second language should not be taught to students outside of what they perceive as such language’s practicality.
As it was noted by Baker in earlier quoted book: “We use a language for a specific purpose. Language is a means rather than a structural end. Effective language does not mean grammatical accuracy nor articulate fluency, but the competence lo communicate meaning effectively” (p. 119). Therefore, it comes as not a surprise that both approaches to teaching foreign languages differ rather dramatically in how their practitioners go about reaching their professional objectives.
Whereas; ‘structuralist’ methodology places heavy emphasis onto utilization of audiolingual techniques, as the instrument of increasing the extent of students’ proficiency in second language, the ‘meaningful’ one relies mainly upon the contextual appropriateness of deployed teaching strategies – hence, its strong affiliation with the concept of interactive socialization.
Given the fact that, as we have pointed out earlier, just about all the students can be categorized as introverts and extroverts, it will only be natural to expect the extrovertly-minded ones to be able to benefit from being exposed to specifically ‘meaningful’ method of acquiring linguistic skills in foreign language.
The reason for this is simple – being naturally predisposed towards socialization with others, these students will be much more likely to become bilingual, once they are being provided with an opportunity to practice their newly acquired linguistic skills in the environment where the possession of these skills might prove crucial, in social sense of this word.
Alternatively, students known for their tendency to indulge in social withdrawal, will be more likely to benefit from being provided with an opportunity to study second language in the manner that would allow them to introvertedly reflect upon what they are being taught.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that they may be able to attain a full proficiency in second language, without being required to practice the acquired linguistic skills. This is the reason why, as of today, it is specifically ‘meaningful’ strategies for studying foreign languages that continue to grow increasingly popular with both: teachers and learners.
Apparently, as time goes on, more and more educators become aware of a simple fact that the actual value of just about any language cannot be assessed outside of what represents its utilitarian significance. As Grosjean (1982, p. 8) had put it: “Language does not exist in itself but has a use for the overall behavior which is meaningful in a given culture. Functions of language are universal but the linguistic forms vary across languages and cultures”.
Because, due to the process of Globalization the world becomes increasingly ‘flat’ and ‘borderless’, it does not represent much of a challenge to predict that, in very near future, the ‘meaningful’ language-teaching strategy will probably attain the only legitimate academic status – the dialectically predetermined laws of history created objective preconditions for this to happen.
The role of parental involvement
The discourse, regarding the role that parental involvement plays in the process of children becoming accustomed to the ways of bilingualism, initially revolved around the issue of what can be considered such involvement’s drawbacks.
After all, as it appears from the number of studies, conducted prior to the time when Western societies became subjected to the ideological oppression of political correctness, it is quite inappropriate to think that, given their love towards their children, parents are being simply in no position to undermine the effectiveness of the process of children attaining proficiency in second language.
For example, according to Brown and Hanlon (1970), most immigrant-parents in America tend to pay very little attention to whether their young ones utter English sentences in grammatically and stylistically proper way.
Partially, this can be explained by the fact that these parents themselves possess rather inadequate skills in the language of a host-country. However, there is also another aspect to the problem – as both authors have shown, it represents a commonplace practice among immigrant-parents to be mainly concerned with what their children say, as opposed to being concerned with how they say it.
The idea that parents (especially newly arrived immigrants) appear rather poor equipped, when it comes to providing their children with linguistic guidance, is also being explored by O’Grady (1997, p. 259): “A rarely noted point about parental feedback – direct or indirect, deliberate or incidental – is that it focuses on relatively peripheral, language-particular aspects of the child’s grammar… It is hard to even imagine a situation in which a parent would have the opportunity to provide feedback that would help a child discover the existence of syntactic categories”.
Apparently, the factor of parental love plays rather negative role within the context of children and adolescents growing bilingual, in academic rather than in street-spoken sense of this word.
Nevertheless, as it was shown by Lanza (1997, p. 256) there is a certain beneficence to how even the most indulgent parents address their children’s emerging bilingualism, because by exchanging bilingual remarks with their young ones, parents simultaneously provide them with the insight on what accounts for contextual suitability of language-switching: “The parent who initiates a code-switch with his or her child signals the appropriateness of language mixing and hence socializes the child into code-switching”.
After all, the process of children’s upbringing is not being concerned with parents exercising a strict control over how they react to life’s challenges, but with endowing children with a number of behavioral stereotypes.
The memorized behavior-related information, received from parents, is not simply being stored in child’s brain, but continues to spawn ever-newer forms of tacit knowledge, reflected in child’s apparent ability to understand so much more then he or she could have possibly known from indulging in experiential interaction with surrounding realities.
As the result, children’s ability to extrapolate earlier obtained knowledge onto an unfamiliar ‘strangeness’ allows them to choose in favor of a proper act, while being confronted by formally unknown, but subconsciously recognizable situations.
Thus, parents’ involvement into their children’s bilingual upbringing is best conceptualized as ‘double-sided-medal’: on one hand, such involvement often results in slowing down the pace of children growing bilingually proficient, but on another, it simultaneously results in increasing the extent of children’s bilingual adaptability – whatever the ironically it might sound.
Recommendations, based upon personal experiences
The experiences of becoming bilingual, on the part of some of my immigrant-friends, can be compared to the experiences of an individual, who despite being utterly unaware of how to swim, has nevertheless been thrown into the river and told to whether swim or die. By the time they had found themselves in the midst of English speaking environment, they could barely speak the language at all. Nevertheless, it has only taken them as little as few months to become fully proficient in English.
The reason for this is simple – after having arrived to U.K., they had made a conscious point in trying not to socialize with compatriots from the old country. Therefore, I consider myself being in position to come up with at least three advices as to what will facilitate the process of a particular individual attaining proficiency in second language:
The prolonged social interaction with native-born language carriers – In
order for just about anyone to be able to get a good grip of a foreign language, he or she must never cease being exposed to the contextual aspects of such language’s practical utilization.
This suggestion is being fully consistent with the conceptual essence of a ‘meaningful’ approach to linguistic learning, which emphasizes the crucial importance of establishing provisions for the learners to perceive newly obtained linguistic information as such that interrelate with the very essence of their psychological anxieties.
After all, as psychologists are being well aware of, it is only the emotionally charged experiences, which people tend to memorize the most.
The continuous memorization of words and semantic idioms – No matter
how strongly may a particular person be willing to socialize with language’s native-born carriers, this person not be able to advance too far with becoming an efficient bilingualist, unless he or she is being disciplined enough to apply a continuous effort into expanding its linguistic vocabulary.
By striving to memorize as many words as possible on daily basis, the learner will not only be able to expand its vocabulary, which in itself is the important prerequisite of bilingualism, but also to attune the workings of its cognitive apparatus.
As it was noted by De Groot and Kroll (1997, p. 106): “L2 learning is demanding; individuals with low-working memory capacity may encounter processing failures more frequently than those with high capacity, with the effect that learning is diminished (and with it, perhaps, motivation and commitment)”.
It is fully understandable, of course, that nowadays people are being encouraged to think of the very notion of discipline as necessarily euro-centric, and therefore ‘evil’. One’s endowment with the sense of discipline, however, does not make it less of an asset, especially when the studying of a second language is being concerned.
The stimulation of learner’s sense of aesthetic finesse – As my personal
experiences indicate, people’s endowment with artistic sensitivity (such as one’s love of music), often reflects upon their ability to succeed rather spectacularly in learning second language. And, there is an absolutely rational explanation to this phenomenon.
The so-called Wernicke region in brain’s left hemisphere is responsible for both: decoding the semantic meaning of verbally articulated idioms and defining the subtleties of one’s artistic taste.[7]
Therefore, just as it is being possible for musically gifted individuals to subconsciously spot inconsistency in melody’s timbre or pitch, it is being possible for linguistically gifted individuals to subconsciously sense what will account for contextual, grammatical or stylistic appropriateness/inappropriateness of utilization of a particular word or phrase in representational matrix of a second language.
What it means is there are objective reasons to expect that people’s commitment to indulging in artistic pursuits is going to positively affect their chances of attaining bilingual proficiency.
Conclusion
As it was being hypnotized in the Introduction, there are a number of reasons to think that in very near future, the bilingualism will become the norm of life for just about anyone on this planet. The validity of such an idea is being confirmed by the linear subtleties of historical progress.
Apparently, the issue of bilingualism should not be discussed in terms of being simply a fashionable trend, but rather in terms of being an indication of the fact that, it is only the matter of time, before the conceptual matrix of Western educational practices will undergo a dramatic transformation. Therefore, there can be very little doubt as to the sheer beneficence of acquiring second language, regardless of who happened to be a concerned party.
At the same time, as it appears from an earlier conducted research, the bulk of bilingualism-inducing strategies, currently deployed in Western academic curriculum, are best defined as unnecessarily overcomplicated. In part, this can be explained by the very essence of today’s socio-political and educational discourses, deeply embedded in dogmas of political correctness.
This is exactly the reason why most educators and social scientists that participate in bilingualism-related discourse, deliberately try to avoid mentioning any links between the rate of people’s IQ and their ability to succeed in becoming bilingual. And yet, as it was pointed out earlier, such links do in fact exist. Denying their existence would be the same as denying the fact that Earth revolves around the Sun.
Therefore, it will only be logical to conclude this paper by suggesting that the future research, regarding the same subject matter, should mainly focus on exploring the qualitative nature of people’s predisposition towards acquiring bilingual skills, which often appears being biologically motivated.
I believe that the line of argumentation, utilized throughout the paper, and earlier articulated concluding remarks, are being fully consistent with paper’s initial thesis.
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Footnotes
Antonio Battro, ‘Four digital skills, globalization, and education,” in Globalization: Culture and Education in the New Millennium, eds. Marcelo Suárez-Orozco and Desirée Baolian Qin-Hilliard (Berkeley : University of California Press, 2004), 91
Ohmae Kenichi, Next global stage: Challenges and opportunities in our borderless world (Upper Saddle River: Wharton School Publishing, 2005), 5.
John Isbister, The immigration debate: Remaking America (West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press, 1996), 1.
Robert Gardner, ‘Social psychological perspective on second language acquisition,’ in The Oxford Handbook of Applied Linguistics, ed. Robert Kaplan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 164.
Colin Baker, Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Limited, 2001), 163-169.
Harry Mensh, and Elaine Mensh, The IQ mythology: Class, race, gender, and inequality (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991), 30.
Donald Loritz, How the brain evolved language (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 7.