Diferentes concepciones sobre el bilinguismo

In this session we want to emphasis on a general concept of bilingualism, one of the advantages this involves and the importance of the bilingualism program in Colombia.

According to E. Haugen (1953) quoted in the bilingual family: a handbook for parents, bilingualism is “understood…to begin at the point where the speaker of one language can produce complete, meaningful utterances in other language.” (1) In other words this phenomenon occurs when a person can speak and understand easily two languages.

At the beginning of this process (learning a foreign language), it is not important to take care about details but in communication especially and thanks to this is when we think about the consequences or the advantages of be bilingual.  

Some people believe that learning more than one language when you’re a kid at the same time, make some interference in the mother tongue but actually there are some researches which show the opposite.

“First, many linguists feel that knowing a second language actually benefits a child's cognitive development. Second, if the child comes from a family that has recently immigrated to the U.S., the family may speak a language other than English at home and may still have strong ties to their ethnic roots. In this case, being able to speak the language of the family's ethnic heritage may be important for the child's sense of cultural identity. To be unable to speak the family's language could make a child feel like an outsider within his or her own family; speaking the family's language gives the child a sense of identity and belonging. Third, in an increasingly global marketplace, it's an advantage for anyone to know more than one language — regardless of whether one's family is new to the U.S. And finally, for people of any age or profession, knowing a second language encourages cross-cultural awareness and understanding” (2)

In outline, it is necessary to make conscious in the cultural aspects as well as the language establishing some concepts about identity.

In the other hand, we have our Colombian context in which it was made a program to improve the process of learning a language and we would like to share the latter agreement in pro of the improvement “the bilingual Colombian programme has been planned for the period 2004 to 2019 with the purpose of improving the quality of English language teaching at all educational levels. The goal is that by 2010 students should have a B1 or pre-intermediate level and teachers a minimum of B2. By 2019, the students’ school-exit level should be B2 or intermediate and their teachers should be at least in B2. 

Two phases have been proposed for the Programme. By the end of the first one, that is to say 2010, secondary school students should have a basic domain of English and those of higher education, a higher one. In the second phase,  the full development of bilingualism in the country is expected. To see this, emphasis will be placed on the teaching of English from preschool. In view of what has been defined for the two phases of the programme, the preparation of qualified English teachers has been set out as a priority in the first phase. 

The following table shows the levels expected in the target populations the Program has selected: 

Population Level expected in 2019 

Teachers of English in levels 1-11 B2 

Primary teachers and teachers of other areas A2 

Students who finish high school (11th grade) B2 

Graduate language teachers  B2-C1 

Students who finish higher education  B2 

Levels expected in the target populations of the BCP. 

As far as non-formal education, actions  have been planned to establish regulations for language programmes run by different institutes.  Furthermore, in order to attain the stated goals, three actions have been prioritised: the definition of standards, examinations, and teacher preparation.” (3)

Bibliography

 (1) Harding, E., Riley P. (2003). The bilingual family: a handbook for parents.Cambridge. From:http://books.google.com.co/books?id=RIEWokOcj6kC&dq=bilingual+family&hl=es&source=gbs_navlinks_s

(2) Birner, Betty. Bilingualism. From: http://www.lsadc.org/info/pdf_files/Bilingual.pdf

(3) http://www.englishaustralia.com.au