Questions for Dr. Kang:
How do you recommend that we
encourage parents to be involved in their student’s bilingualism?
Do you have any personal
experience similar to the research in your study that would help us further
expand on the significance of parental involvement?
I found this study to be eye
opening because sometimes I forget about the importance of parental involvement
in bilingualism. For example, I am a bilingual tutor to a 6-year-old boy and I
have not really thought about what his use of language is like at home because
I have not been able to interact with his family. I have only worked with him
for a short time, but this will undoubtedly affect how I direct my teaching for
him. I wonder what language is prominent in his home and how much his parents
are invested in his bilingualism? I realized that I have caught myself assuming
that he is easily developing Spanish with his family, but that may not be the
case! This is yet another reminder that assumptions can be detrimental to
teaching and I should always consider all aspects that may factor into a
student’s language acquisition.
However, regarding this
family language policy, how will I be able to figure this out for students? It
may be difficult to know how language is acted upon at home and it could easily
vary for every child. In this study by Dr. Kang, these policies were clear
because they were elicited from the research, but I will not have this specific
information as a teacher.
On a side note, it is nice
to know that English can be acquired even if the children’s parents do not
speak it. It makes me feel like we are making a difference as teachers and we
can provide a support system for children to practice their English if they
cannot at home. But at the same time, it also saddened me to realize that the
languages of the immigrants, such as Korean, could be lost without parental
involvement or use. I believe holding onto and appreciating the different
components of your culture is so important and it would be sad for a child to
miss out on that.
Moving onto “A Step Away
From Heaven,” I really enjoyed this book and it gave me insight into Korean
immigrant culture. The story did a great job of displaying the struggle of
transitioning and assimilating into America. As we saw earlier with identity narratives, many of them
focused on the success of their immigration, but there are many sad realities
that they face. It can be an extremely complicated experience to acquire a
second language, maintain the native language, and figure out your cultural
identity throughout this process. As Dr. Kang’s article explained, the support
of parents for their children’s bilingualism is extremely important, and it was
clear that Young Ju was lacking this support. This may be an impacting factor
of why she could not read or write in Korean because she was much more
surrounded by English. When Young Ju initially began school, she had difficulty
understanding and communicating with her peers in English, but she also
struggled with cultural issues and how they affected her family life. I found
some of these quotes to be interesting representations of her difficulties
between her American and Korean identity: (**I read this on my Kindle, so I do
not have access to the page numbers.)
-“I inch away from Uhmma,
pretend I am not that woman’s daughter. Not a poor Oriental who saves pennies
like gold.”
-“You, Apa shouts and hits the side of my head with his knuckles,
will never question me.”
-“Your life can be
different, Young Ju. Study and be strong. In America, women have choices.”
-“I pick up several boxes
near the front door with Korean words scribbled on the sides and take them to
Uhmma for deciphering. A few of the characters look familiar, but I never
learned to read or write Korean.” (This connects with the fact that children of
immigrants may not achieve proficiency in their parent’s language, especially
in reading or writing.)
-“I do not understand why I have
to speak Korean at home so I will not forget where I come from.”
-“You are becoming too
American. That girl is worthless, Apa says.” (Apa’s disapproval and resistance
of assimilating into the American culture.)
I found both of these texts
to be extremely interesting and applicable to my future as a teacher!
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