Multilingualism

Contrary to what is often believed, most of the world's population is bilingual or multilingual. Monolingualism is characteristic only of a minority of the world's peoples. According to figures cited in Stavenhagen (1990) for example, five to eight thousand different ethnic groups reside in approximately 160 nation states. Moreover, scholars estimate that there are over 5000 distinct languages spoken in that same small number of nation states. What is evident from these figures is that few nations are either monolingual or mono-ethnic. Each of the world's nations has groups of individuals living within its borders who use other languages in addition to the national language to function in their everyday lives.

Definitions of Bilingualism and Multilingualism

When people hear the term bilingual many imagine an individual who speaks two languages perfectly. For them someone who is 'truly' bilingual is two native speakers in one. They imagine that such a person can speak, understand, read, and write in two languages at the highest levels. For others, the term bilingual means something quite different. When newly arrived immigrant children entering U.S. schools, for example, are described as 'bilingual children,' the term is often used as a euphemism for 'poor' and 'uneducated'. In this case, newly arrived immigrant children do not yet function in two languages. They are monolingual speakers of their first language and not bilingual at all. The term bilingual here is used to convey a very different set of meanings from what linguists intend.

Defining Multilingualism

The question of how to define bilingualism or multilingualism has engaged researchers for a very long time. Some researchers have favored a narrow definition of bilingualism and argued that only those individuals who are very close to two monolinguals in one should be considered bilingual.
More recently, however, researchers who study bilingual and multilingual communities around the world have argued for a broad definition that views bilingualism as a common human condition that makes it possible for an individual to function, at some level, in more than one language. The key to this very broad and inclusive definition of bilingualism is 'more than one'.
From the perspective of this framework, a bilingual individual is not necessarily an ambilingual (an individual with native competency in two languages) but a bilingual of a specific type who, along with other bilinguals of many different types, can be classified along a continuum. Some bilinguals possess very high levels of proficiency in both languages in the written and the oral modes. Others display varying proficiencies in comprehension and/or speaking skills depending on the immediate area of experience in which they are called upon to use their two languages.
According to this perspective, one admits into the company of bilinguals individuals who can, to whatever degree, comprehend or produce written or spoken utterances in more than one language. Thus, persons able to read in a second language (e.g. French) but unable to function in the spoken language are considered to be bilinguals of a certain type and placed at one end of the continuum. Such persons are said to have receptive competence in a second language and to be 'more bilingual' than monolinguals who have neither receptive nor productive abilities in a language other than their first. The judgment here is comparative: total monolingualism versus a minor degree of ability to comprehend a second language.

Types of Bi- and Multilinguals

Because there are very different kinds of bilinguals and multilinguals, much effort in the study of bilingualism has gone into developing categories which might make the measurement and description of these differences possible. The categories used to describe different types of bilinguals reflect different researchers' interests in focusing on specific aspects of bilingual ability or experience. Researchers concerned about the age of acquisition of bilingualism, for example, classify bilingual individuals as either early or late bilinguals and further subdivide early bilinguals into simultaneous bilinguals (those who acquired two languages simultaneously as a first language) or sequential bilinguals (those who acquired the second language (L2) after the first language (L1) was acquired). Researchers, on the other hand, concerned about the differences between persons who choose to study a second language and those who grow up in communities where several languages are spoken have used the terms elite, academic, and elective bilinguals for the former and natural, folk, and circumstantial bilinguals for the latter.
The usefulness of these labels and categories clearly depends on the specific interest a researcher has in bilingualism. Meaningful comparisons of bilingual persons cannot generally be made unless attention is given to the differences and similarities between these individuals in terms of a number of key dimensions such as age of acquisition of the second language, circumstances in which the two languages are used, patterns of use of the two languages in the surrounding community, level of formal education received in each language, and degrees of proficiency.
by Guadalupe Valdés

Suggested Readings

Appel, R, and P. Muysken. 1987. Language contact and bilingualism. London: Edward Arnold.
Grosjean, F. 1982. Life with two languages. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hamers, J. F., and M. H. A. Blanc. 1989. Bilinguality and bilingualism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Weinreich, U. 1974. Languages in contact. The Hague: Mouton.
Romaine, S. 1989. Bilingualism. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

http://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/multilingualism
 

Bilinguals Have Better College Outcomes, Labor Advantages: New Study(by Griselda Nevarez)

Children of immigrants who can speak, read and write in both English and the language

spoken at home have an advantage in the labor market, a new report released Tuesday 

finds. 

The report by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA and the Educational Testing Service, 

a nonprofit testing organization, shows that individuals with immigrant backgrounds 

who only speak English and don't retain the language spoken at home lose 

between $2,000 and $5,000 annually. 

In contrast, those with immigrant backgrounds who know both English and the 

language spoken at home—also known as "balanced bilinguals"—are more likely 

to earn more money than those who only speak English. They are also more likely 

to graduate from high school, go on to college, enter higher status occupations and 

have more social networks. 

"Being able to speak another language and being able to communicate with folks 

across cultural borders turns out to be very important in our modern world," 

Patricia Gándara, the report's author, said during a webinar Tuesday. 

Gándara, who's also a research professor and co-director of the Civil Rights Project 

at UCLA, pointed out that Latinos who speak both Spanish and English go to 

four-year-year colleges at higher rates. 

She called this "an extraordinary finding that we really need to pay attention to" 

given that Latinos are among those with low rates of college completion, and that

many Latinos go to two-year colleges but don't transfer to universities to continue their education. 

"The fact that these Spanish-speaking bilinguals, biliterates, go to four-year-colleges 

at higher rates has tremendously important policy implications," Gándara said. 

The report draws upon data sets and studies that follow children of immigrants into their

late 20's and early 30's and who are entering the labor market. 

It comes as schools across the country have policies in place that mandate 

English-only instruction for English language learners, which includes providing 

them a transitional bilingual education to help them along the way. 

"We certainly have not been dedicating very much attention to helping them to maintain 

languages that they bring from home, and it turns out that that's not where the payoff is," 

Gándara said, referring to English language learners. "It's true that it's important to 

speak English, but maintaining immigrant languages gives them an extra leg up." 

Gándara said she decided to conduct the research because there was accumulating 

evidence that there were a lot of benefits to bilingualism. But she wanted to go a step 

further and see if there's a labor market advantage to being bilingual in the U.S. 

She initially found that economists had agreed over time that there is no income 

advantage for bilinguals in the U.S. labor market. Instead, they found that bilinguals 

earn less than those who only speak English in similar jobs. 

For Gándara, this did not make any sense. She questioned why then were there so 

many parents wanting to enroll their children into dual-language or bilingual schools if 

there weren't any advantages to being bilingual. 

"We were not convinced that this was the case, particularly for these young people 

who are either holding on to their immigrant languages or trying to recover their 

heritage languages, so we set out to determine if this is really true," Gándara said. 

She poured through study after study, including some from outside the U.S., and 

concluded that being bilingual does result in increased earnings and better educational 

outcomes. She also concluded that the previous studies that found there's no 

advantage for bilinguals based their findings on census data instead of literacy data. 

Gabriela Uro, director for English language learner policy and research for the 

Council of the Great City Schools in Washington, D.C., said during Tuesday's 

webinar that this research will be "very helpful" for educators and individuals who 

administer programs for English language learners. 

"I think the importance for me about this research is going to be disseminating it 

to the educational leaders and actually having them process it and digest it and 

understand what it means," Uro said.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/bilinguals-have-better-college-outcomes-labor-advantages-n444046

Speaking in a Monolingual Classroom

Speaking in the monolingual classroom

18 September 2013 by Oxford University Press ELT10 Comments

Mike Boyle has taught English to adult learners in Japan and the United States, and is now a materials writer in New York City. He is the co-author of the Starter level of American English File Second Edition. In this article, he shares his thoughts on creating effective speaking activities for monolingual classes.
We often hear that people who have a lot in common tend to have the best conversations. But if you teach a class of learners who all have the same native language and all live in the same town – and maybe even work at the same company – you’ve probably noticed that this isn’t always true.
While some monolingual classrooms are vibrant, chatty places, others can be quiet and awkward. Here are a few of the main reasons why this can happen and some ways to address the problem.
“We’re all the same, so there’s nothing to talk about.”
This is a common feeling among learners in monolingual classes. Unfortunately, some teaching materials worsen this problem with questions that assume an international classroom, for example, “What’s the most popular festival in your country?”
For a speaking activity to succeed, learners need to feel that they are saying something truly interesting that their partner doesn’t already know. In monolingual classes, this means choosing, writing, or adapting speaking activities so they are local, personal, or elicit differences. For example, the ineffective question above could be changed to:

• What do you like about the New Year holiday? What don’t you like?
• What’s your favorite holiday? Why? Is there a holiday you dislike? Why?
• How does your family celebrate the New Year? Do you have any unusual traditions?

“I can’t explain it in English. Why can’t I just use my own language?”
This often happens when learners feel they have something interesting to say but lack the words to express their ideas, or don’t know how to pronounce them.
Before you set up a speaking activity, make sure students have the language they need to do it successfully and – just as importantly – feel confident with the pronunciation of that language. You could start by building up a list of relevant language on the board, for example, and practicing the pronunciation. (The Vocabulary Bank in American English File Second Edition is also a great reference for students to have nearby as they speak).
Also, it’s important to pre-teach not only topic-related vocabulary but also expressions for things like deciding whose turn it is, politely disagreeing, building consensus, adding a related point, and of course, describing something when you don’t know the word for it.
“It’s embarrassing to speak English with my peers.”
All learners need to overcome their fear of mistakes in order to succeed. This fear is often greater for learners in monolingual classrooms, perhaps because their speaking partner might be their friend, neighbor, or work colleague.
It’s essential to help students get over their fears and get them talking. Remind them that the only way they will ever learn to speak with fluency is through practice. It’s like learning to drive. You need hours of practice before you can drive confidently. If students are learning English in their own country, probably the only place where they can get effective face-to-face oral practice is in the classroom.
In addition, there are things teachers can do that will lessen the fear of making mistakes in any classroom, whether it is monolingual or multicultural. Let your learners know that the main goal of speaking activities is to build fluency and confidence rather than develop accuracy. Avoid correcting mistakes during speaking exercises unless communication completely breaks down and students need help getting the conversation started again. If a number of students are making the same sort of error, you might want to address that later, after the activity is over, without saying which people made the error.

Reference:
http://oupeltglobalblog.com/2013/09/18/speaking-in-the-monolingual-classroom/

Monolingualism: Definition

 

 

Monoligualism

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Monoglottism ("alone, solitary", "tongue, language") or, more commonly, monolingualism or unilingualism, is the condition of being able to speak only a single language, as compared to multilingualism. In a different context, "unilingualism" may refer to a language policy which enforces an official or national language over others.
Being monolingual or unilingual is also said of a text, dictionary, or conversation written or conducted in only one language, and of an entity in which a single language is either used or officially recognized (in particular when being compared with bilingual or multilingual entities or in the presence of individuals speaking different languages). Note that monoglottism can only refer to lacking the ability to speak several languages. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population.
Romaine (1995) pointed out in her book Bilingualism that it would be weird to find a book titled Monolingualism. This statement reflects the traditional assumption that linguistic theories often take on: that monolingualism is the norm. Monolingualism is thus rarely the subject of scholarly publications, as it is viewed to be an unmarked or prototypical concept where it has the sense of being normal and multilingualism is the exception.
The assumption of normative monolingualism is also often the view of monolinguals who speak a global language, like the English language. Crystal (1987) said that this assumption is adopted by many in Western society. One explanation is provided by Edwards, who in 2004 claimed that evidence of the "monolingual mindset" can be traced back to 19th century Europe, when the nation was rising and a dominant group had control, and European mindsets on language were carried forth to its colonies, further perpetuating the monolingual mindset.
Another explanation is that the nations who speak the English language are both “the producers and beneficiaries of English as a global language” and the populations within these countries tend to be monolingual.