Case Study on Being Bilingual in America

2226 Words9 Pages
Case Study on Being Bilingual in America The participant was my daughter, Amy. As soon as she arrived in Hawaii, USA, from Mainland China in July 1998, I began observing how she reacted to the new environment and how she adjusted to it. Over a five-month period (July-November, 1998) I kept a journal of what she did (about 35,000 words either in English or in Chinese), sometimes on the spot and sometimes upon recollection, and tape-recorded the conversations between us on three tapes. Amy was 12 when she came to Hawaii. She had finished fifth grade with a limited English vocabulary, which included pronouns, names of the seven days of a week, and the four seasons, etc. She had some idea of “be+noun/ adjective,” and the simple present and simple past tenses. But they had never become automatic in her linguistic production. When the study began, she just registered as a sixth grader in a local public school in Honolulu. Since it was the first time she had ever been abroad, I witnessed how she was excited by the new environment, shocked by the new culture, and struggled to learn the new language. I also noticed how her first language (Chinese) and second language (English) interacted with and promoted each other in her daily life and academic study. Some daily happenings and utterances between us were related to purposeful language practice and some were simply every day occurrences in natural settings of transition to a new culture… The second day after Amy got to Honolulu, we went shopping in a supermarket. Curious about the names and products on the shelves, she asked me a lot of questions in Chinese in a somewhat childish loud voice that drew some glances from other customers. I asked her to be quiet and she didn’t ask any ... ... middle of paper ... ...gual families. In F. Genesee (Ed.), Educating second language children: The whole child, the whole curriculum, the whole community (pp.61- 81). New York: Cambridge University Press. Hudelson, S. (1994). Literacy development of second language children. In F. Genesee (Ed.), Educating second language children (pp.129-158). New York: Cambridge University Press. Met, M. (1994). Teaching content through a second language. In F. Genesee (Ed.), Educating second language children (pp. 159-182). New York: Cambridge University Press. Toman, W. (1993). Family constellation. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Thomas, W. P., & Collier, V. (1997). School effectiveness for language minority students. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. Verhoeven, L. (1987). Ethnic minority children acquiring literacy. Providence: Foris Publications USA Inc.
Get Access
Related

  • The Importance Of Teaching English As A Foreign Language

    861 Words  | 4 Pages

    Teacher Learning in Language Teaching.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Green, T. F. (1971). The activities of teaching. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Hsieh, H. (2002).

    Read More

  • Vocabulary Learning

    1900 Words  | 8 Pages

    New York: Newbury House. Richards, J.C., & Lockhart, C. (1996). Reflective teaching in second language classrooms. New York: Cambridge University Press. Schmitt, N. (2000) Vocabulary in Language Teaching.

    Read More

  • In What Ways Has Each of your Identities Contributed to How You View Yourself?

    952 Words  | 4 Pages

    One child, two languages: A guide for early childhood educators of children learning English as a second language (2nd ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company. U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2003). Language Use and English-speaking Ability: Census 2000 Brief.

    Read More

  • The Presentation of Native Americans In Children's Literature

    1605 Words  | 7 Pages

    Works Cited: Burns, Paul C.,Roe, Betty D., and Ross, Elinor P. (1992). Teaching Reading in Todays Elementary Schools. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Gage, N.L. , Berliner, David C. (1992).

    Read More

  • An Early Start to Foreign Language Learning

    2154 Words  | 9 Pages

    “Schools Try Elementary Approach To Teaching Foreign Languages.” Washington Post 8 Aug. 2006. Print. Marcos, Kathleen. Why, How, and When Should My Child Learn a Second Language? Kids Source, 26 July 2000.

    Read More

  • Teaching Comprehension in the Elementary Years: Annotated Bibliography

    2195 Words  | 9 Pages

    Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade: A Practice Guide. National Center for Education Evaluation and Reginal Assistance Institute. Washington, DC: Whatworks.ed.gov/publications/practice guides. Tyner, B. From Small Group Reading Instruction: A Differentiated Teaching Model for Beginning and Struggling Readers (Second Edition ed ed.).

    Read More

  • Teaching is Not All About Subject Matter

    1157 Words  | 5 Pages

    Cameron, Lynne. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harmer, Jeremy.

    Read More

  • English Language Learners: Families and Schools

    1109 Words  | 5 Pages

    Knowledge, power, and identity in teaching English as a second language: Educating second language children. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Leighton, M. S., Hightower, A. M., & Wrigley, P. (1995). Funds of knowledge for teaching [Electronic version]. In Model strategies in bilingual education: Professional development.

    Read More

  • Multicultural Education

    1578 Words  | 7 Pages

    Norton, D.E. “Language and Cognitive Development Through Multicultural Literature.” Childhood Education 1985: 62. Phillips, C.B. “Nurturing Diversity For Today’s Children and Tomorrow’s Leaders.” Young Children 1988: 2, 43. Welton, David A.

    Read More

  • Listening Skills Assessment

    608 Words  | 3 Pages

    Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices. New York: Pearson Education. Brown, J.D. (1996). Testing in Language Programs.

    Read More

More about Case Study on Being Bilingual in America

Get Access