* Language

Parvaneh Farid
http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/
writes to
Naomi Flynn
May 2007

“The day is approaching when all the peoples of the world will have adopted one universal language and one common script. When this is achieved, to whatsoever city a man may journey, it shall be as if he were entering his own home.” (Bahá'u'lláh 1952)

Dear Naomi,
The subject of bilingualism is an important one, and I am glad that you are doing your research on this subject.
Deprivation from early verbal stimulation: Bilingual children are often from families who are separated from their extended families. To my observation, such young children, although very intelligent, are often behind their normal age of verbal communication skill. The parents of such children are usually overloaded with responsibilities and the focus of their attention is on adjusting themselves to the culture of the hosting community. Such parents are often more occupied with their children’s academic development later in life rather than allocating quality time to storytelling and having playful chit chat when their children are young. Furthermore, the grandparents who usually spend time with their grandchildren are also often absent from the scene of the immigrants’ lives. Such children, therefore, are often deprived of early childhood verbal stimulation, which is essential for the development of their language skill, and that deprivation could even affect their mother tongue.
Emotional & Social Problems: Entering school, some bilingual children find themselves amongst a group of peers who are much more articulate than they are. Having weak verbal communicational skill in the first place, they now have to deal with a second language in an environment that could be unsympathetic at times; not to forget the racial and cultural dilemma that they might have to cope with at the same time. These together with inadequate life experience and social skills create a shocking atmosphere for them that make learning any language difficult.
Language difficulties, including accents, could result in emotional and social problems. Even as adults, we experience that the first sign of an emotional turmoil manifests itself in our voices, and under pressure we usually regress to our old habits and techniques; as a singer, I am well aware of that problem.
Accents, Race & Nationality: I have also experienced that people’s judgments are based far more on the type of accent that one may have than what one has to say, think or believe. Many people are in the habit of switching off as soon as they hear a foreign accent, and they try to guess what one is saying. Hence their assumptions are usually based on the stereotypical beliefs they may hold.
• “Weaknesses in research may support a deficit model of cultural and linguistic difference; both of teachers and of children.
• Is it the case that the research identifying the problems for white western children show the teacher as the problem, while those focusing on non-white children or those from impoverished states show the child as the problem?
• To what extent does cultural and social capital affect the mind set of the researcher and that of the reader?” (Flynn 2007)
These are very interesting and worthwhile questions that you are asking in your research. In my experience as an immigrant, there are two types of foreigners/immigrants in this country, “Wanted” and “Unwanted”, and they are usually classified according to their accent, race, nationality and religion. These types of social preference are deeply influenced by the media, education system and sometimes families and friends.
Contacts: I have spoken with a friend of mine, Veena Spratt, who is a bilingual teaching assistant at a school in Southampton. She has agreed that I could pass on her e-mail address to you, if you wish to make contact. I also have some bilingual friends of different nationalities with young families that you may wish to interview. Please let me know if that is the case. Here I attach the paper that Veena has shared with the local Media at their meeting with Cultural Diversity Advisory Group to the Media (CDAGM):
BILINGUALISM: Today’s Britain is very different from what it was 50-60 years ago. Modern Britain is a multicultural, multiethnic and a multilingual society. According to the Commission for Race Equality “56 million people, over 300 languages and at least 14 faiths make us what we are today.” After the Second World War, there was a shortage of labour in the U.K. To build its shattered economy, people from various common wealth countries were imported to help in this task. Many left their homes and families in search of better prospects and came here. With them they brought their experiences, skills, culture and their own languages.
Over the years, these immigrants acquired enough knowledge of English to get by. Their children grew up in two cultures and two languages but with poor self-esteem and low confidence because of the discrimination and negative attitudes they encountered. Identity crisis was another thing they had to struggle with. All this was because the society didn’t value their culture or language and inheritance. I see this every day in my job as a bilingual assistant in council schools where I have been working for the past 6 yrs. Through my experience here, I have realized that children from ethnic minorities are not able to perform well because of their shyness about themselves, lack of confidence, and fear that they are not as good as their white peers. This affects their forming relationships with their schoolmates. Some of them dread the dinnertime when they have to leave the classroom in pairs. They are affected by the value others put on the way they speak or dress. Children begin to form attitudes towards themselves and others from what they see or hear around them, from their families, their friends, from books and the media. Many of the minority ethnic people are refugees and asylum seekers with little or no formal education. Many of them lacked opportunities in their own countries and struggle to settle here. They hardly have any role models in powerful positions to emulate in this country.
Bilingualism is a very important skill especially in today’s growing world of trade and tourism, international relations and social inclusion. There is enough evidence to show that promoting languages other than the majority language at school helps develop not only these languages but also children’s ability in the majority language Bilingualism has positive effect on intellectual development and better family and community ties as well as understanding.
According to research done by the Welsh Language Board children who speak two languages are more versatile and creative in their thinking.
All of the above puts a great responsibility on people like the media and us who have the power to change people’s thinking and perceptions by conveying positive images of the minority ethnic people from various countries. This will go a long way in building their self-esteem and regaining their confidence in themselves and in the society their parents or grandparents helped build with their sweat and hard work. It is 21st century and it is time to bridge this gap, which has existed over the centuries. After all, the English and other Europeans built these negative images during their colonization of the countries around the world. Let us put the record straight--no more hidden messages to be conveyed to the children. This will also stop white children, who may be growing up with negative attitudes, from acquiring views based on unacceptable stereotypes. They need to be shown alternate ways of thinking and behaving.
Through mass media like T.V., newspapers and the radio, positive images and messages about ethnic minorities can be transmitted to millions of people across the world. This will be a major investment for future racial harmony and for the development of a confident and well-informed society” (Spratt 2006)
Suggestion: One of the principles of the Bahá’í faith suggests choosing or inventing one international language and script to be taught at all schools across the world beside their native ones.
“A universal language would make intercourse possible with every nation. Thus it would be needful to know two languages only, the mother tongue and the universal speech. The latter would enable a man to communicate with any and every man in the world!” (`Abdu'l-Bahá 2006)
To be continued: Body language
`Abdu'l-Bahá (2006) Paris Talks, Audio-book, Southampton, L’Atelier Papillon
Bahá'u'lláh (1952) Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, Wilmette USA, Bahá’í Publishing Trust
Flynn, Naomi (2007) A critical and reflective analysis of a reading that has influenced the development of my research, Winchester, University of Winchester
Spratt, Veena (2006) Bilingualism, Southampton, CDAGM

Naomi Writes Back: Thank you for your very helpful comments and questions Robina, and my apologies for taking so long to respond. To take your questions in order:
TEFL is still used as the acronym for teaching English as a foreign language to adults. I have no idea why there are two different ways of perceiving the process which are dependent on age; perhaps it is because children are more likely to speak English with full bilingual facility and that this is seen as different?
Assessment literate refers to teachers who know how to embed assessment in to their practice as part of both planning and delivery. QCA are the organization that produce curriculum and testing materials for the state sector in England and Wales.
Scaffolded is a term common with teachers and comes from the work of Vygotsky and Bruner. It refers to what a teacher does in order to support children's learning when developing new concepts. For example the way that the teacher might model an activity to make its purpose clear, provision of supporting resources and the quality of the teacher's explanation are all parts of the scaffold.
To respond to your discussion points:
I think your observation is no doubt true, and that provision for EAL in Iceland is not a common expectation of teachers. In many ways this draws me to it all the more, because that is the common perception (although erroneous) of teachers in Hampshire schools. We are very lucky to have an Icelandic woman with us in the faculty studying for her MA at the moment; your question reminds me that I should have this very conversation with her.
I think there are probably some ethical considerations to take in to account for Kelli, which her mother may well have overlooked. It must certainly have created a slightly odd mother-daughter relationship. I guess that the mother felt qualified to research her own daughter as a case study simply because she is an academic; my own daughters would be quite horrified by the idea should I try the same! As far as I know there is no follow up study, but you are right that it would be interesting to know. I imagine that Kelli is in her mid teens now.
I am quite sure that there must be some relationship between how welcome new Poles feel in this country and the fact that there is already a long established Polish community. I am trying to pursue this question with local Polish community leaders at the moment because I think it so pertinent to the study. You are probably right to hypothesie that this will have a positive effect on the children's potential for settling and learning their new language quickly. Early interviews with teachers show a very positive response to the children overall, and a view of their parents as very supportive and highly motivated for their children.
Accent is an interesting thing isn't it. I suppose one could argue that accents are becoming less diverse as the population is more mobile? It has been interesting for me as a relative new arrival to Hampshire to note how few people I meet speak with the Hampshire accent. I find that quite depressing as it signifies a loss of something so closely bound up with identity.