Comments on: On being interviewed.

By: Solnushka

Solnushka — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:02:21 +0000

Thanks! That’s a very encouraging sort of comment, and very welcome as I am trying to write an essay on the qualities of a good teacher at this very moment.

I am tempted to pinch that thought wholesale.

Of course, the other explanation is that we teachers are all in it for the power trip…

By: Oscarandre

Oscarandre — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 22:36:17 +0000

I’m glad you are a teacher - a good teacher teaches far more than their curriculum. What kids need in front of them is interesting, balanced, engaged and humorous people - the rest is easy. I suspect you are all these things and that your students are glad to have you in their lives. Oh, and congratulations for taking on such a difficult job!

By: Solnushka

Solnushka — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 05:52:46 +0000

The thing about bilingualism, I gather, is that it is true that bilingual kids’ language skills develop at a slightly slower pace to monoligual kids. So at, say, age five, they are slightly behind where the ‘normal’ bell curve wants to put them.

They also often go through a phase where they get the two language mixed up and burble along in a hybrid mixture.

Now this doesn’t worry me too much as I am also informed that it is just a phase and they separate out the langauages eventually and gain ground on the monolinguals.

The main problem there is that there seems to be a bit of a trend among educators, health and social worker type people to panic and put pressure on the parents to drop the other language when this happens in the UK at the moment. Still, it would be a good excuse for an argument, so…

What I am a bit concerned about, though, is that over the last few years we’ve had a goodly proportion of bilingual people on the course. And a goodly proportion of them are only operating at about 90 per cent in English.

I can’t quite put my finger on it - there’s a research project there for sure - but it’s something to do with a lack of the full range you’d expect from a native speaker.

Of course, I don’t know what their other language is like. Perhaps they are 100 per cent in that. Perhaps true bilingualism is very rare and one language usually takes precedence.

But perhaps some people never do catch up in either language? And the horror of not being able to make one language at least sit up and beg makes me break out in a cold sweat at night.

Luckily this is not everyone. Although I’d say it’s about half.

But anyway, I have a plan. Forcefeeding the child words and sending them to extra language classes in both languages is my current preferred line of attack.

This is all rather vauge and un focused thinking, mind you. I’m willing to be convinced…

By: healingmagichands

healingmagichands — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:56:46 +0000

A year? Well, then, you will have to help pick stuff out of the vegetable garden.

By: May

May — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:16:02 +0000

I’m bilingual, and I turned out wonderful… No, wait, considering my answers to Aphra’s interview, I don’t think I come across as the bilingual poster-child at all. But I don’t think it was learning two languages at once that did it.

Ahh. You are a teacher the way I am a librarian. Whether we like it or not, against our will, against our reason, and even against our character (to quote Jane Austen, which I tend to do on almost no provocation at all. Sorry).

*Joins in with pointing at pale watery english tomatoes and weeping at the memory of proper ones*

By: Solnushka

Solnushka — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 06:37:00 +0000

Ever pleased to burble about myself, Aphra. Good questions.

You may live to regret that one day, hmh. Particularly as I am reluctant to subject myself to the horrors of travel for anything less than a year…

By: healingmagichands

healingmagichands — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 22:50:38 +0000

Sol, if you ever want to rummage around North America, we live sort of in the middle and you could stay in our guest quarters for a while if you wanted to. I make pretty good rye bread, too. . .

Loved your answers.

By: Aphra Behn

Aphra Behn — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:14:00 +0000

I am so glad you asked me to have a go at you. All those questions I was too polite to ask but sufficiently nosy enough to want to!

>> Anecdotal evidence says it can really screw the child up.

Ha! The main reason I am disappointed not to have children is the lack of legitimate access to other peoples’ formative years.

Aphra.