Learning languages

What does being bilingual mean?

*A bilingual person is anyone who has a minimal competence in

another language which is not the mother tongue

*An individual phenomenon which can extend from a minimal scope

to a total comprehension of a language

Demistifying old myths regarding bilingualism

Bilingualism comprises multilinguism (contact with more than two languages)

Present everyday

Enriching: It gives a relativist view of languages and cultures

Constantly changing as a consequence of cultural, political, migratory movement

Sociolinguistic aspects which determine the use of a language

Economic factors determine the use of a language

Feelings and attitudes towards the use of the mother tongue or the foreign language. Does it help the person to make progress?

Government´s decision to consider a language as official

Types of bilinguism Individual: Essential mode but needs to reach the other

types to be socially relevant Institutional: development of bilinguism in the primary,

secondary and college stages Functional: Spontaneous linguistic uses in social and

economic relationships in the communities

According to a binary typology1. BY CHOICE VS BY CIRCUMSTANCE

2. ADDITIVE VS SUBTRACTIVE

3. ACTIVE VS PASSIVE

4. COORDINATED VS COMPOUND

BY CHOICE + ADDITIVE1. PEOPLE CHOOSE TO BECOME BILINGUAL

BY TAKING FORMAL PRIVATE LESSONS.2. IN THEIR SOCIETY THE MAJORITY SPEAKS

THEIR MOTHER TONGUE.3. THEY CAN ADD ANOTHER LANGUAGE TO

THEIR GENERAL LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE

BY CIRCUMSTANCE AND SUBTRACTIVE1. PEOPLE HAVE TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE

TO SURVIVE.2. THEIR MOTHER TONGUE IS NOT ENOUGH TO

MEET THE COMMUNICATIVE NEEDS, IT IS NOT OFFICIAL OR PRESTIGIOUS.

3. THE ACQUISITION OF THIS SECOND LANGUAGEIMPLIES THE LOSS OF THE MOTHER TONGUE

ACTIVE*THE PERSON CAN UNDERSTAND

AS WELL AS EXPRESS HIM/HERSELF

PASSIVE*THE PERSON CAN UNDERSTAND

BUT CAN´T EXPRESS HIM/HERSELF

COORDINATED BILINGUISM*THE PERSON HAS TWO DIFFERENT

LINGUISTIC SYSTEMS SEPARATED IN THEIR MIND.

*USUALLY LANGUAGES ARE LEARNTIN DIFFERENT STAGES

COMPOUND BILINGUISM*THE PERSON IS REALLY COMPETENT

IN BOTH LANGUAGES AND THE COMMUNICATIVE SITUATIONS ALLOW

THEM TO USE ONE OR THE OTHERINDISTINCTLY

*THEY TEND TO BE FLUENT IN BOTH LANGUAGES BUT BECAUSE THE LEARNING

PROCESS WAS MIXED AND CONFUSINGTHEY CAN´T HANDLE EITHER OF THEM

DEEPLY

OTHER IMPORTANT BYNARY DIFFERENCES5. EARLY VS LATE6.SIMULTANEOUS VS CONSECUTIVE7.BY CIRCUMNSTANCE INCIPIENT VS FUNCTIONAL8.HORIZONTAL VS VERTICAL VS DIAGONAL

EARLY*LANGUAGES ARE BOTH ACQUIRED

DURING CHILDHOOD AND THE PEOPLEHAVE ONLY ONE BRAIN REGION, CALLED

BROCCA AREA CONNECTED WITH THEBASIC LINGUISTIC FUNCTIONS

LATE*THE PEOPLE LEARNED THEIR NATIVE

LANGUAGE WHEN THEY WERE CHILDREN AND LEARNED A SECOND

LANGUAGE WHEN THEY WERE ADULTSTHERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT BRAIN

AREAS WITH A CLEAR CUT BETWEEN THEM

SIMULTANEOUS*CHILDREN WHO DEVELOP TWO

LANGUAGES SINCE THEY ARE VERY LITTLEIN AN INFORMAL AND UNINTENTIONAL

WAY.

CONSECUTIVE*THE CHILD ACQUIRES THE SECONDLANGUAGE IN HIS CHILDHOOD BUT

AFTER HE HAS ACQUIRED THE LINGUISTICBASES OF HIS MOTHER TONGUE.

INCIPIENT*THE PERIOD DURING WHICH A PERSON

ACUIRES THE NEW LANGUAGE.

INCIPIENT*THIS IS THE STAGE WHEN THE LANGUAGE

HAS BEEN ACQUIRED AND THERE MIGHTBE MANY FOSSILIZED ELEMENTS

OR A KIND OF DIALECT

HORIZONTAL*WHEN THERE ARE

TWO OFFICIAL LANGUAGES WITH THE SAME

CULTURAL AND FAMILYSTATUS

VERTICAL* IMPLIES THE USE OF AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE AND

A DIALECT.

DIAGONAL*INVOLVES THE USE OF A

DIALECT OR NON-OFFICIAL LANGUAGE TOGETHER WITH AN

OFFICIAL ONE.

VS

MULTICULTURALITY

SOCIAL PHENOMENON

REFERS TO THE EXISTENCEOF MANY CULTURES IN A

GEOPOLITICAL SPACE

MULTICULTURALISM:INITIATES INTERRELATION, EXCHANGEAND FOSTERS ACKNLODGEMENT OFTHE EXISTENCE OF “THE OTHERS”

TRANSCULTURALISM IS THE COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH

TOWARDS “THE OTHER”

MULTICULTURAL BILINGUAL EDUCATION FOSTERS SOCIO-CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND THE

PROCESS THROUGH WHICH WE BUILDOUR IDENTITY IN A RESPECTFUL AND TOLERANT WAY