Bilingualism: themes, problems, strategies - by Paola Dieci

This was presented by Paola Dieci at La Scuola's parent education series on growing up bilingual.

Transcript

1. BILINGUALISM
   Themes, problems, strategies
   Paola Dieci
   Language Immersion Coordinator
   Italian International School • Preschool - 8th Grade
   

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2. Becoming bilingual:
   Is the same as building two houses on the same land?
   Is the same as building two houses with the material for one?
   So at the end of the construction they will be incomplete!!
   THE ORGANIZATION OF LANGUAGES IN THE BRAIN
   Metaphors and simplifications
   Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
   

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3. real
   object
   SIGNIFIER
   REFERENT SIGNIFIED
   Mental object,
   concept
   the "shape" of a word, graphemes and phonemes
   tree /triː/ - albero /ˈalbero/
   MENTAL OBJECTS REPRESENTATION
   Semiotic triangle, De Saussure
   Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
   

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4. REFERENT SIGNIFIED
   SIGNIFIER
   tree /triː/ albero /ˈalbero/
   ICEBERG MODEL - Cummis
   

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5. Teacher: “Sofia, when you write in Italian and in English, is it the same?”
   Sofia: “They’re…they are not… They are the same words but it’s not the
   same.. the same… I don’t remember the name…Language! ”
   How Sofia (4 y.o.) explains this:
   Sofia is writing a book in Italian and she tells the teacher that
   she’s going to write the same book in English too.
   Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
   

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6. www.DisegniColorare.Com
   NOT AN INCOMPLETE HOUSE
   BUT TWO HOUSES AND… A GARDEN
   Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
   

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7. Thanks to the expanded semantic field,
   bilinguals have an EXPANDED CONCEPTUAL FIELD
   with the outcome of major flexibility
   and a DIVERGENT THINKING
   The bilingual child has two words for the same
   object and for the same idea, or concept
   He has an enlarged semantic field
   Colin Baker - Centre for Research on Bilingualism, Bangor University
   BENEFITS
   Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
   

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8. • English/Wales bilingual
   In Welsh, school is "ysgol",
   That means also means “stairs”/ “ladder”.
   EXPANDED CONCEPTUAL FIELD
   Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
   

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9. CONVERGENT THINKING
   Make a wall Build a house Build a oven
   Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
   

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10. DIVERGENT THINKING
    Block a hole
    where mice live
    Break a window Trivet
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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11. How to support the children in the acquisition
    of another language ?
    How to avoid the risk of erosion of the mother
    tongue?
    BILINGUALISM, HOW?
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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12. Fundamental aspects to
    becoming bilingual:
    MOTIVATION EXPOSURE
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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13. Close
    relationships
    Family
    MOTIVATION  
    •  Need to communicate
    Friends
    Common experiences in Italian
    e.g. Routine / Cartoons
    •  Linking positive experiences to a language
    Community (school)
    Friends
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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14. Identity
    Be proud of
    MOTIVATION  
    “Feeling Italian”
    MOTIVATION
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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15. “I speak Italian and English” (Sachin, 3 y.o.)
    “I speak Italian and a bit English. My sister is
    English so I have to speak English at home.
    But I know songs in Italian and English. My
    sister is just English” (George, 3 y.o.)
    “I am Italian and English” (Sofia, 3 y.o.)
    Kids dialogues
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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16. Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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17. Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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18. “Io voglio fare mio passaporto”
    “I want to do my passport!”
    (George, 4 y.o.)
    “Sto facendo mio
    passaporto rosso e blu
    perchè sono italiano e
    americano”
    “I’m making my
    passport red and blue
    because I’m Italian and
    American”
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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19. exosure
    Quantity
    (30-40% of the awake time)
    Quality
    Not just “frutta” but “pere,
    mele, banane, mandarini…”
    EXPOSURE  
    EXPOSURE
    Persistency
    8-9 years of commitment. If
    possible keep going!
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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20. Not learning a language but
    learning IN a language
    •  school activities:
    inquiring,
    discovering,
    laughing,
    reading,
    listening,
    story telling,
    singing,
    eating….
    A varied experience
    for a whole linguistic experience
    (balanced bilingualism)
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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21. • Language shift
    Migrations cause the loss of the native language in the second
    and third generation
    Cfr. Prof. Hakuta Kenji (Stanford University) e Lily Wong Fillmore (University of Berkley)
    • Language slippery stage
    5-6 years old
    SUBTRACTIVE BILINGUALISM
    RISKS  
    RISKS
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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22. “children learn to talk
    by talking”
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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23. To have another
    language is to
    possess a second
    soul.
    Charlemagne
    One language sets you in
    a corridor for life. Two
    languages open every
    door along the way.
    Frank Smith,
    Psycholinguist
    If we spoke a different language, we
    would perceive a somewhat different
    world.
    Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian
    philosopher
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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24. Growing up bilingual is like having
    two eyes.
    If we didn’t have two eyes we
    wouldn’t see so clearly.
    Prof. Kenji Hakuta, Stanford
    Grazie per l’attenzione
    Thanks for your attention
    Paola Dieci - La Scuola©2013
    

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