EDPROFST 226: Introduction to Bilingualism and Bilingual Immersion Education

Assignment One:

In his book, Language, Power and Pedagogy: bilingual children in the crossfire, Cummins (2000) tells a story of a bilingual Mexican mother who was ordered by a judge to stop speaking Spanish to her daughter during a custody dispute with her husband. The judge’s view was that the mother was ‘abusing’ her daughter by speaking Spanish in their home (p.13). Unfortunately the judge is not alone in his opinion in regards to second language acquisition and bilingualism. Nor is the context of America and the minority language of Spanish different from the New Zealand context in the way that minority languages are viewed ‘ongoing bilingualism in a so-called minority, indigenous or community language is still regarded by many as an educational, and wider social impediment” (May, Hill, Tiakiwai, 2004, p.8). Cummins asks some important questions in regards to bilingual education in both homes and schools including, ‘To what extent is it child abuse to send new teachers into classrooms (in multilingual cities such as Toronto, London, or New York) with minimal or no preparation on how to teach academic content to students who are in the process of learning English and whose cultural background differs significantly from that assumed by all of the structures of schooling (e.g. curriculum, assessment, and teacher preparation)?’ (Cummins, 2000, p.14)
New Zealand is a rich, diverse multicultural society and nowhere is this more apparent than at a Decile One secondary school in South Auckland. In order to avoid a ‘vacuum created by the absence of any proactive validation of their linguistic talents and accomplishments (resulting in) bilingual students’ identities become infested with shame’ (Cummins, 2000, p.13) it is essential that teachers are educated about what ‘being bilingual’ is