Teaching Multilingual Children by Virginia Collier

QUOTES:

"There are differences between first language and second language acquisition in children. These include variables such as the child's age, place and time of second language acquisition, individual learning style, the broader society's social perceptions of the status of the child's identity group, and the child's desire or need to understand and/or identify with speakers of the new language."
In this quote Collier is saying that you need to teach children differently depending on whether they are being taught their first or second language. You cannot be taught your second language the way that you were taught your first language. It also depends on what age you are at the time of learning the languages. I think that Collier is saying that as a teacher you need to figure out how to teach the child considering that they are bilingual. It isn't all up to the teacher either because the student has to have the desire and want to understand a new and different language. If the student is not interested, then it probably won't work out so well.

"Don't teach a second language in any way that challenges or seeks to eliminate the first language."
Collier is telling us in this quote is that we should not teach a second language in order to override the students' first language. A students' first language is who they are as a person. They should not be made to feel like their language is wrong or that they should no longer use their first language. Their first language is important to them. Collier says that instead of making the student feel bad about their first language that perhaps a teacher could show them the differences between their first and second languages. Doing these kinds of things will help students get an easier understanding of the language used in formal schooling if they compare it to their first language.

"Teach the standard form of English and students' home language together with an appreciation of dialect differences to create an environment of language recognition in the classroom."
The teacher in a classroom with bilingual students needs to understand and appreciate that their students are bilingual. They need to plan their lessons with these things in mind and recognize the different ways that they can use language in the classroom. A teacher should not look down on a student who is biligual; they should accept it. They can use different languages to their advantages. Collier states that "once a child becomes literate in the home language, literacy skills swiftly transfer to second language settings." If a student knows their first language well, it will help in learning their second language in the classroom.

Questions/ Comments/Points to Share:
While I was reading this article by Collier it made me realize that I haven't experienced much yet in the classroom. In my own schooling I never knew anybody that was bilingual so I had no idea that there were certain ways to teach when having a biligual student in the classroom. I know that many of the Providence schools have bilingual students, but I still have not been able to experience my VIPS assignment yet. I hope to be able to go soon so I can learn more about the different types of people and cultures in the classroom so it will help me to learn to be a good teacher.