Comments on: http://rachelaren.edublogs.org/2007/10/14/8/ ....tangents, afterthoughts .... Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:03:40 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: Ashley http://rachelaren.edublogs.org/2007/10/14/8/comment-page-1/#comment-4 Ashley Sun, 14 Oct 2007 23:10:45 +0000 http://rachelaren.edublogs.org/2007/10/14/8/#comment-4 That is a very important and interesting point that you raise about young students being stressed in the bilingual classroom. I can honestly say that I have never heard this issue of stress brought up in the debate of bilingual education. It's an interesting thought because we could be teaching our children that stress is a part of learning. We could potentially be giving them the tools to disrupt their learning later in life by keeping them anxious. We could be feeding into our own stressful way of American life and allowing our children to experience it at an age that is much too young. But taking this all into considerations, I really don't believe that bilingual classrooms are too stressful for these children. All psychological/sociological research has pointed to the fact that there is a critical age for a first language acquisition. This kindergarten age is right at that age, not only for a first language, but also for a second. These young children will pick up the second language at a pace that is astounding to the rest of us. This is the time in their life when they are eager to learn vocabulary and express themselves with language. I see this bilingual classroom - that seems to be quite competitive - as an ideal environment for our children. They will learn a second language as well as a concept of diversity as they are presented with students of many different backgrounds. I even like the fact that the instruction takes place in these portable classrooms rather than a desk-filled white-walled traditional classroom (at least this isn't what I'm picturing in my head), because these students may find it a more relaxed environment. This is an interesting article that you found, along with some in depth though. But I truly don't see any harm or stress at all in early bilingual education. That is a very important and interesting point that you raise about young students being stressed in the bilingual classroom. I can honestly say that I have never heard this issue of stress brought up in the debate of bilingual education. It’s an interesting thought because we could be teaching our children that stress is a part of learning. We could potentially be giving them the tools to disrupt their learning later in life by keeping them anxious. We could be feeding into our own stressful way of American life and allowing our children to experience it at an age that is much too young. But taking this all into considerations, I really don’t believe that bilingual classrooms are too stressful for these children. All psychological/sociological research has pointed to the fact that there is a critical age for a first language acquisition. This kindergarten age is right at that age, not only for a first language, but also for a second. These young children will pick up the second language at a pace that is astounding to the rest of us. This is the time in their life when they are eager to learn vocabulary and express themselves with language.

I see this bilingual classroom – that seems to be quite competitive – as an ideal environment for our children. They will learn a second language as well as a concept of diversity as they are presented with students of many different backgrounds. I even like the fact that the instruction takes place in these portable classrooms rather than a desk-filled white-walled traditional classroom (at least this isn’t what I’m picturing in my head), because these students may find it a more relaxed environment.

This is an interesting article that you found, along with some in depth though. But I truly don’t see any harm or stress at all in early bilingual education.

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