The first time I came across this
article in my quest for something to write about, I dismissed it rather
quickly, but after the second and third time of it appearing in other searches,
I started thinking. Babies can learn languages in the womb. Now in this article
they highlight that babies, once they reach thirty weeks, have fully developed
their hearing, which allows them to absorb certain elements of the language. In
the study presented in this article,
“A total of 40 newborns about 30 hours old were involved in the study in
Tacoma and Stockholm. They all listened to sounds in their native language as
well as foreign languages while in nursery.
The researchers were able to assess their reaction to sounds by
measuring how long they sucked on a pacifier for. Short sucking was associated
with familiar sounds while long sucking was associated with unfamiliar sounds.
This means that the newborns can differentiate what they hear in utero.
The babies were found to suck on the
pacifier for a longer period when they heard foreign languages as opposed to
their native language.”
Personally, I find this almost to be a
little silly and a bit far-fetched. However, it has been shown time and time
again that children are much better at learning languages, as opposed to trying
to learn when you are an adult. I can’t begin to count how many times I have
wished that someone had started teaching me French from the time I was born,
instead of the struggle I went through learning it in college. So, whether or
not we find this article outlandish or not, it made me question why it is that
the United States puts such little effort into having our people learn a second
language. If this study is correct then it would seem much more economical and
beneficial to start right from the beginning.
I’ve been doing research for Christof over
the last two quarters. He has been interviewing different families, like his
own, who have been raising their children bilingual in German and English. In
the interviews he asks each family the reasons why many, if not most, Americans
don’t feel the need to know any other language than English. He also asks them
if they even should learn a second language if everyone else is in the world is
learning English. There have been many different answers to both of these
questions and all have been quite interesting. What are some of your reactions to these questions?
Anzaldua says, “ethnic identity is twin skin
to linguistic identity – I am my language.” I think as Americans, we know how
important our language is to us. Why else would be insisting that it is the
only one we need to know – heck it’s the only one anyone needs to know. So why
is it so hard for many of us to see that other countries could feel the same
way? To an extent I can see why there are people in the United States who will
never feel the need to know French or Spanish (or any other language for that
matter). Yet, it seems that in this global world and how much easier it is
becoming to be in contact with other cultures, that knowing the language of
other people would only make sense. While language might not be everything to a
culture, it sure is a lot, so how can we ever accurately be making
relationships with other people if we can’t even say hello in their language?
And if it’s so easy a baby could do it –
then why aren’t we?
I tend to be skeptical whenever I hear stories about how training and education is more effective when it begins in utero. I imagine families that would be interested in beginning their child's educational process before that child has even been born, are probably more likely to provide an environment for their child that better nourishes educational pursuits. Still, this article was especially interesting because it concentrated on language learning. As Katie pointed out, the ability to learn multiple languages gets more and more difficult as you get older. Instead of learning the language organically, people often end up filtering their new language through their old one. Because of this, it's easier to learn multiple languages simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that Americans, as a whole, are rarely able to speak more than one language. It does seem as if we've made significant steps over the last twenty years to reverse this trend. When I was in elementary school (a public school in Vermont), there were no foreign languages available. It wasn't until I was in High School that we were offered any sort of language class, and even then, the languages were limited to French or Spanish. Now, as I understand it, that same elementary school offers classes in Spanish, French, and even German. Hopefully, this indicates a shift in the way public education approaches foreign languages. Encouraging our children to be bilingual sends a message to the rest of the world that we'd like to participate in the global community.
I agree that it is a bit sad, and ethnocentric, that many Americans (including myself) grow up without ever becoming fluent in a second language. I was lucky enough to attend a school growing up that required a second language, starting from fourth grade through high school (and eventually started with second language clases in kindergarten). I took Spanish for the rest of my middle/high school education and in effect, was able to place out of an undergraduate language requirement - which actually has kept me from maintaining my Spanish language abilities, something that I still regret (and am hoping soon to regain!). I appreciate that this program in particular allows us to continue foreign language education - not only to benefit our future careers, but also to make us more well-rounded, globally aware citizens.
ReplyDeleteI think there is also the precedent set with English as the "language of the world," the language everyone speaks globally - and therefore as Americans many assume that we do not need to even know another language. In my experience travelling abroad I always try to be thoughtful about using the language of the country I am visiting, despite how little I may know of it. However, I think that as children (and "in utero" even) we are raised with the United States as the center of our world, and therefore our language as the only one we will ever need in life. As we all know, this is not the case - and hopefully we can all teach our own children the value of knowing and understanding multiple languages.
Growing up in Hong Kong, a former British colony, I was required to learn English since I was three. I have always loved learning English as a second language, as Katie quoted from Anzaldua, “ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity – I am my language.” As a trilingual, learning different languages have encouraged me to think critically on the relation between language and culture, exposed my to different cultural mindsets and viewpoints, and prepared me to be a globally responsible citizen. I remember being a linguist was my childhood dream. I agree with Callyn that I found it a bit sad that many Americans grow up without the opportunities to learn a second language, given different cultural heritages and diversity the US have. I wish American schools would promote learning a second languages, and maybe kids will get to be educated with intercultural communication sensitivity and learn to appreciate others’ cultures. This article is super interesting though, Katie, now I am going to keep in mind that I MUST prepare my future baby to learn a second, or even third languages in the womb!
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