After giving my presentation on how being bilingual affects language learning and literacy levels in young children, I took some time to reflect on my own public school experience. Being that I lived in an extremely rural area, I wasn’t initially exposed to many bilingual children while attending school unless they were foreign exchange students. In my kindergarten class, I distinctly remember that no students were bilingual, as we all learned the English language together.
However, from my personal experiences with having bilingual roommates and friends since arriving at college, I have realized how common it is for children to enter school speaking only their native language. Through research and personal interviews, I also realized that this did not hinder them or set them behind with learning English, but rather put them at an equal level for learning English in addition to being bilingual.
When looking at the studies I included in my presentation, I was surprised to learn that being learning their native language initially had no influence on preschooler’s storytelling skills. I was also shocked to find out that being bilingual didn’t put children behind or ahead in comparison to their monolingual peers. However, I was not as surprised to discover that when interviewed, bilingual children felt that they were outcasted and forced to take on a more “American” identity when placed into a monolingual school system.
When reflecting on my personal experiences, I can see how growing up in a monolingual schoo system shaped my own literacy. We were provided with second language classes, but those weren’t offered until middle school. Overall, I am extremely lucky to now be able to attend a university that is more appreciative and accomodating towards bilingual students. While attending a monolingual public school may have been a huge part of my literacy sponsorship, there is still a lot to learn.
