Aria - Richard Rodrigues & Teaching Bilinguals Hyperlink

     In the reading Richard Rodrigues tells us about how he was a bilingual learner. He spoke Spanish at home with his family and was shy at school when speaking in English. The nuns went to his home and spoke with his parents about using English at home to make Richard more comfortable to speak at school. Richard explains that eventually he spoke up at school and became more confident but it came with a price. At home more English was spoken because his parents were told this was best for their children to succeed in school but it made him feel like his identity was being taken from him. He grew up speaking Spanish and when English was introduced his family dynamic changed. He would talk to his parents less and could see the change his siblings and parents went through to except this new culture. In the article I found on Harvards graduate school of education website is a story similar to his about a girl who is also a bilingual learner. Asia Yassine grew up in Texas and spoke Arabic. Growing up she was embarrassed in school because she struggled to learn English and needed extra help in class. She eventually learned to be comfortable in school and loved her environment until she grew up and realized that she had to change her identity to be successful in school. She felt stripped of her culture and explains that bilingual learners shouldn't have to loose there sense of identity to be bright in school and instead there culture should be celebrated and used as a tool to learn. 

Harvard Graduate School of Education