A celebration of language
FLO MARTIN
Bonne Annee! Chestita Nova Godina! Gluckwunsch zum NeuJahr! Are we
confused yet? Are we suffering from paralytic monolingualism?
If so, take heart. You’re not the only one. Those of us past the
age of 25 really struggle with any language other than English.
The younger generation -- high schoolers and younger -- are
enjoying more world language classes than ever.
They are studying Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian,
Korean, Japanese in addition to the standard Spanish, French and
German that we older folks had access to during our teens.
To celebrate this important change, thanks to an initiative
sponsored by Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Thad Cochran of
Mississippi, language education programs throughout our country are
celebrating 2005 as the Year of Languages (YOL). Author Maya Angelou
is part of the national Honorary Committee.
At the state level, Jack O’Connell, the state superintendent of
public instruction, and Chauncey Veatch, former U.S. Teacher of the
Year, head up the blue ribbon committee for YOL.
The celebration will encourage learners of all ages to look at
language study as an important component for personal growth and
career enhancement.
Research points to the benefits of an early start and an extended
program of language study. Kids learn languages best from birth to
age 6. This writer is living proof.
Because of her immigrant status from age 5 to 19, she became
fluent in four languages by age 10. She understands the phrases at
the top of this column as Happy New Year!
One focus of the YOL initiative is to promote language instruction
in elementary schools. With eight to 10 years of language
instruction, the student will be able to achieve the best level of
proficiency. We Americans need desperately to become more fluent in
world languages. Ach, Du Lieber! Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would
agree, don’t you think?
YOL events will take place on CSPAN, as well as at the Smithsonian
Institution and the Kennedy Center. Libraries everywhere will be
sharing multicultural stories and organizing a “Read Around the
World.” Schools, from elementary to college level, will take part.
How can you and your kids participate? If you speak a language
other than English, how about heading for your local library or
bookstore and offering to read a multicultural story in a children’s
circle?
How about going to your local school and organizing a
multicultural outreach event? How about a “music from around the
world” day at school? How about national paper flags (you can get
them on the Internet) decorating your house or your school?
My students had an assignment at the beginning of September to do
just that -- create a flag that reflected their origins. (Some
parents were clueless and ended up calling Grandma or Grandpa
long-distance to find out where the family originated.)
The ceiling of my classroom had literally hundreds of flags
hanging down. Every September, the new students would add more. Over
the years, alumni would bring their kids to my room at Open House and
say, “See ... (little Johnnie or Susie) there’s Mommy’s (Daddy’s)
flag when I went to school here.”
How about having your student participate in a YOL-sponsored essay
or poster contest, prizes to be announced. The theme for the essay:
“How does learning another language benefit my community and my
country?”
For the poster: “Good things happen when you learn another
language.” Posters must be submitted to me (or another member of the
Foreign Language Assn. of Orange County) by the first week of
February.
Interested? I really hope so! For further information, check out
https://www.yearoflanguages.org for the guidelines of the essay and
poster contests. If you can’t find what you need there, just write to
me at flomama@aol.com or fmartin@fullerton.edu.
Bis bald, dann. A bientot, alors. Do skoro. (See ya later,
alligator.)
* FLO MARTIN is a Costa Mesa resident and faculty member at Cal
State Fullerton.
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