Adopting a critical position towards bilingualism

Introduction

Welcome to our blog about The sociocultural impact of bilingualism in the Colombian educational context! Here we will find the benefits and challenges that come with having or mastering two languages. According to (MEN, 2019), foreign languages are vehicles of communication, interaction, learning, generation of opportunities, and development. Therefore, we define bilingual education in the words of Andrew Cohen, professor emeritus of linguistics at the University of Minnesota as: "The use of two or more languages as a medium of instruction in a part of the school curriculum.". One of the deepest perspectives on the implications of being bicultural and bilingual is that an explanation will be provided, from the understanding of the differences between concepts and examples.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE

-Explain the sociocultural impact of Bilingualism in Colombia through a critical and reflective analysis. Taking into account the importance of bilingualism in strengthening the quality of education with cultural and linguistic relevance to understand their differences.

Differences  between being bilingual and bicultural

Being bilingual is anyone who is completely fluent in two languages at the same time, above all it helps to develop our neurological skills. On the other hand, being Bicultural is including the harmony or union of two cultures. The idea of culture mentions the set of knowledge, traditions, and habits of a society.

Some aspects of the bicultural are moldable and adaptable, but other aspects are more static; they are mixtures of cultures and cannot be handled so easily. Bilingualism and biculturalism are not necessarily concurrent. Therefore, bilinguals who are not bicultural are often found. They have always lived in one culture but know and use two or more languages.

While being bilingual, and being bicultural may be related in some cases, for example: Students in bilingual programs are exposed to learning new cultures, learning from each other, and appreciating each other's differences to create knowledge. Being bilingual means being bicultural: “A bilingual person is not two monolinguals in one, with each language linked to a separate culture. On the other hand, a bilingual person is a person with a language and complex cultural practices that are fluid and changing depending on the particular situation and local practice” (García, 2012, p.3).

Advantages

-Increases linguistic competence, as well as provides cognitive control advantages in non-linguistic tasks.

-Bilingual children use more brain areas.

-It allows you to develop a greater capacity for the storage, use, and transformation of information in a more creative way.

-Better reading ability.

-It favorably affects their identity formation as well as their social relationships.

-It enhances your professional success due to the opportunities that come with knowing another language.

Examples:

1. Students in bilingual programs are exposed to learning new cultures, learning from each other, and appreciating each other's differences to create knowledge. Being bilingual means being bicultural.

2. Bilingual people use each language in different areas of their lives.

3. example of a Mexican citizen who has a Colombian father and a Mexican mother, who, although they are very close countries with the same language, have cultural differences that can be clearly identified.

-Add images related to the topic. 

Conclusions

1When we talk about biculture, it refers to the fact that I must know both my culture that I have, and the culture that I acquire, and become familiar with the culture in order to learn more about the cultures and fit into the social groups that I have.

2 While being bilingual and being bicultural may be related in some cases, they are not the same. A person can be bilingual but not necessarily bicultural if he does not have a deep understanding of both cultures.  

3. Finally, understand the existing relationship between languages and communities' culture, comparing the existing differences between being bilingual, bicultural, and both.

video links:

References

Baker, C. (2001). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism.Vol. 3rd ed. Multilingual Matters. pp. 2-16. https://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=90953&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_2

García, O. (2012). Teorizando el translenguaje para educadores. En C. Celic y K. Seltzer, Translanguaging: una guía CUNY-NYSIEB para educadores , págs.1–6. Educación en lenguaje dual y para estudiantes de inglés Universidad Estatal de San Diego.

Grosjean, F. (1992). The Bilingual and the Bicultural Person in the Hearing and in the Deaf World. Project Muse. (77), 307-320.https://www.francoisgrosjean.ch/sign_deaf/5.%20Grosjean.pdf

Grosjean, F. (2013). Bilingualism: A short introduction. In Grosjean, F. & Li, P (Eds.), The psycholinguistics of bilingualism. pp. 5-25. John Wiley & Sons. https://www.francoisgrosjean.ch/bilin_bicult/25%20Grosjean.pdf

Mejía, A. (2006). Bilingual Education in Colombia: Towards a Recognition of Languages, Cultures and Identities. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, (8), 152–168. https://revistas.udistrital.edu.co/index.php/calj/article/view/176

Moreno, L. I. (2022). Bilingualism and biculturalism [Objeto_virtual_de_Informacion_OVI]. Repositorio Institucional UNAD. https://repository.unad.edu.co/handle/10596/52003

Valentine CC (2021) Diferencias Culturales Entre Mexico Y Colombia Según una Colombiana /VALENTINE CC. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXepypeVp40

YWAM Ships Kona (2018) Papua New Guinea - Tok Pisin Introduction Lesson. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhGohMxJ9WM&t=3s