Theorizing Translanguage for Educators by Ofelia Garcia
I found this article to be really good because I never knew how important this translanguage is for some families that cannot speak English. It is amazing how many children would benefit from this if it was in schools that really need it and I love the idea to help these children out that have a language carrier. There were three quotes that really struck me in this article for many reasons.
"If a question is asked, and someone gets up to consult Google for the answer, family members write in the search box items in one another language, and often in both, to compare answers fom different sites" (Garcia). It is amazing that people to know to use google if thy do not know what someone is saying. I would have never o thought to pick up my phone and plug whatever someone said into the search bar. I do have a question though. How accurate is google when translating what someone said? I feel like it is not so accurate but I do not use google to translate for me so I do not have any experience using it myself. I like how people are using their resources to help them understand the world.
"Just as a major league baseball pitcher develops his expert pitching form through practice, language users must develop their forms through practice" (Garcia). I cannot agree more with this quote. Nobody can wake up oneday and say that they are the best baseball pitcher without practicing or someone who does not speak Englash wake up and say I can speak fluent English now. People have to practice to make themselves better. I also feel like in todays time children do not want to practice speaking nother language because the computer or the tablet can do it all for them so they do not want to practice. That is not all the people trying to learn a langauage but most people put a lot more effort than people give them credit for. it is not easy to learn a new language and I feel like people who speak English learn how to speak Spanish could be really useful as well.
"For the students who speak but one language at home, these translanguage strategies would "awaken" them to language diversity, and wuld build th lingusitic tolerance the world needs, and the linguistic flexibility that would enable them to learn additional languages throughout their lives" (Garica). Forthe children that speakmore than one language at home thy tend to grow up more diverse because they can communicate with more people than people that talk just one language. I totallybelieve that because if you can communicate with people that speak other languages than thay are buliding relationships with people that will last a lifetime. Those kids will also grow up to accept different people and their cutures and won't be so judging on other cultures.
"If a question is asked, and someone gets up to consult Google for the answer, family members write in the search box items in one another language, and often in both, to compare answers fom different sites" (Garcia). It is amazing that people to know to use google if thy do not know what someone is saying. I would have never o thought to pick up my phone and plug whatever someone said into the search bar. I do have a question though. How accurate is google when translating what someone said? I feel like it is not so accurate but I do not use google to translate for me so I do not have any experience using it myself. I like how people are using their resources to help them understand the world.
"Just as a major league baseball pitcher develops his expert pitching form through practice, language users must develop their forms through practice" (Garcia). I cannot agree more with this quote. Nobody can wake up oneday and say that they are the best baseball pitcher without practicing or someone who does not speak Englash wake up and say I can speak fluent English now. People have to practice to make themselves better. I also feel like in todays time children do not want to practice speaking nother language because the computer or the tablet can do it all for them so they do not want to practice. That is not all the people trying to learn a langauage but most people put a lot more effort than people give them credit for. it is not easy to learn a new language and I feel like people who speak English learn how to speak Spanish could be really useful as well.
"For the students who speak but one language at home, these translanguage strategies would "awaken" them to language diversity, and wuld build th lingusitic tolerance the world needs, and the linguistic flexibility that would enable them to learn additional languages throughout their lives" (Garica). Forthe children that speakmore than one language at home thy tend to grow up more diverse because they can communicate with more people than people that talk just one language. I totallybelieve that because if you can communicate with people that speak other languages than thay are buliding relationships with people that will last a lifetime. Those kids will also grow up to accept different people and their cutures and won't be so judging on other cultures.
Great points! You should try using google, and even an app like google translate to see what happens when you try to understand or speak in another language. I have found google helpful for basic words in Spanish, German and Chinese. For longer conversations or bigger phrases it can be more difficult My daughter tried to speak in Chinese to google -- she recited a poem about the horoscope animals that she knows -- and it translated to a wacky poem-like thing that didn't make much sense.
ReplyDeleteI took Italian in school for 6 years in school and very teacher I had made us promise not to use Google translate because they knew we would use it for more than a phrase or so and our answers would make no sense. There were a few times people broke that rule they knew immediately.
ReplyDeleteI agree, learning multiple languages is so valuable. Not only will you be able to speak with a lot of different groups of people and become more accepting of other cultures,but it can also teach you a lot about your own language. You typically don't think about the way that your own language works because it is just your normal but when you learn other languages it forces you to think about things like parts of speech and the mechanics of language. Specifically English speakers should definitely try to learn some Spanish because the Hispanic population is rising exponentially and the burden of learning shouldn't be all on them.
ReplyDeleteto answer your first question, while google translate is good, it isn’t 100% accurate. However, when there is a big language barrier, anything helps! even if google isn’t necessarily perfect, it will most certainly get your point across and make communication between you and the other person(s) a whole lot easier!
ReplyDeleteI have heard from many people that Google translate is a big no no especially from my Italian teachers, it's best to use a legit app when it comes to learning new languages that you know is accurate. Also, I agree with how learning new languages leads to great connections all over the world and how it can bring people together, you made some great points!
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