Why is bilingualism important to you? Answer this question below in the comments to win the DVD of the film, Speaking in Tongues.
Speaking in Tongues, courtesy of Patchworks Films, is the award-winning documentary following the lives of four budding bilingual children in dual-language immersion programs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I saw this movie fairly recently and was so pleased that this critical subject was the topic of a documentary. It’s an important topic and one that isn’t discussed enough in the U.S., particularly with so much of a backlash against perceived threats to the English-only status quo, which does far more damage to the future of America’s little global citizens than many Americans realize.
The four kids in this movie–each from a different ethnic/racial background (Caucasian, Mexican-American, Chinese-American, African-American)–navigate a different dual-language immersion program in the San Francisco Bay Area. Two students had links to the languages they were learning within their families (Mandarin and Spanish). Two had no connection to the language at all in their heritage and were learning Mandarin–these were the students I was most impressed by. As the students improve in skill and proficiency, “we see how knowing two languages changes them, their families and their communities.”
The film is important because it helps address the xenophobic and pig-headed English-only ideas that lead many Americans to not value language learning. As a result of this attitude, learning a second language is not encouraged enough in the U.S. educational system, which is a detriment to our children growing up in a globalized world.
Why is bilingualism important to you? Here are three chances to win the DVD of the film Speaking in Tongues:
1. Answer this question in the comments section below to win.
2. Tweet or post this giveaway to facebook and tell us you did it in the comments below.
3. Like us on facebook and tell us you did it in the comments below: http://www.facebook.com/incultureparent
Visit http://speakingintonguesfilm.info/ to view the Speaking in Tongues trailer and discover all their free educational resources available. Please note: this DVD is for home-use/non-professional use.
Winner will be announced June 22nd.
it was very important that my children be fluent in english so that they could have a close relationship with their grandparents who still live in the United States.I have seen to many examples of immigrant children not being taught english so they would fit in better—and then not being able to have meaningful conversation with family who was english speaking
Having the knowledge of a second language can open up so many opportunities in business and education for a child.
Bilingualism is important for many cultural and academic reasons. It’s important to me because it works more of my brain than my monolingual friends!
Bilingualism is very important to us because it will open up opportunities and advantages for our child. I am Chinese American and regret the fact that I cannot speak Chinese. My husband is Peruvian American and multi-culturalism is very important to both of us. Our child is in a dual language program currently and we hope that she will be completely bilingual in Spanish and perhaps even trilingual in Chinese. We would love to have this DVD to share with others at our school and our friends who are considering options for schools.
With a shrinking Global culture, every child has to have the ability to communicate in more than one language. It is important for business and life. The imaginary borders we have placed around people and cultures are just that. Can you imagine the World of possibilities, the amazing advantages your child could have with a new language? Language carries the culture from which it came.
(I have liked your page on facebook and posted it there!)
Qalil.com
(1) to open doors of economic and professional opportunity both for myself and my future kids, (2) to better appreciate foreign cultures as well as my own, (2) to keep my future kids connected to their ancestral heritage despite growing up in America (posted on Facebook and Twitter)