2. Introduction
Problem Statement
Children in schools learning English as a second language are required to meet
standards that other children learning English alone are at.
Essential Question
How do children learning two languages adapt in a school environment as opposed
to those learning one?
3. Methodology
Most of my fieldwork will be completed at Roosevelt Elementary School
observing children. The rest will be completed through internet research of
children developing language in a bilingual environment between home and
school.
At Roosevelt, I will attend three sessions lasting around 1-2 hours focusing
on Daniil Antonov, a 3rd grade student that speaks Russian in his home and
takes E.L.L. (English Language Learner) classes to improve his English
skills.
The second part of my fieldwork at Roosevelt will include observing James
Ashby, a child in Daniil‟s core class that is learning only English. I will record
each of their communication skills amongst their peers. Before my fieldwork
ends I will ask each a few questions about their experiences learning
language.
4. Fieldwork - Part I
May 3rd:
Spent the entire hour with Daniil and his E.L.L. teacher. It is clear he struggles with basic use of language and
pieces of the Alphabet. He can identify letters, but often in incorrect order. Daniil is very good at recognizing
objects and locations in English, but his grammar is not to the level of his peers. He is fluent enough to
communicate in English with his teacher, however he often gets stuck on certain words. His E.L.L. teacher says he
is very reserved and does not talk a lot in general unless asked to.
May 10th:
Observed both Daniil and James‟ interactions and language use within the classroom setting. Daniil is as his
teacher told me, very shy and does not speak often. I think it is more by choice than his inability to talk. From what
I am also told, Daniil is one of the top in his class for mathematics. There is no doubt he is at grade level as are
many other students, but it seems that language is keeping him slightly back. James interacts and speaks as most
of his classmates do: all the time. He is much more lively and noticeably confortable with his English skills even if
they still aren‟t as refined as they could be. Based on their word quizzes that I looked at, James always had higher
scores than Daniil, but they were equal on many other aspects of the class. I don‟t think there is a huge gap in
knowledge between the two, I think Daniil is just having to learn more in the same amount of time, which can often
be seen by his focused attitude at school.
May 13th:
During my last day I recorded more interactions and language use of the two in their classroom. The observations
yielded similar results. Daniil spoke only when spoken to and used it occasionally when asking for help. In no way
is Daniil a pariah of any sorts, but language clearly defines him from the other classmates that are English only
speakers. James continued on with his day as usual and clearly demonstrated an average 3rd grader who still has
much to learn about English. Before I left I was able to pull each aside for a few minutes to ask them some
questions.
5. Fieldwork - Part II
Internet Research:
For this part of my project I used the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) to
understand a little more about bilingual children. From this site I learned about some
common misunderstandings about how people view children learning two languages:
Children learning two languages develop language delay or disorders
Children in bilingual environments will show signs of confusion or mental dysfunction
Before a lot of bilingual research on children, many believed learning two languages
at a young age was more harmful than beneficial. From studies, CAL has found that it
is actually quite the opposite; it just simply takes a nurturing environment to positively
reinforce the child‟s learning.
Recommendations from the site note that parents
as well as teachers must take extra care when
speaking or working with a child in a bilingual world.
Learning two languages is not an easy skill to
acquire and must be dealt with delicately.
6. Q & A - Daniil
Q: What is it like talking with your parents at home?
A: They don‟t use any English. They also don‟t like it when I try to talk
English around them.
Q: How do you like speaking both English and Russian?
A: It‟s ok, but not too easy. I wish I know English better. Then I can be
with my friends more here and not with my other teacher.
Q: Would you prefer learning one language or two?
A: I like both of them. It is hard, but I will be better and smarter when I
get older.
Q: Do you like school?
A: Yes, but this is hard. I like my friends and being able to talk to them.
Q: What‟s your favorite English word?
A: Turtle, because I have one!
7. Q & A - James
Q: What‟s your favorite part of class?
A: I like story time with the class, „cause the teacher reads us a funny story and
we can sit on the floor and laugh. It‟s really fun.
Q: Do you think learning English is difficult?
A: Yes it is, there are so many words! I don‟t like our word quizzes „cause I can‟t
remember how to spell all of them.
Q: Do you talk to Daniil often?
A: Sometimes. He is very quiet and doesn‟t talk much because he‟s Russian. He
is nice though.
Q: Do you wish you could learn how to speak Russian or another language?
A: No! English is hard already!
8. Conclusion
I think that even though I didn‟t interact with Daniil and James a great deal, I feel I
acquired a good amount of information looking inside the world of a child learning two
languages at once. This project gave me a great deal of insight on language in general
since it‟s an essential way we as human beings are able to share ideas, prospects,
culture, emotions, and so on. Language connects us as people, but also separates us as
cultures. This project showed me the issues that can arise when a language barrier is
involved between two individuals. Daniil often had difficulty expressing himself amongst
his peers and it often resulted in him working alone. I know in the long run Daniil will
appreciate the hard work teachers dedicated to him to help him achieve successful
knowledge of the English language. I wish I had been exposed to such a quality in life
because I find language fascinating and being able to communicate across many
languages is an impressive trait. Daniil was a great example of language as both a
success and a failure; when we don‟t communicate properly, humans have difficulty
functioning together. But when we do, amazing things can happen.
Answering my question that was the basis for this project, I saw that adaptation for
bilingual children is not an easy task. Daniil was friendly and others were welcoming of
him, but there was a noticeable difference in the way others acted with him. Almost as if
the other kids felt they were superior because Daniil lacked the ability to communicate as
they did. But in reality, Daniil is their superior, even if he‟s not quite ready to show it yet.
9. Works Cited
De Houwer, Annick. “Two or More Languages in Early Childhood”.
Center For Applied Linguistics. N.P. July 1995. Web. 15 May 2013.
