Different Writing Systems - Research Paper Example

Schools’ Course: Instructors’ Name: Date: Problem Statement Writing development is a central aspect of children’s lives in schools. It focuses on bilingual students on their development, which is always found in their writing skills in both English, and their native language in terms of (spelling, use of descriptive language, topic development, and characteristics of a bilingual child style of writing). The bilingual children data comprises of their journals, stories, and reports that they have been writing as part of their schools work. In order to compare the bilingual students writing prowess in their native language and English, the teachers use their journal writing of the past four years for analysis. This data analysis evolves around the number of words, spellings, and other developments. Moreover, the writing development of both languages is analyzed by using the composition component of the Two-way Immersion Narrative Writing Rubric Assessment. This confirms whether the students have acquired writing skills in both their native language and English concurrently. It depicts also an example of successful development of bilingualism and bi-literacy. Majority of educators in America find it hard to connect bilingual students with their writing system due to the code-switching technique used by those students. This refers to relating of an object in the current environment with the one that the student was used to in their previous environment. Bi-literacy has many positive effects, from facilitating the acquisition of an additional written language to allowing creative uses of writing systems. While it is, noticeable those bi-literates can outperform mono-literate native speakers of their first language in L1 reading and writing. It is even more interesting that bi-literacy’s effects extend beyond written language, to include analyses of the spoken language and non-linguistic cognition. Sometimes things can go wrong, for instance, when the L2 orthographic input is misinterpreted and affects L2 pronunciation, which turns out to have positive effects. Bi-literates are also qualitatively different from mono-literates. This difference is evident in meta-linguistic awareness, but perhaps the most dramatic evidence comes from brain-imaging studies that show different activation patterns in bi-literates and mono-literates reading the same language, and from evidence that bi-literacy reduces biases in perception and thinking. Researchers need to look at bi-literates with other language combinations to enhance fairness in their decision-making and problem solving. This would also lead to a widening of the research agenda, which has tended to dwell on issues that are crucial to English literacy acquisition. Bilinguals who understand one writing system are mono-literate bilinguals while those who understand two or more are bi-literate bilinguals. Since each language has its own writing system, a bi-literate knows more than one writing system: e.g., a French-German bi-literate, knows the French and German writing systems. A bi-scriptal knows more than one script: e.g., both a Chinese-English bi-literate and an English-French bi-literate are bi-scriptal since both know two writing systems with different scripts, whereas an English-Italian bi-literate is not bi-scriptal but mono-scriptal because both English and Italian writing systems use the Roman alphabet. The objective of this research paper is to highlight various ways in which bilingual students comprehend the principles surrounding different writing systems. (a) What are the effects of bi-literacy among bilingual students concerning the different writing systems? (b) How these children were found to be able to grasp both writing systems and their underlying principles (c) Why educators need to understand children’s purpose of learning and writing in more than one language at the same time? (d) Why is it crucial to mainstream teachers who tend to disregard bi-literacy? (e) Does bi-literacy increase student motivation to learn? (f) Does bi-literacy increase student motivation to participate? This paper will also explore the contributing factors to successful learning and writing systems. (g) Are bilingual students their own motivation when it comes to language development? Why? These factors will assist teachers in creating a successful writing systems environment in order to motivate students and monitor their individual liability. Literature review In order to understand the effects of bi-literacy among bilingual students concerning the different writing systems, we must first understand bi-literacy, bilingual students and their implication on different writing systems. Bilingual students’ writing has been examined in various ways. They use different writing skills between two languages. In reference to the Linguistic Interdependence Principle examined in the Cummins study (1991), a bilingual’s academic progress such as concept change, language, and illiteracy is mutually dependent. This emphasizes that bilingual students who gained knowledge and skills in one language apply it when learning a different language. In a research of how ESL students use their writing skills between different languages (French and English), (Berman, 1994) stated that students who apply their writing skills between the languages were assisted by their grammatical dexterity in the target language, which includes their educators, tutors and their learned friends. A research, which examined developing of English writing skills of Kindergarteners, found related progress between English L1 and English L2 children. (Kenner, 2004), points out those bilingual children have more than one language to use for communication when writing. In her study, she also found out that bilingual children (Arabic-English, German-English, French-English), understood the differences between their two writing systems, even though they also looked other ways to connect them to transform the meaning across the languages. Bilingual students and their prowess in grasping both writing systems and their underlying principles When a foreign student does not know an English word when writing in English, the student would put in the native word. Instead of viewing this as insufficiency in writing, some researchers depict this as an advantage to bilingual children because the aim of writing is for communication, (Rubin and Carian; 2005: Kenner, 2004). Most bilingual students to communicate with their teacher, who sometimes does not understand Japanese, use this strategy. This is referred to as code switching. In these instances in writing a journal, they would finish their journal in a Japanese word. This shows how they use a Japanese writing period instead of an English period. This indicates how the student understands the different writing systems clearly. In a research, which examined code switching of bilingual children writing, Gort (2006) established that emergent bilingual children applied this technique to express themselves concerning the things they care about in their lives. There are two main caveats that should be focused on when teachers are dealing with bilingual students. Firstly, many positive consequences of bi-literacy are not always due to bi-literacy per student, but to knowledge of specific writing systems. Bidirectional bi-literacy eliminated biases in thinking, but literacy in two rightward writing systems probably has no effects. Secondly, related caveat is that too much research has involved English, as studies not involving English, mostly as a second language, are rare. Claims that bi-literacy facilitates L1 literacy require evidence from native users of writing systems other than English. The fact that such an idiosyncratic writing system has been over-researched means that many findings may not generalize to bi-literacy not involving English. Important factors of bi-literacy According to (Rubin and Carian, 2005), most bilingual children may use both English and their native language in one sentence or paragraph to send their message. This study also suggests that educators should give bilingual students many opportunities to write in two languages for teachers to understand their students writing development. In the family projects related stories, Dworin (2006) states that, developing bilingual children should utilize two languages in communicating, reading, and also writing in schools. Educators should also use topics from communities and children homes in sensitizing them of the outside school world. Written translations also can foster bilingual children’s meta-linguistic awareness. In English- German two-way immersion program, in which equal regard is given to English and German, student-centered instruction, family atmosphere, and strong parent- community partnership helped limited-English students score high grades in English writing and reading (Senesac, 2002). Kenner et. al (2004) found that many young bi-literates, interpreted different writing systems (Arabic-English, Chinese-English and Spanish-English). Despite the limited input in Spanish, Chinese and Arabic compared to the time spent on in learning in English and its writing systems, the children understood key concepts of their native languages writing systems. They show their own interpretations supported by their family and educators. Discussion Research has shown there are many benefits to using different writing systems among the bilingual students in the classroom. However, there are certain steps that need to be taken in order to use bi-literacy effectively. As a teacher, there are many different factors that need to be considered if this different writing system is going to be successful. Teachers must give bilingual students many opportunities to write in two languages for them to understand their students writing development. The teachers should a have a caring learning community established in their classroom where students feel safe to explore their thinking and explore their writing skills based on their understanding. Educators should also allow bilingual children to use code switching One technique that I use very frequently is the code-switching method. This method is used when students try to express themselves in the classroom. In this situation, the bilingual student may find it hard to relate most objects in their new environment; thereby they relate such objects to the things they used to care about in their previous environment. Through this, students will be able to enhance their writing skills by connecting things in the two different environments paving the way for high scores and good grades at school. Conclusion In conclusion, the above review shows that knowledge of more than one writing system affects bilinguals’ writing, reading, literacy acquisition, meta-linguistic awareness, spoken language production, and non-linguistic cognition. The research agenda should here strike a balance between the needs of researchers, who need less Anglo-centric research in order to get an objective and general picture of bi-literacy, and the needs of educators and people in the real world, where many need to learn and use English. In general, more research is needed, and it is important that all disciplines involved contribute to the wider picture. The field of bilingualism and writing systems already benefits from research done by applied linguists, linguists, psycholinguists, sociolinguists, neuro-linguists and so on. This inter-disciplinarily has the potential to correct biases from specific disciplines, for instance the emphasis on reading and the little interest in spelling within psychology. In terms of research methods, the fields interdisciplinary and its current popularity mean that it already benefits from a wide variety of methods. References Kenner, C. (2004). Living in Simultaneous Worlds: Difference and Integration in Bilingual script learning. Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 7, n1, 43-46 Kenner, C. (2004). Finding the keys to Bi-literacy: How young Children Interpret Different Writing Systems, Language and Education, 18:2, 124-144 Kenner, C. (2004). Language and Education and Living in Simultaneous world: Difference and Integration in Bilingual Script Learning. Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 7, n1, 43-61 Gort, M. (2006). Strategic code switching, inter-literacy, and other phenomena of emergent bilingual writing: Lessons from first grade dual language classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6, 323-354 Berman, R. (1994). Learners’ transfer of writing skills between Languages. TESL Canada Journal, 12, n1, 29-46 Rubin, R. and Carian, V.G. (2005). Using writing to understand bilingual children’s literacy development. Reading Teacher, 58, n8, 728-739 Cummins, J. (1991). Interdependence of first and second language proficiency in bilingual children, in E. Bialystok (ed.) Language Processing in Bi-lingual Children, 70-89. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dworin, J. E. (2006). The family stories Project: Using Funds of Knowledge for Writing. Reading Teacher, 59, n6, 510-520 Otani, K. E. Writing Development of a Bilingual Child: Japanese and English. 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