Discuss the role of emotional language in your L1 and L2. Which language is emotionally richer. As discussed yesterday my emotional language is usually L1 and sometimes L2 as well (just to add a dash of salt to the meal).
As your learners acquire (participate?) in their new speech communities do you see a change in their emotional language behavior. Some more than others, depending on how much they are participating in their target language environment, in what language they watch cartoon in, or informative TV, do they navigate in the English or Spanish realm on the Internet, who they play with at recess or after school, what music they listen.
Reflect on the notion of (re)construction of self in your own L2 or L3 learning experiences.I was really taken by this article for it steered awaqy from the third person to let us see a glimpse of reconstruction of their inner voices. Before I started reading I had thought it would not apply to me because I'm not a reknown author or scholar, or I learned both languages at a young age. I didn't have to change my name. Neverthess, through all my childhood I had the feeling of displacement. Where do I really fit? US or Nicaragua? By 18 I had to decided between the two citizenships. I rejected US citizenship, opt for Nicaraguan one. Father had died when I was 11, I was already in a Nicaraguan university and did NOT see myself linked to this country anymore. Being bilingual opened doors, allowed me to mingle with foreigners and help me land a great job. By 30, when I married a US Marine and came to the US to reside I again was faced with the who am I? In San Diego I felt at home, in Japan we were ALL foreigners but in San Antonio, after 10 years I'm still not at home. Im legitimate but marginal. I stay here because I can afford a home but don't feel fully accepted. I'm thinkink that this ESL masters will take me where I finally recover my BILINGUAL inner speech. Like Pavlenko I too feel a double displacement. The article mentions that WE control our own behavior. Maybe its MY time to shape my human cognitive capacity.
1 comment:
Hola, Adilia.
That's so tough, feeling legitimate but marginal. The life of a traveler is one where we keep having to re-pose that question to ourselves, and trying to figure out how we might answer it at any given time. When I move back to the States from living in another country (EVERY time), it is such a strange and surreal feeling, like sitting on the fencepost watching the goings-on, not feeling fully like a participant. My inner voice has always been there, though (even my INNER voice won't shut up, haha).
I empathize with your feelings and I imagine that as a full bilingual who has shifted back and forth (in terms of the dominant language), you must have a tough time. I hope you regain/strengthen your inner voice
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