In this activity, we explore the approach to Spanish and English as a privileged bilingualism in Colombia and the minority view of Creole languages in this country. Additionally, we offer a personal perspective on the above topics and the role teachers play in educational institutions regarding the way respect between different cultures is presented and addressed, not just as a means of learning a language to gain greater job opportunities.
Finally, we will learn concepts, implications, and examples of bilingualism and biculturalism through a basic reading on the topic discussed.
GENERAL OBJETIVE
The objective of this work is to share the different ideas and thoughts regarding bilingualism in Colombia and how it is addressed in different educational institutions.
Additionally, we learned the concepts of bilingualism and biculturalism and the differences between them to avoid confusion and gain clarity about the different concepts so we can analyze, study, and, if necessary, apply them.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BEING BILINGUAL AND BICULTURAL
BILINGUAL
A person who has knowledge of two languages, although not necessarily acquired since childhood. A bilingual uses their languages for different situations, such as their work life, personal life, or to achieve other goals. Simply put, bilingualism is the use of two or more languages or dialects in everyday life.
This can include knowledge and use of two or more languages, presenting information in two languages, the need for two languages, recognizing two or more languages, etc.
Bilingual people typically acquire and use their languages for different purposes, in different areas of life, and with different people. Different aspects of life often require different languages. (Grosjean, F. 2013)
BICULTURAL
Bicultural people can be characterized as follows (Grosjean, 2008)
1. They participate, to varying degrees, in the life of two or more cultures.
2. They adapt, at least in part, their attitudes, behaviors, values, languages, etc. to these cultures.
3. They combine and merge aspects of the cultures involved.
DIFFERENCES
1. A bilingual person has the ability to communicate and understand two languages, without needing to engage further with the culture of the second language they speak. In contrast, a bicultural person is someone who has knowledge of two or more languages and additionally navigates each of those cultures, understanding and adopting their values, customs, daily life, and so on.
2. One of the most notable differences is that a bilingual person is someone who can speak two languages, while a biocultural person refers to everything related to the cultures, customs, and traditions of a specific place.
3. In bilingual education, teaching is based more on the differences that a new language has compared to the mother tongue, while biocultural teaching also teaches a different language, but it is based on promoting culture.
4. Bilingual education does not focus on cultural aspects and is based solely on learning one language. Biocultural education teaches the skills needed to communicate with people from different cultures, fostering reasoning and understanding.
EXAMPLES
• We can talk about immigrants, many of whom have acquired their second language in their adopted country and have adapted to and engaged with their new culture (bicultural and bilingual).
• A language student may be linguistically involved with one or more other languages but not culturally, since they have not lived in the country or countries where the language they are learning. (bilingual without necessarily being bicultural).
• A translator who speaks their native language and the language they use in their work, but focuses only on translation and not on experiencing the culture. (bilingual without necessarily being bicultural).
• A child raised in one country, but whose parents are native to another, shares the culture of their parents but only speaks the language of the country they live in. (bicultural but without necessarily being bilingual).
• The opposite case can also arise, where the child shares the language and culture of both the country where they live and the country where their parents are from. (bilingual and bicultural).
• A migrant who experiences their native culture while living in another country and also practices that country's culture. (bilingual and bicultural)
CONCLUSIONS
1. Considering all the aspects analyzed, it is important to highlight the fact that bilingualism itself is an attribute and brings advantages to the speaker for their overall cognitive development.
2. Ultimately, the bilingual speaker has the ability and opportunity to communicate and retain information from people of other cultures.
3. A bilingual person is someone who understands and expresses themselves in two languages for work or personal reasons. On the other hand, biculturalism is the process in which a person feels identified and committed not only to the language, but also to the culture, customs, values, etc.
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