Huh? Just what does that mean? I remember while studying abroad in Spain as a sophomore in college, I couldn’t wait to say those words. But the more Spanish I learned, the more I became suspicious of those words.
What is bilingual? Is it the ability to speak two languages perfectly? If so, then there are precious few bilinguals in the world. Is it being raised around a second language so that you understand it, or do you also need to speak it well? What if you speak and understand it, but don’t know how to read or write it? Is it necessary that you have schooling in both languages to call yourself bilingual?
We have developed new terminology to more accurately describe the types of students we see in our classes these days, in our specific case at The College of Saint Rose, those students who have had exposure to Spanish in the home. They are called heritage speakers – students whose heritage has provided extensive exposure to the Spanish language. Ability levels will vary in the areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Still and all, while these students may not pass a spelling test in Spanish, the richness of their contact with the language moves them very far along in the language learning process.
Why are there so many heritage speakers in our classes? The common misconception is that Spanish speakers in this country are refusing to teach their kids English. Wrong! In fact, the immigrants coming from Spanish speaking countries are learning English faster and better than the waves of European immigrants arriving in the late 1800s and early 1900s. First generation arrivals learn more functional English than my Italian grandparents. Second generation children are fully functional in both languages. Third generation speakers are English language dominant, often, and also unfortunately, only with a smattering of words in Spanish.
So why are there so many heritage speakers in our classes? Census data is clear – because there are continual waves of immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries. There has been a continuous influx of first generation speakers, who then place their second generation children into our classrooms.
I am happy to report that we are trying to maintain and build on the skills of our second generation heritage speakers of Spanish. I am teaching a group of heritage speakers this semester – a raucous, quick to laugh group, unsure of their own language abilities, but sharing common characteristics of family norms, culture, and life experiences. Imagine how different things would be now if my dad had the opportunity to keep using Italian, and actually become more functional in that language. He may have passed it down to his kids.
Multiple generations of bilingual or even multilingual people in the United States? I would think I had reached Nirvana.