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Bilingualism is one of the topics we study under the banner of "Language and Culture". We'll discuss and think about what it means to be "bilingual" or "multilingual" (and perhaps discover that there is in reality no such thing). You'll have a lot to offer this topic, since a big part of your EBV education is aimed at creating a "bilingual" citizen of Venezuela, this hemisphere, and the world.


Class Handouts:

• For this handout, you were to answer some questions based on part of Chapter 5 of the Sociolinguistics book, and then teach the other class members that little section of the chapter. On the back is a list of questions you're to use to assess your own bilingualism, using the terms from the book.
• This is the essay assignment, where you are to write about yourself as a bilingual person, a kind of "language autobiography".
• Here's a page of questions with some space to take notes on Chapter 6 of the Sociolinguistics book, which we completed in class.

Internet Resources:

• Bilingual Families is just what the title says--It's about bilingualism in families, raising bilingual children, and the general benefits of a bilingual household. From a group in Perth, Australia.
• On the same topic, the Bilingual Families web page has lots of basic articles, from "Myths About Bilingualism" to "The Politics of Bilingualism".
• A good case study in the politics of bilingualism is the situation in Canada, ably covered in a series of articles by the Canadian Broadcasting System.
• James Crawford has been a writer on bilingualism issues in the US, including a book called Hold Your Tongue, and now runs the Language Policy Web Site & Emporium. His point of view is clear when it comes to the "English-Only Movement" and articles such as "Hispanophobia," but the site is well-researched and well-documented with research.
• On the other side of the debate are groups such as U.S. English, Inc. and English First, "Working to make English America's official language."

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