There are several definitions of bilingualism. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages; the frequent use (as by a community) of two languages; the political or institutional recognition of two languages.
Focus on education, bilingualism could be described in different ways according to the function or used given to this concept. Cazden and Snow (1990) pointed out bilingual education is “a simple label for a complex phenomenon.” According to Baker (2001), bilingual education refers to education in more than one language, often encompassing more than two languages.
To analyze and reflect about bilingualism we have to revise all this definitions and models as a started point.
Models of bilingualism
Bilingualism has adopted different forms at various times and in different places. Traditionally there have been two models of bilingualism in scholarly literature to reflect these different forms: subtractive and additive. The first one –subtractive- refers to the students that speak a first language and a second one is added while the first one is subtracted. The second one is a model where the second language is added to the person’s repertoire and the two languages are maintained.
There are other forms of bilingualism that are recursive and dynamic. Recursive model refers to the development of the community’s mother tongue that for any reason had been suppressed. In this case is not a simple addition that starts from a monolingual point. Dynamic model encourages communicative and dynamic bilingualism. Ergo because of the world’s globalization is increasingly calling on people to interact with others in ways that defy traditional categories.
There are other concepts that have been used in the bilingual education literature, such as semilingualism, language dominance, mother tongue, second-language learners, and heritage-language learners.
Bilingual abilities
Depending on the reasons for using their languages, bilinguals may have only oracy abilities –the ability to listen and speak- and not literacy abilities –the ability to read and write. Sometimes bilinguals only have receptive bilingual abilities, that is, they may understand, read or attend to, or interpret, signs in more than one language. Other times bilinguals also have productive bilingual abilities, that is, they are capable of also speaking, writing and producing signs in more than one language (O.García, 2009).
The distinction between being a receptive and a productive bilingual has to do with levels of language abilities or skills. But bilingualism can also be a consequence of language function, that is, the use to which one puts either language.
And, what about bilingualism in our context?
We cannot analyze bilingualism without reference to the social order, because is strongly linked to social and political constructions.
So here you have some questions to reflect about bilingualism.
- Have we established a clear policy of bilingualism in our country?
- If so, are we using the correct concept of bilingualism to establish our goals?
- Do we have the conditions to become a bilingual country?
…to be continued
