Vote, Name that Oppression, Become a Bilingual Teacher

Vote.

Last week I voted and mailed my ballot. Over the weekend, I helped family members and friends vote as well. In our democracy voting is our voice. At BilingualHire, we encourage everyone to cast their vote and make their voices heard not just in the U.S. Presidential Elections, but also for important State and Local offices and legislative measures. Less than eight days left, Vote early.

Name that Oppression

A few weeks ago, I sat down with Dr. Kari Mize, a Professor at Western Oregon University. Below is a summary of her thoughts on Oregon's Measure 58. At BilingualHire we're in the business of connecting employers with bilingual [Spanish+ English] talent. We believe Measure 58 cuts the aspirations of thousands of students who are non-English native speakers and undercuts our small business. We help younger and older bilingual professionals advance their careers. What we want to be certain, and the organizations we help grow is that these professionals are bilingual in Spanish and English. Any initiative that undercuts this flow of talent poses a serious challenge to these students aspirations and of course the employers that need to hire them. We hope you enjoy this read.

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What do the following events have in common?

1. When Latinos responded to a 2007 survey about potential sources of discrimination, “language skills” was cited more frequently than immigration status, income, education or skin color (Hakimzadeh & Cohn, 2007).


2. In the summer of 2008, reacting to the growing number of golf professionals from South Korea, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (L-PGA) announced that players would have to pass an English test to play in tournament events.


3. Bill Sizemore received enough signatures to put Measure 58, which would restrict bilingual and English as a Second Language services for school-age students, on Oregon’s 2008 ballot.

These events are examples of linguistic oppression, also known as “linguicism” by the noted scholar, Tove Skutnabb-Kangas. She defines linguicism as “the domination of one language at the expense of others” (1995, p. 10).

Linguicism is often subtle or hard to identify because, like discussions about racism and sexism, people have learned that explicitly biased comments are not socially acceptable. As a result, linguicism and other oppressions are often masked in euphemisms, metaphors, or discussions of broader societal issues, like welfare, family values, immigration, patriotism, and affirmative action. Our current sociopolitical climate, especially post 9/11, is one in which

the fear of “terrorists” has influenced our domestic policy about others who are
“foreign.” Efforts to “protect” the United States have been focused on
militarizing the southern Mexican border despite the entry of more people who
are undocumented from Canada (Public Broadcasting Service, 2003). This attempt
to exclude people has also influenced views of language. The English Only
movement and anti-bilingual initiatives have strengthened their efforts to
devalue the linguistic heritage of a growing number of school-age students . . .
(Dantas-Whitney, Mize, & Waldschmitt, In Press)

What happens outside of the school doors greatly impacts what happens inside of them.

It is vital that teachers understand how these broader, macro-level issues impact their schools and classrooms on the micro-level, especially the long-term consequences to students’ social, academic, and linguistic development. Bilingual children and their families often internalize this societal ethos and begin to believe that their linguistic and cultural heritage is unimportant or, even worse, a source of shame. Teachers must validate students’ backgrounds and help them to develop their native and additional language(s), building pride from the inside so that the negative messages from the outside are not allowed to erode their self-esteem.

Helping teachers learn how to nurture bilingualism and biculturalism is a goal of Western Oregon University’s “Bilingual Teacher Initiative.” We are looking to train more teachers who are native or heritage speakers of languages other than English in addition to encouraging native English speakers to take advanced language classes, especially Spanish. Bilingual teachers are in great demand in Oregon schools, and I argue they are key in changing the sociopolitical climate of the United States. Bilingual teachers can fight linguicism by raising awareness of the gifts that our multilingual students bring to school. We should be encouraging every person to be bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural not only for their school success, but also their active participation as a world citizen. I agree with Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

References:

Dantas-Whitney, M., Mize, K., & Waldschmitt, E.D. (In press). “Integrating Macro- and Micro-level Issues in ESOL/Bilingual Teacher Education.” In S.L. Groenke & A. Hatch (Eds.), Critical Pedagogies in K-12 Preservice Teacher Education.

Hakimzadeh, S., & Cohn, D. (2007). English usage among Hispanics in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Pew Hispanic Center. Retrieved on May 3, 2008 from http://www.pewhispanic.org/

Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1995). Multilingualism and the education of minority children. In T. Skutnabb-Kangas & J. Cummins (Eds.), Minority education: From shame to struggle, pp. 9-56. Philadelphia, PA: Multilingual Matters.

Become a Bilingual Teacher

At Western Oregon University, they understand our changing demographics and the demand for bilingual teachers. Their Bilingual Teacher Initiative seeks to meet this challenge head on and interested candidates can enter at any Bilingual Fellow level. WOU also provides at-least four scholarships to Bilingual Fellows to study in Morelia, Mexico during the summer. For more information about becoming a bilingual teacher at Western Oregon University, email Dr. Karie Mize.

Have you voted? What advice would you give to improve ESL? How can WOU's Bilingual Teacher Initiative recruit more students? What did I miss? As always I appreciate your thoughts as well.

-David Molina, Co-Founder/CEO, BilingualHire