Cassidy Shannon

UWRT 1104

Dr. Maeghan Rand

14 February, 2018

Growth and Development and Perks of Being Bilingual

Language and literacy play a major role in our character development. When we use

language, we do it as individuals with social histories. Our histories are defined by our

membership in various social groups into which we are born such a social class, gender, race,

and religion. How does a baby go from giggles and gurgles to words and sentences? It can only

happen with help from others. Researchers show that building vocabulary is tied to enhanced

reading skills and improving school work. Once we reach an age to where we begin to form

vocal opinions, we begin to learn which religion, political group, or economic stance we were

given. Of course, our identities are formed in many different ways. The people around us, books

we read, our role models and heroes, and the work we do all play a part in shaping us.

But, speaking a foreign language can lead to creating a separate disguise and help in

understanding who we are. In addition to the group memberships we receive by virtue at birth,

we gain a secondary layer developed through involvement in various activities of the social

institutions that encompass our communities, such as school, the workplace, family, and the

church. Being involved in these institutions, we take on certain roles such as mother and

daughter, employer and employee, brother and sister, or teacher and student. These roles afford

us access to specific role defined relationships. As company executives, for example, we have

access to and can participate in board meetings, business deals and job interviews that are closed
to other company employees, and thus are able to establish role relationships that are unique to

these positions. As we grow in this world, our social circle, relationships, group memberships,

and individual roles grow as well. This leads to an increase in language forms we take on within

these disguises.

During growth and developmental years, between birth and five years, and especially to

three years, children learn and grow at the fastest rate of their lifetime. Infants begin to learn

from birth, and talking, and singing and reading to a baby from their beginning is important in

the development of their language skills. By the age of three, children usually have a working

vocabulary; five hundred and eleven hundred words and by the age of five, most children have a

vocabulary of about two thousand words. It is proven by previous research that growing up

speaking two or more languages can help a child’s brain become more active or “flexible,”

enhances memory skills, and aids in learning math concepts and word problems, making it easier

to learn other languages.

My lexicon does not match with my geographical raising. Over the years, I have been

surrounded by many different types of people from many different places around the world. I

think this is what has formed my myriad of vocabulary. In my growth and development years, I

heard all types of lexicon and language. My family originates from Mexico, some come from

Cuba, and some from Ireland. This mix of cultures have defined the broad and extensive view of

the world I see today. In my elementary, middle, and high schools, I took many years of Spanish.

The graduation requirements was part to blame for my forcible decision in taking these courses,

however, I enjoyed learning a new way to communicate. I have always picked up on words in

phrases as I have listened to family members’ conversations, but I would love to be able to
participate in this exclusive connection. For me, this is an easy link to how being bilingual could

benefit me, personally, in many ways.

Since bilingualism has so many benefits, I occasionally wish I was raised to learn

Spanish as my second language. Being raised in an “all American” home, I have some setbacks

when it it comes to this subject. However, when my family would travel to our relatives’ and I

reached a certain age to be able to soak in all of the new vocabulary, it was never often enough

for me to actually use it as a second language in my life now. Those who are bilingual benefit in

many ways. These can include situations involving social interactions. Maybe while in a grocery

store, an elder needs help carrying a bag and only speak one language you are not familiar with.

If I happened to be in this certain situation, I would be unable to assist them. Not only does

bilingualism help in one’s personal life but can be used to help others you come across in your

lifetime. If someone were in a healthcare career, they are likely to come in contact with a patient

who does not share your language. These are just two examples of how speaking two languages

can benefit others. At the time, I did not realize how much being bilingual could significantly

improve my experiences in future. Now that I am surrounded by a completely new group and set

of people from all over the world, I see how many opportunities a second language would have

brought me in my relationships, career, family life, and social life.

In my opinion, I believe that if possible, every child should be exposed to multiple

languages from birth instead of growing up to discover they would have been better off learning

it from development. Parents should take it into their own hands to familiarize their children of

this beneficial head start. The only downsides to this theory would be difficulty in continuing one

language due to environmental reasons. A child could be mainly surrounded by friends or peers

that speak English causing confusion within their multiple languages. Also, if the child grows up
with siblings older than them, they will most likely also be exposed to the dominant second

language, such as English in this case. Although, this should be taken into account, the benefits

of this advantage are far greater and favorable.

Writer’s Reflection

1. Why is it important to think about your literacy and language practices critically? What can

you learn by doing so?

I think it lets us self evaluate our cultural backgrounds and what we could improve within them.

We can learn how to diversify our literacy and language to familiarize ourselves with others we

come in contact with throughout our lives.

2. What do you think is the most successful part of your paper/project? Why?

I think the most successful part of my project is making a point on how many benefits a child can

have when they are exposed to multiple languages during the development and growth stages.

3. What are you proud of in this paper/project?

I am proud of my ability to incorporate my own experiences and relating them to the purpose of

my paper.

4. What part of your paper/project would you like to work on more if you had the time? Why?

If I had the time, I would like to be able to incorporate more of the religious aspect of

bilingualism.

5. What do you want your reader to notice or comment on specifically?

I would like my reader to notice how beneficial it is to begin the bilingualism process from birth

instead of later life when it is much more difficult to incorporate into your life because of the

brain’s ability to learn and adapt.

6. If you had to teach someone about writing based on your experience with this project, what

advice do you have?

If I had to teach someone about writing based on my experience with this project, I would advise

them to be confident in their audience so it doesn’t fluctuate throughout their paper.

7. Please reflect on your time management and effort in completing this project.

I think my time management on this project could have been a little more productive so I could

have the ability to write a few drafts before turning in the final one.