(i) Tree Tree (Arbole, arbole) by Kenneth Koch.
Color is a valuable resource in education especially if it comes in the form of pictures. Colors add to the attraction in learning and establishing the relevance and significance of learning. This poem, written in both Spanish and English, is an example of how bilingual language can be used in learning and teaching. I chose this poem as a resource since I felt that there is a dreamy use of color in it that initiates a sense of magic. This looks appealing in learning especially to children. The purpose of this resource is to heighten the sense of sound and color among students by comparing the words as they read and write using both languages (Petrovic, 2009).
The poem is about a pretty girl picking olives from a garden at windy dimmer hours. Several people pass by offering a helping hand, but the girl seems objective and will not give in to any offer. The first instance has four riders in green and blue jackets and dark capes. The girl will not listen to their appeal. In the English version, the appeal “Come to Cordoba, Muchacha” is made in Spanish. There follows the bull fighters in orange jackets and silver ancient sword, who still appeal in Spanish. The girl seems oblivious and does not listen to them; she continues to pick her olives. As the afternoon turns dark brown, a young man approaches the girl, but still she will not listen.
The whole idea behind this bilingual poem is a promotion of learning of different colors in the two languages. At the end of the poem, one can easily determine both in read and writing, different colors in the two languages. Color naming and specification has been a challenge among many young learners. The use of such a bilingual poem can be fruitful in promoting knowledge in learning of the different types of colors. With the use of such a poem, a teacher can be able to assist students in identifying various colors and how to obtain different color mixes. For instance grey is a mixture of colors; to promote learning the teacher can incorporate both Spanish and English languages to demonstrate how such colors are obtained.
Work cited
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15431
(ii) Bulleting board.
This is a theatre play casted in 2010 to address the multicultural issue that had overtaken Canada during this time (Baker, 2010). The play describes the many different groups with different ethnical backgrounds, religions and culture that contribute to the population of Canada. The play has been casted in both English and French. Most of immigrants in the play were slaves from Africa during the pre-colonial era. This implies that apart from French, the population has other native languages from their origins. The nature of cultural pluralism in the country becomes a challenge in communication and hence the need for the integration of a common language. English is considered by many as an unfamiliar language in the state, and so many are faced with the challenge of learning.
The use of such content can be used in promotion of bilingual learning. Students watching such art are encouraged, and an urge of learning a foreign language is developed among the students. The play analyses the modern setting of our societies. Language barrier has been a challenge that is resulting from immigration cases. In order to solve this challenge, the development of a common language is required. This has resulted to the growth of English. Foreigners are required to have a decent command of the language before making any international immigration to avoid language and communication barriers (Petrovic, 2009).
This play has also established different methods and learning styles for the immigrants. It also addresses the importance of bilingual languages. The community in the play is seen to have issues in acquiring a tutor who can handle both languages. This drives the importance of having the knowledge of more languages. Watching this play motivates any learner to acquire the knowledge of a language that is internationally acceptable and that which covers multiculturalism differences.
Work cited
http://www.tvdsb.ca/bulletinBoard.cfm?bb=56
(iii) English-Spanish Bilingual Songs
Since contemporary literature, songs have been known to play the largest part in learning. They apply to both written and oral learning skills and are used in memorizing. Young students, from as low as kindergarten levels, are taught using songs. Songs cover for stories, happenings current affairs that every student can easily memorize. The key purpose of using songs in bilingual education is to make learning easier and more entertaining for students who do not understand English. Even without having the true meaning of some words, Spanish students, for example, can easily remember the flow of words from a song. This promotes sentence composure as well as being creative in terms of writing.
Sara Jordan sings in Spanish, but her wordings have been translated in the form of writing in different languages. Research indicates that, songs play a vital part in promotion of both oral and written language. Many Spanish students prefer the use of songs in understanding English. A Spanish student can easily express his or her skills in English using songs rather than in any other form. Jordan’s songs are educative and can be used by teachers in promoting the wealth of writing skills among students. Spanish beginners learn the language easily from the teachings attached to these songs (Baker, 2010). These include various formal greetings in Spanish language, analyzing articles, games and cartoons.
Her songs have been noted in making learning fun with the use of music and rhythm. The song ‘remember the gender’, for example, has been used in many English lessons in assisting Spanish students in knowing their sexual identities and their gender rights. This assists in social learning and teaching grammar among the teachers.
Work cited
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sara-jordan-mn0001454884
(iv) Cartoons for Bilingual studies.
Cartoons have for a long time been used as play games for children. Kids socialize while playing and watching fun games. The internet has provided various play games as well as cartoon networks where kids can log in and watch as they play. Most of these fun games are in English language. Gaming does not matter which background one comes from. Most of the kids playing with these games are forced to learn the language so as to have more fun. This has led to promotion of the language both in the internet and in class work.
Watching these games allow kids to be more creative and innovative. This improves on the writing skills and later in spoken language. They assist in own composition writing which leads to more development in learning.
Research indicates that the internet is one of the sources of knowledge and skills used by the larger population. Having such features as games, therefore, means that most of the learners will access the information and knowledge that they prefer in their desired language. Most of the provisions in the net are from foreign languages to English. This is because the latter is the most used language among the others. By using the language, it implies that more of the concepts, grammar and texts are learnt by the learners.
Work cited
http://www.cartoonstudies.org/index.php/tag/bilingual-comics/
(v) Sara Jordan biography.
In her biography, Sarah Jordan has used two languages: Spanish and English. This artistic icon was famous in the globe in the 1990’s. Many theatre and movie fans admired her attitude and originality of her character. In order to promote her biography, the artist decided to use the two languages which according to her were the most famous in the world. In contrast to her views, most of her admirers seem to understand English better that Spanish. This has resulted to more publications in English. Currently her biography books are mostly in English. This has forced her Spanish fans to have the desire to learn the language. This has promoted the use of English amongst her fans. In her biography, the artist has implemented the use of art, pictures and cartoons in promotion of learning. This learning has been spotted to promote bilingual preschool learning. These presentations provide a perfect introduction to a new language. The use of art in form of pictures in her biography promotes memory amongst the students. Research on pictures and images in learning provides that most students are able to capture and memorize a picture. The students later apply the skills in writing easily rather than using non-practical theories in class.
The use of art and images in bilingual learning does not only apply in young teachings. Achieving knowledge in this allows teachers in today’s swiftly growing Spanish-English language in classrooms. With this interpreting knowledge teachers apply this collection for professional education, adult teaching and in individual programs in schools. This accommodates all types of understanding capabilities for all students such that none of the student lags behind his/her grade.
Reference
Petrovic, J. (2009). International Perspectives on Bilingual Education: Policy, Practice, and Controversy. IAP: Frankfurt.
Baker, C. (2010).Key issues in Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. Multilingual Matters: New York.
