Course Description - This course will first explore the nature of bilingualism, focusing on its neurolinguistic, psycholinguistic, and linguistic aspects. Students will examine the most important concepts and research questions in these areas. In addition, the class will focus on bilingualism in the United States and the Spanish-speaking world, including the examination of bilingual education programs (e.g., immersion programs) and important political matters connected to them.
Reflective Narrative:
SPAN 345 taught by Dr. Rebecca Pozzi contributes to the improvement of my Spanish linguistic ability as it gives more insight into the significance of being bilingual. I understood as it being another skill that developed at a random pace, and that once you had a decent understanding of it everything else you learned in school just seemed to be polishing a decently sharp knife. Throughout the course we went over a literary text by Silva Montrul, who writes about the different aspects of how an individual develops into a bilingual speaker. Each chapter introduced us as to how a person's linguistic ability develops overtime and at which point of their lives does it improve the most. Montrul introduced these aspects by giving examples of different individuals who experienced one part more pronounced than other people. This book was also the basis for presentations we covered in class about each chapter, specifically points that more common individuals outside our University most likely relate to the most. From my own personal experience, I gained more knowledge as to why I speak Spanish the way I do. I was made aware of several different aspects from my environment in my youth that I never took into consideration before. I wish to develop my ability to speak my mother tongue more fluently as it is something that deteriorated from the fact that I took to English more often than not growing up. As of the moment this text is written I have noticed in several situations that some words still elude me, as in I still don’t know what the word is in Spanish or I haven’t used it enough and keep forgetting the word. I should also read aloud more texts or other literary works in Spanish in order to improve my usage of the language. Bilingualism in the Spanish-Speaking World is another course among others that I have taken in order to improve my Spanish. To further explore my area of interest I may start to ask different questions to people of similar backgrounds and ask them what influenced their path as a bilingual speaker.
Assignment:
Major Learning Outcome Fulfillment: