Reflect on your experiences of (trying to) read and write in your target language. Are you bilingual? If so, would you agree with the arguments made in the two readings on bilingualism?
None of my learning plan goals are centered on reading or writing, I specifically focused on speaking and listening. The readings were very interesting because much like educators that are discussed in “Are bilinguals really smarter,” my parents thought that being bilingual would confuse me or slow my cognitive growth, so they never emphasized it in our household. However, I have picked up a Hindi from watching movies and Spanish from school. I do not think I have any type of cognitive advantage compared to my peers, though. I do think that speaking different languages makes one more culturally competent and able to connect with more people. Through learning Hindi I was able to learn a lot about the culture in India and connect to the people who are from there. I think it is very important to be culturally competent because it allows for one to respect and acknowledge diversity. This skill of speaking multiple languages and understanding of culture will be very advantageous in the future and when I work. I hope to become a physician so I need to be able to connect with my patients. Hopefully, I will have a diverse group of patients, and it is through my experiences with different languages and culture, I will be able to successfully create strong bonds with them.
My learning goals for this week are to keep up and practice my 10 learning plan tasks since I have completed them. For instance, I am still listening to my Spotify playlist, going through my iPhone applications, and talking to family members in Bengali.
Replies