Second Language Dilemma: Do the Benefits Out Way the Damage
No entiendo Española. Je ne comprends pas le français. Nie rozumiem. Non capisco. This is the extent of my rigorous training and immersion into various languages: Spanish, French, Polish, and Italian. I can confidently say I don't understand in all four languages. It isn't as though I didn't try. My schooling started when I attended Head Start at three years old. I came home spouting all sorts of Spanish words from what I was told. But my linguistic talents went downhill after that. While playing a language game with my sister and cousin, I mistranslated a picture of someone pointing to their teeth as "How are your teeth." Yes, an absurd translation that they never let me forget. My forte wasn't languages. I muddled through my language and English classes, but I excelled in math, leading me into engineering. Nobody questioned my language challenges since; overall, I was a good student. But this isn't the case for children with dyslexia. The inability to learn a language besides English should be a red flag for parents.
It is unusual to start learning another language before high school in our public school system. Although many studies show significant benefits to raising a bilingual child, our system isn't set up for the experience. When we pulled our children out of public schools into a private school environment, French was taught as early as 1st grade. It was conversational French which isn't as rigorous as reading and writing in a different language. However, our dyslexic children struggled. They were stressed by learning their primary language, English, so adding another language into the mix was not beneficial. Little did I know that French is a very difficult language to learn, like English. Spanish would have been a better choice since it is a more straightforward and predictive language.
As our boys continued through their school years, they were introduced to Latin. Studying Latin, a highly organized and logical language, much like studying math, sharpens the mind or the school thought. Our son got the idea of adding the various suffixes to words that he knew to understand the language. It wasn't successful. The result was nonsensical language that would not get a passing grade.
Once they entered high school, it was required to take a language to apply to college. After trying French, Spanish, and Latin, we weren't hopeful about the choices. Two years in one language would destroy any decent GPA, most likely prohibiting them from any college anyway. But we took the poor guidance from the counselors and forged ahead. Our oldest tried learning Chinese. This language wasn't a wrong choice since the words were all pictures. He excelled in the printed version; however, conversational Chinese was a disaster. Although he did get an opportunity to visit China with his class, that was the only positive experience from the course.
Another school transfer brought our boys back into the public schools. The language requirement offered sign language. Even though the counselors warned that sign language would not qualify for most college admission requirements, the guidance turned out to be inaccurate. They were able to get a respectable B grade for their two years in the classes. College admissions didn't blink. They did not apply to the Ivy League colleges, but they were accepted in good school nonetheless.
Unfortunately, the language saga didn't end there. In college, our youngest was required to take a language to graduate. He could opt-out to an even more punitive class for a dyslexic student, so he forged ahead and took Swahili instead. He did contemplate taking Spanish since his girlfriend was fluent in the language and offered to tutor him, but we advised against a potentially high-stress experience.
The academic environment can site studies on how learning a language can benefit a student. However, even though I could be considered a good student, learning a second language was more damaging than productive. Math served me as a second language, and I excelled. I am envious of those who know another language, but I am now comfortable with my limits. This was not the case in high school, where I felt very inept in French. The C grades damaged my grade point average. It only served as a "check the box" for college applications. My experience is only magnified if I was dyslexic.
When we tested our son in fourth grade for learning disabilities, it was noted that he should be exempt from learning another language. This fact was ignored his entire academic career. Teachers and counselors who "knew better" told us to continue with classes that we're destroying our children's self-esteem. The aggravation did not out way the benefits. What is the solution? Awareness! We are promoting dyslexia awareness for parents, teachers, and students. Join the cause. www.cjcorki.com
