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Multilingualism in Madison Schools

by Meredith Alt

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Language Institute sponsored a panel discussion at the Madison Central Public Library on multilingualism in schools. The event was part of the Voices of Wisconsin series, which seeks to raise awareness and foster public discourse on the diversity of language and cultures in our local communities. The series also celebrates 2005 as the Year of Languages in the United States.

Speakers representing different ages, races, and ethnicities offered their experiences with multilingualism through an informal panel discussion followed by a question-and-answer session. For some people, the acquisition of a second language came about through necessity.  Javier Neira, a student at Madison Memorial High School, noted, for instance, that moving to the United States and into mainstream classes forced him to learn English. Neira spoke of a difficult adjustment, depression, and isolation that stemmed from his inability to speak English.  He gradually began to pick up the language.

Other people on the panel chose to pursue multilingualism for themselves or their families.  Margaret Stumpf, a parent of a Nuestro Mundo charter school student, decided to send her son to the dual-language school because she thought the program offered a tremendous opportunity to her son. Stumpf stated her only issue is that the school’s charter currently extends to only 5th grade.

For all participants, discussion of language ties to other issues, such as their cultural identities, power, and race. Hmong parent Sia Thao noted the problems that can arise when teachers don’t understand the culture of their students. Teachers may misunderstand the motivations of parents or may act in a way that families find inappropriate if they are not familiar with students’ culture.  

Margaret Stumpf noted how racial prejudice surfaces in relation to language study at Nuestro Mundo: “Some people say Madison shouldn’t open a school for immigrants.” Such connotations and underlying sentiment have elsewhere underpinned the English-only movement and conservative arguments against bilingualism in schools.  

Several of the participants in the panel discussion ultimately included that learning another language is about more than speaking multiple languages. Javier Neira stated that being bilingual makes people appreciate both cultures of the languages represented.  With language so integral to cultural survival, students’ positive identification as bicultural can also minimize the pressure to lose one’s own culture.

In a closing conversation, Amy Christianson, program coordinator for the ESL (English as as second language) and Bilingual Education Division of the Madison Metropolitan School District, discussed some of the support available to ESL students and some of the challenges they face. By law, school districts must have programs to help students acquire English. Madison’s bilingual teachers help students to build their language skills.  But, in an era of constantly shrinking education budgets, Christianson stated that ESL and language classes have severely limited funds. In addition, the question of to what degree to include students’ own language and culture in the classroom is always contested.

In addition to the panel discussion, the Language Institute unveiled an exhibit of artwork (showing through March 31) by Madison-area students. The images and writing of the children offer a somewhat less self-conscious portrayal of what it means to feel many alliances, although the work becomes very reflective as the students get older.

In “Mohammad’s Storycloth,” one student writes about moving between countries, which shaped his identity and that of his siblings. “…I was born in America, then I went to Syria. Then Dima was born in Syria. Then we went to America.  Then we went to Syria again.  Aya was born in Syria.”  

Another student’s collage shows images that represent his identification with both the United States and Mexico. A large picture of Emiliano Zapata stands near the center of the collage, along with the print, “For many Mexicans, Emiliano Zapata is a hero who represents the struggle for equality and dignity.” Images of U.S. popular culture and sports also cover the poster, along with the flags of both Mexico and the United States.

Finally, older students’ poems entitled “Where I’m From” highlight their mutlifaceted identities: “I am from the tienda de la guera at the end of the street, full of Mexican dulces and children; from the clases de baile we took every Saturday afternoon.”  

In the poems, many of the older students give voice to their parents’ words, which express similar sentiment across cultural backgrounds: “I am from someone who told me to wait a little and the fruit will fall into your hands”… “I am from a voice that says … you can be someone in the world, someone important.”

To participate in future Voices of Wisconsin events, visit www.languageinstitute.wisc.edu.  

Meredith Alt is an intern at The Madison Times