A Language Worth Keeping: Social Aspects of Bilinguality | Chapter 9 | Language, Literature and Education: Research Updates Vol. 3

According to United States census data, over 160 languages are spoken in the U.S., and over 20% of the population speaks a language other than English at home. Bilinguality is a matter of both degree and definition. Most true bilinguals are immigrants as they bring their native language to their newfound country and use it in the household. This study examines different aspects of bilinguality and heritage language. An extensive survey was administered to students from five different public and private universities in the United States. An online 100-item in-depth questionnaire of bilinguality presented in English was designed for this study. The questionnaire asked for demographic information about the subjects, and additionally, it required the participants to provide their self-ratings about their level of competence in speaking, reading, and writing a second (non-English) language. Based on their responses, the subjects were divided into heritage and non-heritage and fluent and non-fluent bilinguals. It was hypothesized that those participants who have two bilingual parents are likely to learn the foreign language at a faster rate and be more fluent than the subjects who had only one bilingual parent or two monolingual parents. However, the main focus of this study was to determine any possible social influences on the maintenance of bilinguality. Parts of the survey dealt with whether or not bilingual subjects have ever been made fun of or felt embarrassed for speaking their second language in public. Further, the sense of pride and comfort in speaking a foreign language was measured among heritage and non-heritage bilinguals. Based on the results of this study, more fluent heritage and non-heritage bilinguals reported a sense of comfort in speaking their heritage language, although they also reported having been ridiculed at some point. Many children of heritage language households face strong social forces against learning their heritage language and are unable or unwilling to maintain the heritage language of their parents. However, it seems that the fluent heritage speakers in this study have a stronger sense of commitment and social and cultural support, which together can help keep their ancestral language alive. Heritage speakers seem to also report a stronger sense of pride about being bilingual than non-heritage speakers.

 

Author (s) Details

 

Lily Halsted
Department of Psychology, Queens University of Charlotte, Charlotte NC 28274, USA.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/lleru/v3/5093

Parental Expectations and Academic Performance: A Comparative Study of Mothers’ and Fathers’ Perspectives among School Children | Chapter 5 | Language, Literature and Education: Research Updates Vol. 2

Academic performance is the outcome of education, the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals. Academic performance is one of the most cherished values in all cultures ever since the dawn of the educational system, whether formal or informal. Parental expectations have been found to play a critical role in children's academic success. The objectives of the study were to assess both father and mother expectations regarding academic performance among school children and explore the association between their expectations. An exploratory research design was used, with a sample size of 320 school children from north India. A non-observation checklist was used to collect data on parent expectations. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The result showed that 93.4% of fathers had high expectations, 6.3% had moderate expectations 0.3% had fewer expectations and 90.3% of mothers had high expectations, 9.7% had moderate expectations and none of them had less expectations. There was a significant association between expectations of father and mother with a linear positive correlation of r value 0.714. The study emphasized that nursing administration should anticipate the need for time and prepare young nurses to serve the community and school regarding parental expectations. Moreover, nursing professionals should render services according to the changing needs of the society. There is a need for health professionals to take an active part in providing health education to people regarding a positive attitude towards academic performance.

 

Author (s) Details

Sapna Singh
Department of Paediatric Nursing, Teerthanker Mahaveer College of Nursing, Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/lleru/v2/4776