Presentation Ideas
Do you have any others?
LEVELS OF BILINGUALISM
Individual
(Bilingual Development)
Societal
(Language minorities,
government policies)
Family Level
(Bilingual child raising,
languages used within
the family)
School Level
(Bilingual education: int’l
schools, immersion, L2
instruction in schools)
INDIVIDUAL
• Review research in the field and outline benefits /
drawbacks to bilingualism in individuals. Give examples
(either from the research you’ve read or from personal
stories) to support each claim. Finally, you should give
your opinion about what you’ve learned and make
recommendations based on your opinion.
• Case study – Find a bilingual person (or one who USED to
be bilingual) and interview her about her language
history. Analyze the acquisition (or loss) of her languages
in terms of the concepts we have studied about types of
bilinguals. Consider the effect of her language
environment on her language development, her need for
her various languages, and predict the development (or
loss) of language in the future. (You can even do a case
study on YOURSELF!)
INDIVIDUAL (continued)
• Compare / contrast the language acquisition process at
different ages (0-6, 6-13, 13-20, 20+)
FAMILY
• Review research in the field and outline various factors leading to
bi- or multi-lingualism in families. Give examples from your reading
– at least one example should be in the Japanese context, but try
to include other examples from around the world. Give your
conclusion and opinion about what you’ve learned, and if your
research can help predict anything connected to families in Japan.
• Case study - Find a family with members who use more than one
language between them. Interview at least one of the family
members about the family’s language use patterns. It may be
useful to ask if the family members are satisfied with all members’
degree of bilingualism, and to learn about any regrets or successes
they may have had. Analyze the family’s language use patterns in
terms of the concepts we have studied about types of bilinguals
(what type of language speaker is each family member?
Monolingual? Subtractive bilingual? etc.)
• Other ideas for Family level?
FAMILY (continued)
• Bilingual child raising techniques and their effectiveness
(for example, “One parent, one language” [OPOL],
“Minority language at home” [ml@home])
SOCIETAL
• Compare and contrast the governmental language policies of at least
one monolingual nation and one nation with more than one official
language (for example, you could compare/contrast Japan and
Canada). Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of these general
policies. In the case of monolingual nations, are they equipped to
participate in international relations? In the case of nations with more
than one official language, are the language policies effective? Give
examples to support your analysis. Give your opinion about what you
have learned and make recommendations based on your opinion.
• Investigate a language minority group in Japan. Outline the history of
their connection to Japan, the circumstances of their immigration, their
status in society now, and what kinds of language support are
available for their mother tongue. Give your opinion about the situation
of the group in today’s society and make recommendations based on
your opinion.
SCHOOL
• Outline the second language education options available in Japan.
Discuss their merits and demerits. Give your opinion about second
language education in Japan and make recommendations based on
your opinion.
• Compare and contrast second language education in two countries.
Discuss the merits and demerits of the two systems. Give your opinion
about the two systems and make recommendations based on your
opinion.
• Investigate and explain immersion education and how it is different from
second language education (such as English education in Japan).
Discuss its merits and demerits. Give your opinion – do you think Japan
should try to adopt an immersion education model for English
education? Make recommendations based on your opinion.
SCHOOL (continued)
• Pros / cons of introducing English education in elementary school
in Japan