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Towards bilingualism

Don’t worry, this is not going to behave nigh-unlimited reserves of Britons able
some theoretical treatise on theto parachute into occupied Europe with an
psychological considerations of the subject,authentic and fluent use of the German
but ‘Towards bilingualism’ canlanguage.
be relevant to the way you teach a foreign
language, as basically bilingualism is whatFrom a practical point of view, I feel it
you and your students should be (are?)helps if students try not to translate from
striving  for.English to the other language. Cognitive
processes are fast, but it obviously takes
Learning more than one language from earlytime to decide what to say in English, and
childhood not only makes it easier to graspthen translate it. This especially applies to
the languages but it also seems to make itgroup discussions, when there is not much
easier to acquire further languages in latertime to think before opening one’s
life. It may be that children are helped bymouth,  especially  before someone else does!
learning that a table isn’t a table,
it’s just what that’s called inAt least in the initial stages of learning a
English (and that, by using a different vocallanguage, perhaps the student can have a
framework, it’s also just whatnumber of stock phrases that come easily to
it’s called in French). Perhaps onemind. These can then be adapted with only
also becomes more tolerant to different formsperhaps a change of noun each time. “I
of  grammar.would like to buy a ... please” readily
comes to mind, but other throwaway phrases
This bilingual situation is to be found insuch as introductions or exclamations, such
many areas of the world, often as a result ofas ‘What a pity’ or
colonialism where a native language is forced‘That’s what you think’,
to compete, or more likely, is subjugated tocan perhaps be picked up in conversation and
a conqueror’s language or a morerecycled (although these might give the
politically powerful tongue. These linguisticimpression that the student is more fluent
battlefields occur, for example, in Brittanythan she or he is). Of course, I’m not
in France; in the French-speaking province ofsuggesting an excessive use of these, except
Québec in Canada; and in Belgium, wherein  the  early  stages  of  learning.
Flemish speakers compete with those who speak
Walloon (similar to French). Although I amTo avoid translating try to think of what you
originally from France, I currently teachwant to say as a visual stream, or perhaps a
French in Wales, and so have some knowledgevideo and describe the “video” in
of how attitudes to the Welsh language havethe foreign language. It might sound
changed  over  the  years.difficult, but after a while it becomes
easier, and one might even begin dreaming in
This situation occurs not only in Wales butthe  foreign  language!
also in Britain where there are large ethnic
communities who wish to retain their nativeSo, when two bilinguals meet, in what
language  whilst  still  learning  English.language do they talk? I’m not sure if
any degree of etiquette is involved, but it
But, returning to the acquisition ofwould seem to depend on the speakers’
languages from mainland Europe, how can onerelative proficiency and on how secretive you
learn to approach a state of bilingualism? Orthink  you  need  to  be.
rather, is it possible to feel comfortable in
another language rather than just to get byAlso, perhaps it depends on which language is
in that language? Films set during the lastmost suited to what you are talking about: if
War often amuse me as Britain appeared toit’s romance, it has to be French!



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