Activity 2.1 - EU Language Policies

Activity 2.2: EU Language Policies

I-How many languages do you speak, apart from your mother tongue or L1?

    I speak English, Spanish, a tiny bit of Chinese and some Japanese.

II-Is your mother tongue your L1?

    It is. My mother tonge is Catalan, and it is the one I normally use in any context.

III-Are there things you find easier in one language than the other?

     To be honest, I find that Spanish and Catalan syntax is much easier than English'. Also, pronunciation and spelling are way easier in Spanish and catalan too than in English or Chinese. Nonetheless, although the syntax of Japanese is quite intricated, its pronunciation, spelling and word formation is surprisingly easy, easier than in Spanish or Catalan I would say. Last of all, the use of pronouns and stresses in Catalan is somehow trickier than in any other language I know.

IV-In terms of language use
  1-how would you describe the society you live in? Are the people in that society plurilingual?

    At least in my county they are. We speak Catalan and Spanish as mother tonges, being Catalan the main  mother tonge, and we also learn English from very young, so, yes it is a plurilingual society.

  2-how would you encourage ‘bilingualism’ in your classroom?

    The point with bilingualism is to make the students believe that learning and using a number of different languages really offers much to their academic or laboral life. Once they become aware of the possibilities that languages offer, they will undoubtedly use them as much as they can.

  3-do you feel some languages have a higher status in the classroom?

    Indeed. In Valencia, at least, Spanish rules over Catalan and English over Spanish and Catalan I would say. It is a matter of international status. Although Spanish is a very influential language spoken by many in the world, English is the agreed Lingua Franca and it is translated into the class context as English enjoying a higher prestige than the other official languages.