正在同步电影信息
Sometimesasmallideahasbigimplications.ConsiderAmerica’sresolutecommitmenttoremainingan“Englishonly”nation.Itturnsoutthatourattitudesaboutlanguagereflectmuchbiggerconcerns:thatlanguageisametaphorforthebarriersthatcomebetweenneighbors,betheyacrossthestreetoraroundtheworld.<br/> OurideainmakingSpeakinginTongueswastoshowcaseaworldwherethesecommunicationbarriersarebeingaddressed.AnAfrican-Americanboyfrompublichousinglearnstoread,write,andspeakMandarin.AMexican-Americanboy,whoseparentsarenotliterateinanylanguage,developsprofessional-levelSpanishwhilemasteringEnglish.AChinese-Americangirlregainshergrandparents’mothertongue—alanguageherparentslostthroughassimilation.ACaucasianteentravelstoBeijingtostaywithaMandarinspeakinghostfamily.TheirstoriesrevealthepromiseofamultilingualAmerica.Eachkid’sworldopensupwhentheystartlearningtwolanguagesonthefirstdayofkindergarten;eachisdevelopingbothbi-culturalandbi-lingualfluency.<br/> SupportforthisideacomesfromanoddcrosssectionofAmerica.Businessleaderspointtoa“flattening”world,seekingworkerswithmultilingualskillslikethosedisplayedbymanyfromrisingnations;theDepartmentofDefensepourshundredsofmillionsofdollarsintoteachinglanguagesdeemed“strategic”tonationalsecurity(todayMandarin,Arabic,Russian.Tomorrow,Hindi?Portuguese?Malay?).Andmanyeducatorstouttheimprovedtestscoresofbilingualchildren—whethertheyspeakEnglishasafirstlanguageornot.Whythen,isbilingualismnotderigeurintheU.S.asitisinmostnations?<br/> ManyAmericanshaveadifferentperspective.Wearebecomingamodern-dayBabel,detractorswarn;ournationalidentityisatrisk.WitnessNashville’srecentvoteaimedatmakingEnglishthecity’s“officiallanguage,”something31stateshavealreadyvotedtodo.NewYorkCity,inturn,feltthehostilitylastyearwhenstreetdemonstrationseruptedovertheopeningofanArabicimmersionpublicschoolnamedafterKhalilGibran,theLebaneseChristianwriterwhooncelivedinNewYork.EvenliberalPaloAlto,California,hadahardtimeallowingaMandarinimmersionprogramtoopen.SomesaidtherewasfearitwouldattracttoomanyChinesetotheneighborhood.Attitudestowardbilingualismcanbeamaskforcomplicatedfearsthatarehardtotalkabout:theimpactofnewimmigrants,andglobalcompetition,tonametwohotbuttonissues.Butinourdiversecountry,inourincreasinglyinternationalworld,isknowingEnglishenough?<br/> TheensemblecastofSpeakinginTonguesanswersoncamera.Astheireducationaladventureunfolds,wewitnesshowlearningasecondlanguagetransformstheirsenseofself,theirfamilies,andtheircommunities.Inatimeofglobalizationandchangingdemographics,bilingualismoffersthesekidsmorethananopportunitytojointheglobaljobmarket.Theyconnectwiththeirgrandparents,theycommunicatewiththeirimmigrantfriends,theytravelcomfortablyabroad.Theyarebecomingglobalcitizens.<br/> We’vewitnessedthistransformationinourownhome.OursonsareintheirfourthandeighthyearinapublicschoolChineseimmersionprogram.Theycauseastirwhentheyorderinaccent-lessChineseatlocalrestaurants.ButtheyalsohavetranslatedforaconfusedChinesespeakerlostatthedoctor,visitedshut-inChinesespeakingelders,feltathomeinatraditionalChinesehome,andveryimportantforus,helpedusunderstandourfilmfootage.Whenspokentobyanativespeaker,theydon’tpausetotranslate;theythinkinChinese,havinglearneditlikeababy,byhearingitspokenaroundthem.Theirexperiencepromptsthetellingofthesesmallstoriesthatinturnprovokeoneofthemostcompellingquestionsofourday:whatdoweasanationneedtoknowinthe21stcentury?