Summary Of The Memory Of A Bilingual Child Hood By Richard Rodriguez

Let’s talk about an essay, learning a new lifestyle can be hard, especially when it includes learning a new language. In the essay Aria: The memory of a bilingual child hood by Richard Rodriguez he talks about himself who at the time only knew one language, Spanish, he started school and was required to memorize English and create a reborn childhood because of it. I believe that the author was trying to explain how something as small as learning a new language in a new environment and move to a new country can be both challenging and life changing, for good and bad. This essay wasn’t all that well written, some points were confusing and the thesis was not clear. Coming from an English 101 student, I didn’t find this essay to be very useful,

but it is interesting to see someone elses point of view.

Richard said “In pubic, my father and mother spoke hesitant, accented, and not always grammatical English. And then they would have to strain, their bodies tense, to catch the sense of what was rapidly said by los gringos” (Richard 87). I have known several people who struggled each day at school and in our society just trying to be a part of the town, the state, and America in general. It is a struggle for families to move and raise children in a new country where learning a new language is a major complication and can be detrimental. You have to have a positive outlook on things in life to survive.

Most of the time the children will learn more of the new language than the parents, which can cause a barrier at home, not assuming everyone. The author describes his struggles as a child and how learning this new language changed his life tremendously. “There was a new silence at home. As we children learned more and more English, we shared fewer and fewer words with our parents. Sentences needed to be spoken slowly when one of us addressed our mother or father” (Richard 93). There are certain things in life that cannot be returned to normal, and for him it was the safety of his families own private language. The author states clear points in his essay proving that little things can made a huge impact on ones’ future as well as their childhood. He obviously had a different experience than others, for him he looked at it as ruining his childhood. This story was a little negative on some aspects, the fact that he considers learning English ruined his childhood is a little extreme.

Though there are several people in this world that can relate, there are others that have had a better experience.

Learning a new language isn’t always as scary as it seems. The result of knowing how to speak in a different country can be very helpful. Not only do people have good experiences with learning being a part of their childhood, but later in life it opens up a world of opportunities. Seeking jobs can be difficult at times, but knowing more than one language can put you closer to succeeding at getting that position that some of the other candidates. I am not saying that always is the case, but if one can talk to customers that speak another language it is always helpful to the company. I believe that Richard felt more uncomfortable learning a new language because the more he advanced, his parents weren’t as much on his level as he would have liked. His parents wanted what was best for him, I think he should have considered his future in the country he was going to end up in and maybe then he wouldn’t have considered his childhood

ruined.

I have to assume that relating to this story depends on your outlook of learning a new language and how you go about it.

I would say if Richard and his parents learned English together, yet still spoke Spanish together his outlook would have been a little different. I think that since his family learned English more slowly than him, he felt that they weren’t the same anymore. His parents wanted to speak English around him more than his first language so it made him feel out of place, he didn’t have anyone to speak Spanish to like in his early childhood years. Richards story, it not everyone’s story. If he stated two sides of the story instead of assuming everyone was the same than his story would have had a better outcome, in my opinion.

The intended audience might find this essay engaging and interesting, but as mentioned before it depends on how their childhood was compared to the authors’. Not everyone in the audience is going to relate to his story, but that is the case for most stories. The tone of this essay could come across as negative, but for him in was honest and down to the point. I believe that him being bilingual will eventually help him realize that it didn’t all around ruin his whole

childhood.

In a case study, Mst Tanzila Yasmin wrote

“Bilingual ability is not only essential in the countries like America, Canada, Australia, India or China where there are multilingual communities; it is also important to any monolingual country since the advancement of information technology brings the people from every corner of the world closer to each other. So definitely, it is the bilingual or multilingual people who will be able to keep pace with the advancement of the world and celebrate the progress. Bilingualism increases ones’ knowledge, intercultural understanding thereby minimizes misconception, prejudices and misunderstanding. Thus it creates more opportunity to become successful in the globalized world.” (Yasmin 205)

I couldn’t agree more on this article. Being bilingual is very important, almost essential. Not only does knowing more than one language help you in the job industry, but it helps you in a social environment. Traveling to other countries and being bilingual opens up many possibilities, you are capable of moving and being stable as well as getting any job while in that country. Job industries now, almost would prefer you speak two languages. Since there are many people in English speaking countries that don’t speak English, it is considered essential to have at least one person at work who speaks that language. There are arguments on how those people who move to our country should learn English before moving or shortly after, it is not always that easy or what it seems.

Richard was young when he learned a new language, which in several circumstances had proved to be more efficient. When you are young you start to understand your first language, you are able to pick it up easier, when you’re older you know nearly every word of your first language, so learning a new one could be more difficult. I don't know what it's like learning a new language because for me it wasn't necessary I grew up in an English speaking country. I am just speaking off of my own opinion and through the friends I have had.

In conclusion to this insane essay about criticizing a story, I am guilty of over exaggerating as well. I don’t always have a positive outlook on everything I do. For Richard learning the new language was his weak spot, for all I know he could be the most positive person on earth and this event in his life was to much for him.