My son is learning to read and this week we have to read about mels and màs and melós each night. As I mentioned in the last column, he goes to a public (state) school and therefore, he is learning to read in Catalan. I do not speak Catalan. I do not read Catalan. I do not understand Catalan. This means that every week when he comes home with his new book to study, I have to hurry to another parent on the playground and review all the words with them, making sure that I know how to pronounce everything correctly. So far it hasn´t been so bad but I can see from the titles on the back index of the book (La bruixa rodamons, for example), that things might get a bit trickier as we progress. I know I could take a class in Catalan but to be honest, the motivation really isn't there. I'm determined to leave Spain speaking fluent Spanish and I know that we'll only be here for a few more years. So do I want to spend my time studying a language that isn't spoken anywhere else in the world? No, not really.
To be honest, when we first moved to Barcelona, I wasn't at all sure that I wanted Nico to learn Catalan either. After all, he was already fluent in both English and Spanish so did he really need a new language? We searched high and low for an alternative but since the language of instruction in all non-private schools in Catalunya is Catalan (and this includes both state/public schools and concertados (part-public, part-private)), in the end, the only thing that made sense in terms of both our desires and our finances, was to send Nico to a local public school. As time has gone by, I've actually gotten much more enthusiastic about our decision. It's true that Catalan isn't the most useful language in the global community and I'm guessing it won't help Nico get a job as a UN translator. However, the more I've read about the advantages of multilingualism in children, the more I'm convinced that learning Catalan will only benefit Nico. Research has shown that speaking two or more languages from a young age can have a significantly positive impact on cognitive functioning. Also, even from a more directly practical perspective, knowing Catalan should be very helpful if Nico decides to study either French or Italian at some point (since both languages have a great deal in common with Catalan). Originally I feared that by going to a Catalan school, Nico would lose his Spanish. However, it's become clear to me that despite being taught in Catalan, all the kids at his school end up being perfectly fluent in both languages.
Latest Comments
!!??''If you don't like it here go back to your own country" ??
Posted by Dirk Meijer April 04, 2012 22:33:33
We can all express our opinions!
Posted by PJ67 March 28, 2012 14:31:45
If you don't like it here go back to your own country
Posted by Eva Martinez (AKA King) March 26, 2012 19:02:03
Another kind of 50/50 (sort of)
Posted by John Stone October 18, 2011 23:17:44