The Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights was developed in 1966 to protect the rights of language. I was immediately drawn to Article 3 of the Declaration.
"Article 3
1. This Declaration considers the following to be inalienable personal rights which may be exercised in any situation:
the right to be recognized as a member of a language community;
the right to the use of one's own language both in private and in public;
the right to the use of one's own name;
the right to interrelate and associate with other members of one's language community of origin;
the right to maintain and develop one's own culture;
and all the other rights related to language which are recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the same date.
2. This Declaration considers that the collective rights of language groups may include the following, in addition to the rights attributed to the members of language groups in the foregoing paragraph, and in accordance with the conditions laid down in article 2.2:
the right for their own language and culture to be taught;
the right of access to cultural services;
the right to an equitable presence of their language and culture in the communications media;
the right to receive attention in their own language from government bodies and in socioeconomic relations.
3. The aforementioned rights of persons and language groups must in no way hinder the interrelation of such persons or groups with the host language community or their integration into that community. Nor must they restrict the rights of the host community or its members to the full public use of the community's own language throughout its territorial space" (Unesco.org, 1996).
These are rights of every human being and should be welcomed into our classrooms. It is not uncommon for some teachers to try to block, "The right to the use of one's own language both in private and in public" (1996). Students should be encouraged to practice their home language at school. This is especially true when there is free time, or if students are doing group work. They should absolutely be able to use whatever language they feel comfortable with.
Moreover, language doesn't have to be a big secret. I think it would be great to implement helpers at the beginning of the day while going over the date and morning routine by asking a bilingual student if he/she would like to say/teach the words in a different language. The students would be inspired by the language and want the student to translate much more, rather than pretend it doesn't exist. This would be a way for the bilingual students to develop their own culture in the classroom.
I really love the part that reads, "The right for their own language and culture to be taught" (1997). I cannot remember how many times I was exposed to American culture after Europeans arrived. My grandfather is full Native American, Yavapai-Apache to be exact. I found myself always wanting to learn about the Native American culture only to be met with facts of Sacagawea and Pocahontas. Let's not forget that these are Native Americans who are only famous for helping settlers. I think it is important to teach about the authentic culture of each Ethnicity reflected in one's class.
The UDLR is a reminder that students have a right to learn about themselves and their culture. They have a right to be represented in the classroom and should be allowed to share their culture with the class. I am not only talking about ELLs, everyone should have the ability to share their language and culture.
"Article 3
1. This Declaration considers the following to be inalienable personal rights which may be exercised in any situation:
the right to be recognized as a member of a language community;
the right to the use of one's own language both in private and in public;
the right to the use of one's own name;
the right to interrelate and associate with other members of one's language community of origin;
the right to maintain and develop one's own culture;
and all the other rights related to language which are recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the same date.
2. This Declaration considers that the collective rights of language groups may include the following, in addition to the rights attributed to the members of language groups in the foregoing paragraph, and in accordance with the conditions laid down in article 2.2:
the right for their own language and culture to be taught;
the right of access to cultural services;
the right to an equitable presence of their language and culture in the communications media;
the right to receive attention in their own language from government bodies and in socioeconomic relations.
3. The aforementioned rights of persons and language groups must in no way hinder the interrelation of such persons or groups with the host language community or their integration into that community. Nor must they restrict the rights of the host community or its members to the full public use of the community's own language throughout its territorial space" (Unesco.org, 1996).
These are rights of every human being and should be welcomed into our classrooms. It is not uncommon for some teachers to try to block, "The right to the use of one's own language both in private and in public" (1996). Students should be encouraged to practice their home language at school. This is especially true when there is free time, or if students are doing group work. They should absolutely be able to use whatever language they feel comfortable with.
Moreover, language doesn't have to be a big secret. I think it would be great to implement helpers at the beginning of the day while going over the date and morning routine by asking a bilingual student if he/she would like to say/teach the words in a different language. The students would be inspired by the language and want the student to translate much more, rather than pretend it doesn't exist. This would be a way for the bilingual students to develop their own culture in the classroom.
I really love the part that reads, "The right for their own language and culture to be taught" (1997). I cannot remember how many times I was exposed to American culture after Europeans arrived. My grandfather is full Native American, Yavapai-Apache to be exact. I found myself always wanting to learn about the Native American culture only to be met with facts of Sacagawea and Pocahontas. Let's not forget that these are Native Americans who are only famous for helping settlers. I think it is important to teach about the authentic culture of each Ethnicity reflected in one's class.
The UDLR is a reminder that students have a right to learn about themselves and their culture. They have a right to be represented in the classroom and should be allowed to share their culture with the class. I am not only talking about ELLs, everyone should have the ability to share their language and culture.