Collier -- Revisited

Quote 1:
"One must teach in two languages, affirm the cultural values of both home and school, teach standardized forms of the two languages but respect and affirm the multiple varieties and dialects represented among stu­ dents in class, be a creative and flexible teacher, serve as a catalyst for discovery as students learn to operate effectively in their multiple worlds, be able to mediate and resolve intercultural conflicts, keep students on task and on and on." (222)

Quote 2: 

"The critical distinction to maintain is between how children acquire the capacity to converse casually in a second language. and how they learn to become proficient students using second language. These are two entirely dif­ ferent processes." (225)

Quote 3:

"Once upon a time there was a grown-up who loved children. One child who came to know this person was eager to find out about many things. Together they discovered the intimate secrets of time and space and nature and the way things work. They played with language. They both grew in wisdom and they learned how infinite and mysterious knowledge is ..." (222)

Quote 4:

"Don't teach a second language in any way that challenges or seeks to eliminate the first language." (227)

Quote 5:

"When two languages are used in the school curriculum, the teacher should plan the precise times to use each language. Bilingual pedagogy research indicates that the teacher should clearly separate the two languages of instruction. For example, the teacher should speak Spanish when the instructional language is Spanish, and speak English when instructional language is English. On the other hand, young children should be permitted to speak the language they know best." (229)

Quotes from the blogs of other classmates:

1. "While reading Virginia Collier's  Teaching Multilingual Children, I feel one of her main arguments is teachers need to embrace the different languages and cultures students bring into the classroom and use that in order to teach children English." (Essence's Blog)

2. "Collier explains that as a teacher, our mission is to help our students become fluent in their academic language but also give them the tools to continue sufficiently speaking their native language in the outside world." (Erika's Blog) 

3. "If life as a adolescent student is difficult and tumultuous at best when speaking only one language, When integrating a student into a curriculum or cultural setting that is that differs from their own native background, the everyday stresses of schooling may seem tenfold to a struggling multilingual student." (Chanel's Blog) 

4. "Suppose you are put into a classroom where the teacher only speaks Swedish. You're incredibly confused for most of the lesson, but you've got a few Swedish phrases down, but then you realize that you have to use the bathroom. And for the life of you, you can't remember how to ask to use the facilities." (Chanel's Blog)

Main Point:

I think that Collier is trying to stress the importance of the proper way to teach multilingual children in the classroom.