Introduction

Individual topics
Language & identity- sam
“Welcome back to the podcast”
I want to start of by talking a little about language and identity:
Language is overall how we communicate
Different language, spoken, written, and sign language
Language also relates to culture
A specific way of speaking relates to language and culture
Everything with language relates to culture, norms, history, and group/individual values
Identity is how someone identifies themselves and is a sense of who they are
Anything can influence a persons identity, gender, religion, culture, family, friends, personal experiences, and so much more.
Language and identity are intertwined because of how language can shape a persons identity. Language can show belonging in a group or make you stand out from other groups. It can also be a source of pride for ones culture (which is another part of identity).
Both of these topics also relate to code-switching, which brings me to my question for you guys, what is code-switching and how does it relate to identity and language?
I would love to hear your personal experiences.
Thank you for sharing, (say something specific about what was share) now I would like to talk more in depth about culture and belonging
How do they relate to one another?
How do they relate to code-switching?

Code switching- michel
When people change the way they talk or present themselves depending on their environment.
Talking to friends in one way and then completely different in class. For example, w. my friends I talk in English but w my family, I talk to them in Russian
Do it without realizing, sometimes I’ll just randomly say words in Russian when I’m talking in English
It can happen with language, slang, tone, accent, body language, or even personality.
Use it because they want to fit in, avoid judgment, and feel safer in certain spaces.
Research talks about how code switching is especially common for people from minority communities because they often feel pressure to adapt to what society sees as “acceptable”.
It can be extremely exhausting because it feels like you constantly have to filter yourself or hide parts of who you are. `
Belonging & culture - lara
Culture, language and social pressures as someone whose entire family is Portuguese
Language is an important part of identity and belonging
Speaking Portuguese helps me stay connected to my family and culture
Some families slowly lose their language due to new generations speaking the language they learn in school (mostly being English). [Talk about how I relate to it]
“Growing up I spoke Portuguese very well, it was actually my first language. When I started school, English took over and became the language I prioritized. I started speaking Portuguese less and less while growing up and it’s a regret of mine. My siblings also don’t speak much Portuguese anymore. I try to keep the language alive by having conversations with my parents, grandparents and/or aunts, uncles and cousins. My parents also try to keep the culture moving throughout the family by having my little brother participate in the Portuguese common dance group called Rancho. My parents also put me in Portuguese school, where I can better learn the language and speak it more like I used to. I also participate in pageants that specifically highlight what it means to be Portuguese and the importance of it. Overall I hope that I can try to bring back the language in my family.”

There can most definitely be pressure to sound more “American” to fit in.
People sometimes get judged by their accents. [Talk about how I was judged when living in Portugal for not speaking it “correctly”]
“When I lived in Portugal, I was about 13 years old. At this point in my life I didn’t know much Portuguese anymore. I always tried my best to speak to the best of my abilities and knowledge of the language. No matter how hard I tried, I always made a mistake when speaking. Most times I would get made fun of for a simple error I made and it would impact me negatively, making me not want to speak Portuguese again. Although I never had that feeling when speaking English, many people have felt this way before.”

“Balancing two cultures can be very difficult, but I'm always proud to be Portuguese and keep my language and culture alive longer in my family.”

Experiences with it, from individual projects
Speaking in different languages based on who's talking.
Thinking in another language.
How secure or insecure they feel in languages.
Stereotypes

Michel- I interviewed my friend Emma, who comes from a Russian background and speaks Russian and English. She said that growing up she used to speak Russian but now as she’s gotten older, she has definitely lost it so she mostly speaks English with everybody she knows only time she’ll speak. Russian is with family members who don’t know English at all. That she wishes that she was more comfortable in Russian, especially because she thinks being bilingual is a unique aspect to have.

Lara-
I interviewed a couple of my family members, who all came from Portugal. All of my family members who I interviewed were born and raised in Portugal and either moved to the United States in their 20’s or my aunt who moved here in her teens and attended school here. My family members only ever knew Portuguese and very little English. As my aunt attended school here she has become very fluent in English as well, but still speaks both. My parents and other aunts now know a lot more English than before, but still not too much and struggle sometimes and they speak mostly Portuguese and English if they need to. For example, parent/teacher conferences, work, etc.

Reflection/Conclusion
Why is this important:
Why is being aware of these things important to development and ELLs?
How can these types of discussions be important to have in the classroom?