So, today I’m trying out something a bit different, and writing about a more educational topic; creativity in another language. It’s something I’ve always had an interest in, but last semester I took a course for my Master’s program where I properly studied it in an academic setting.
The course, titled “Ecriture Créative et l’Apprentissage d’une Langue Seconde”, or Creative Writing and Learning in a Second Language, focused primarily on the work of Jim Cummins and identity texts.
Now, if you’ve ever wandered into the world of linguistics, there’s no way you HAVEN’T heard of Jim Cummins. However, for those of you just reading this for fun with no idea what I’m talking about, let me elaborate.
Good ole’ Jim is one of the OG linguists who pioneered a lot of theories:
- Two Solitudes Theory – monolingual theory where the two (or however many) languages the writer is learning are kept separate so as to not “contaminate” each other in the mind.
Cummins (1979) theorized this to be incorrect, which lead to one of this most famous theories –
- Interdependence Hypothesis – a challenge to the two solitudes (and similar theories), which argues languages can be used as resources for each other and mixing whilst learning is actually a good thing.
- BICS and CALPS – stands for Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Practices (CALP). BICS are your typical social and communicative skills and CALP is more the academic reading/writing competences. Cummins argues that you can have decent skills in one, but not necessarily the other. And similar to the Interdependence Hypothesis, the two aid the others’ development (Cummins, 1979 & Cummins et. al, 2015).
One aspect that is very important, no matter the theory, is the importance of identity.
What do I mean by that?
Well, basically the “old school” of thought is probably what a lot of us have experienced when trying to learn a language:
Immersion/no English (or whatever non-target language) in the classroom, rote repetition and memorization of grammar, conjugations, and vocabulary. Now, while all of this isn’t super fun, it is somewhat effective, at least in my experience.
However, I think we’d all agree it can leave us, the learners, particularly at a young age, a bit disenchanted with whatever language we’re learning, or learning in general. Quite a shame when you think about it. Jim Cummins (and others who have followed in his footsteps), however have found huge success in the use of identity texts. These are quite literally, just what they sound like, texts written by the student, that focus on their identity, including all the various languages they speak (not just the one being targeted).
The idea behind identity texts is to empower the student a bit more in the learning, particularly learning to write the language.
So, what exactly does an “identity text” look like?
It can be a variety of writing tasks that the learner is encouraged to complete in any language, particularly whatever they consider their first/most comfortable language.
*Note, this doesn’t necessarily mean mother tongue or home language, as that may or may not be what the child is most comfortable in. It’s often more complex than portrayed and sociolinguists are trying to move away from narrow definitions as such.
For my creative writing class, this involved poems, haikus, personal narratives, calligrams and much more. I’ll post the portfolio and analysis once everything is graded and the jury confirms I can move to the next semester!
Anyways, typically you start with the language you’re most comfortable in, for me English, then translate part or all of it into the second. In the case of this project, French, then analyze how it felt. Was it easier to write in the other language after being given the freedom to start in your comfort zone? Did you express things differently between the two? Etc.
I also wrote in French and translated it back into English, as well as writing solely in either without translating, all of which led to so many new revelations for me. How I wrote and what I expressed often differed a lot between the two. You’ll see when I post the full portfolio and analysis, but it was really interesting!
The idea is to encourage the use of your entire linguistic repertoire; all the languages you have at your disposal, everyone you’ve ever studied, learned, spoken, written, etc., even if you think your skills aren’t that great!
Anyways, by using all of them, you actually open up your mind quite a bit and have more words and ideas at your disposal. What happens is your mind fully opens and you essentially unlock a new level of creativity that you probably haven’t experienced before.
Sounds cool huh?
I can’t wait to share my portfolio and analysis with you all very soon. In the meantime, have you ever tried to write in a language that wasn’t your first? Let me know in the comments!
References:
- Cummins, Jim, Hu, Shirley, Markus, Paula & Montero, Kristina. Identity Texts and Academic Achievement: Connecting the Dots in Multilingual School Contexts. (2015). Tesol Quarterly. 49 (3).
- Cummins, Jim. Linguistic Interdependence and the Educational Development of Bilingual Children. (1979). Review of Educational Research. 49 (2). Pp. 222 – 251.