Documentary takes in-depth look at bilingual education
By: Mara Mat
Special to The Examiner
April 21, 2009
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| Cultural diversity: Students in San Francisco’s bilingual immersion programs are the subject of “Speaking in Tongues.” (Courtesy Photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — “Speaking in Tongues,” a new documentary by co-directors Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider follows four students of different ages as they progress through San Francisco’s bilingual immersion programs. The movie screens at 3:15 p.m. Sunday, 3:30 p.m. May 2 and 2:30 p.m. May 7 at the Kabuki.
Why did you choose San Francisco as the setting in which to explore the issue? It looked like San Francisco would be the first urban school district to say that bilingualism is a goal for all students. And the Lau v. Nichols here in the mid-70s was a landmark case, which gave rise to the bilingual movement.
What inspired your interest in the issue? We started not with a news hook but with an experience: The older of our two children started kindergarten in the Chinese immersion program. People thought we were nuts! [laughs] , Four years later, it was the same school and the same program, but people were talking about job opportunities instead.
The YouTube video of the “English Only” song is funny in a horrifying sort of way, but why use the Web as the only real source of opposition? We didn’t want this just to be a local story, and in San Francisco itself, you don’t find very much opposition — it comes from the immigrant families themselves, who are worried about their kids learning English, not from the “English only” forces. And the Web is increasingly the town square.
Do you think the bilingual programs have had an effect on your children? Definitely! Language is portal to culture. They have a level of comfort with difference.
