Farooq Salam

12/4/2023

English

Lobell 

Self Assessment Essay

Going into college I was already expecting a completely different environment, mindset and learning style than what I had grown accustomed to in high school, but I was only expecting this from the STEM classes as an engineering major. Which is why I was shocked to see that my English course was much more different than I expected in that there were actual course objectives that we were working towards instead of unrelated lessons every week like in high school. I also got to explore new concepts that I didn’t fully correlate to a college English class and learned how to improve on the skills of researching, and allowing my writing to express me instead of tailoring it to what was expected of me. 

Our first assignment was the written narrative of a specific moment in our lives that related to language and literacy. This was the first time in the course where I was exposed to the idea of writing in whatever tone or style I wanted and it wouldn’t affect my grade rather it would improve it because it made it more authentic. I mainly used the model of “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan to create this narrative by using the example of Amy’s mother and specific instances where I met people that were similar to her. Writing the narrative wasn’t difficult because I wasn’t limited or fearing that I had to convey a certain writing style; I just had to tell my story. However when I first had to collaborate with my peers in order to revise my writing pieces I ran into the obstacle of taking peer feedback seriously. This is a weakness I’ve always had I become lazy to be able to go back and analyze my writing again to see where the feedback is coming from and how I can fix the issues. 

Our second assignment was the peer review which exposed me to a different writing style and way of telling a story. From the readings we had in class I began to have the mindset that I might potentially be one of the people that discriminates against different ways of speaking English without even realizing it. From reading my peer’s narrative I was not only able to learn about how it feels adjusting to a new country, language and environment but also how common it is for people to be treated differently or as if they’re “stupid” because of the way they speak English. 

Our third assignment was the research essay and I chose my topic as “Why is fighting language loss something we should be concerned about?”. This assignment taught me how to use research databases and scholarly articles to craft a research essay. I was able to practice my source finding skills and other skills such as applying the CRAAP test to the sources I found. I also was able to develop different writing techniques such as how to build a strong argument and using ethos and logos to communicate it. However, this was also where I ran into another challenge which was being able to explain my evidence and relating it back to my arguments. One of the areas I need to work on is elaborating further on the quotes I provide instead of explaining it by wording the quote differently.

One major aspect of this class that I was exposed to because of this semester was rhetorical situations. I didn’t know what rhetorical situations even were until we began to analyze the texts that we discussed in class such as “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You”. I learned how different factors make up a rhetorical situation such as the purpose of the writing or the audience that the author tailored their writing to. Using this newly found knowledge of rhetorical situations of other texts I was able to create my own writing  throughout the semester, specifically the written narrative assignment and the research essay. For example, I wrote my research essay with the intended audience being the Americans who are hesitant or even hostile towards immigrants and their differences. 

The beginning of the semester started off shaky and uncertain but as it progressed I became more confident in my writing ability and understanding that much like other things in life, writing is also a skill you can develop, it’s not just something you are born with. I am proud of the work that I did this semester and how I grew as both a writer and a student in this class. I definitely learned more about the field of language and writing than I was expecting. The knowledge I gained wasn’t of no use and I was able to apply it right away to myself and my own writing. But even more than that I learned more about myself and how people around me have just as or even more complex lives than I do with situations and stories that I have never been in. 

Farooq Salam 

11/17/2023

English 

Lobell

Cover Letter 

I’ve always wanted to be as fluent in both my mother tongues as I am in English, but it’s a difficult task to do especially when so much of my life is based around speaking English and how uncomfortable I feel speaking other languages in public. Listening to my peer’s narratives, I realized how many people immigrate to this country and lose their native languages in order to be fluent enough in English to qualify as “American”. This is what inspired me to choose my research topic on actively trying to stop the loss of languages and allowing more opportunities for students to practice other languages. 

During my research on this topic I hope to learn more about the benefits of being multilingual and how modern-day societies, especially western countries, are the cause of so many languages going extinct. I also hope to learn more about how the average immigrant and especially their children feel about being “forced” to speak English more than their native languages. I think one of the most neglected aspects of modern issues is that we formulate opinions and thoughts on them before even trying to understand the perspective of the people who are most affected by it. 

The primary audience I hope to target with my research paper are immigrants living in the United States and they’re children so that they may understand the importance of embracing their culture instead of pushing it as a background part of their identity. The more they sacrifice their languages and culture to become more “American” the further they get from preserving it and the closer they get to allowing their people’s history to go extinct. However, as a secondary audience I hope to target the “Americans” who put emphasis on a so-called “American” identity by either unintentionally or intentionally making it uncomfortable or difficult for immigrants to embrace their culture. Everyone says America is the land where anyone can feel welcome but is it? 

Farooq Salam

11/17/2023

English 

Lobell

Research Paper

Every 40 days one language ceases to be spoken forever. Languages are going extinct around us and a lot of the blame is on us. The world has globally put strict emphasis on learning one or two different languages in school causing native languages to be forgotten into the ruins of history. The descendants of immigrants that came to the United States are consistently forced upon focusing on English, which makes them sacrifice their fluency in their native tongues for fluency in English. Having a language that everyone can understand each other in can be very convenient but it shouldn’t come at the expense of losing thousands of years old languages. But more importantly, why should we care about languages going extinct? We should actively try to prevent the loss of language through methods such as more language classes in public schools and giving students the ability to choose which language they want to learn. 

While there are many practical benefits of being multilingual there are also much more hidden cognitive benefits such as better problem solving skills, and other cognitive skills that require attentional skills. “Furthermore, six-month-old babies growing up in a bilingual environment are better than monolingual babies at rapidly forming internal memory representations of novel visual stimuli.” (Kroll and Dussias) In more simple words, the babies that were growing up with two languages being spoken to them showed better cognitive development as opposed to the babies that grew up with one language. The study also states that the bilingual babies were quicker to learn to fixate their gaze on the mouth of the speaker and for a longer time than the monolingual babies suggesting that bilingual babies learn two languages at the same speed as monolingual babies learn one. The benefits in the developments of the cognitive abilities of these babies indicates the importance of encouraging native speaking families to ensure that their children learn both languages at the same time. “Based on the research  carried  out  at  the  York  University  in  Toronto,  Canada,  it  was  discovered  that  bilingual children  were  faster  at  multitasking  than  monolingual  kids.  This  study  was  conducted  by Raluca  Barac  and  Ellen  Bialystok  who  tested  a  total  of  104  children.  In  this  study bilingual  and monolingual  children  were  supposed  to  press  the  keys  of  the  computer  as  on  the  screen  various images  were  displayed,  the  images  were    either  of  animals  or  of  demonstration  of  various colors. When they were to choose only one, both monolingual and bilingual kids performed at the same pace. However,  when  the  kids  were  told  to  switch  between  animals  and  colors,  bilingual kids  were  much  faster  at  making  the  changes  than  monolinguals.  This  research    shows  that  kids who  can  communicate  in  two  languages  have a better  mental  process  of  executive  functioning which  involves  the  ability  to  pay  attention,  plan,  organize,  and  strategize.” (Yulduz et al.) This discovery is absolutely critical because it highlights the differentiation in terms of cognitive abilities between children who speak multiple languages and who only speak one. 

Languages are the first tool that we have in being able to understand different cultures and as more languages go extinct we lose more connection and knowledge of those cultures and the entire history associated with it. Many of the immigrant children are not as knowledgeable or a part of the culture as their parents are, which is only a further indication that many cultures will die off with their languages in their future generations. As more people begin to speak a language less and less, there becomes an increasing amount of speech barriers and other communication issues between people. Furthermore, losing a language does not necessarily mean that its speakers have died off, even the introduction of a new primary language can diminish the amount of its speakers. If people are focused on speaking a new language they begin to practice their original tongue less and it eventually becomes less fluent. For example, the native americans were forced to learn English so that they could fit in society and create the networks they needed to survive which led to the extinction of many native american languages. “Most languages, though, die out gradually as successive generations of speakers become bilingual and then begin to lose proficiency in their traditional languages. This often happens when speakers seek to learn a more-prestigious language in order to gain social and economic advantages or to avoid discrimination. The gradual disappearance of Coptic as a spoken language in Egypt following the rise of Arabic in the 7th century is one example of this type of transition.” (Tesch) The examples of the Egyptians and the Native Americans can even apply right now to the countries that were previously or currently under colonial rule where they were forced to learn the occupiers language causing their native languages to get neglected and eventually become rare or extinct. The immigrants that come to different countries sacrifice their native tongues and their childrens so that they can learn the language of that country. For example, the political cartoon below portrays the general reluctance the American public has to foreign culture and language. Though they probably do not discriminate against it, the general difference makes them overlook the benefits of what foreign languages bring, much like what the man in the yellow shirt is saying in the political cartoon. There is too much emphasis on immigrants learning to speak English but no emphasis on Americans to learn other languages. 

(Parker, Florida Today)

A better way to understand the importance of preserving languages is to focus on the benefit it brings. One of these benefits is the economic advantages it brings to the individual and society as a whole. A simple yet incredibly powerful way multilingualism provides an economic advantage to an individual is that it improves the ability to compete in the job market by making you stand out. “Proficiency in languages like Spanish (32%), French (22%), and Italian (15%) brings a much higher wage premium compared to English (11%) or German (12%). So, in essence, being fluent in these languages isn’t just an asset; it’s a powerful tool for higher earnings.” (Koubova) This wage difference is because multilingualism is a skill that indicates strong adaptability, more cultural sensitivity, better relationship building skills and negotiation skills. These characteristics make an individual more valuable and most likely a worthy investment for employers. Another economic advantage that it brings is tourism. “When authenticity is compromised, cultural heritage tourism loses credibility. Moreover, when authenticity is compromised cultural heritage tourism loses what differentiates it from sanitized theme park adventures and recreate (rather than real) attractions.” (Hargrove) In other words, tourists are attracted to locations that hold a real sense of livelihood that makes the tourists see the roots of the culture, the history behind it and the lifestyle of the people that created it however long ago. A part of what brings that livelihood is the native language to that place because the language is unique and helps to understand the culture. Moreover, in that same article it states, “More than 95 percent of the visitors said that it was “somewhat” to “very important” to experience authentic elements on their trip; 38.9 percent of visitors polled ranked “experiencing authentic elements” as very important. To “experience the region’s historic character” ranked highest among the respondents (44 percent). Historic architecture, museums, and historic objects rated very high in authenticity (4.1 mean score out of possible 5), while souvenirs ranked very low (3).”(Hargrove) 

In addition to the cognitive and economic advantages, saving languages is crucial for keeping societies connected and inclusive. Languages carry unique ways of expressing relationships and cultural norms, and losing them means losing the richness of social interactions. Moreover, languages often hold valuable knowledge about the environment and sustainable practices, especially in indigenous communities. Preserving languages is only the first step that we must take in preserving the wisdom that comes with them, which can then help us strengthen cultural diversity and even better environmental sustainability. “With the language all but gone, and the lifestyle radically changed, most indigenous knowledge about the habits of creatures in America’s northwestern coastal forests will have already vanished. Because knowledge transfer relies on oral transmission, its effectiveness is tied to language endangerment. In many (or perhaps most) cases where people shift to speaking a dominant language, they leave behind vast domains of knowledge, myth and song.” (Harrison, 93) In other words, saving our languages goes beyond just words; it’s about creating social harmony and protecting valuable insights that can benefit both people and the planet by helping us understand and learn from our past to create a better and stronger future. 

In a world where a language disappears every 40 days, the preservation of language diversity becomes increasingly important. The global emphasis on learning a limited number of languages in schools and the societal pressures on immigrants to prioritize dominant languages such as English, has been contributing to the extinction of thousands of languages. The diminishing language diversity not only causes us to lose cultural histories but also poses a threat to cognitive development. The cognitive benefits of multilingualism are becoming increasingly evident and extend beyond just the practical advantages of better problem-solving skills and attentional capabilities. The relationship between language and culture is undeniable, and as languages vanish, so does our understanding of diverse cultures and their histories. Immigrant children are “forced” to prioritize dominant languages, and risk losing touch with their cultural heritage. The extinction of languages contributes to speech barriers and communication issues and can even prevent knowledge from passing down generations. There are clearly also economic benefits to preserving language diversity across the globe. We must take action to address the diminishing language diversity by increasing language classes in public schools while giving students the ability to choose which language they want to learn. But perhaps the best way to tackle it is to educate people of not just the harms that will be done from losing so many languages but rather focusing on what the average individual can gain from it. 

Works Cited: 

Kroll, Judith F., and Paola E. Dussias. “The Benefits of Multilingualism to the Personal and Professional Development of Residents of the US.” Foreign Language Annals, vol. 50, no. 2, 18 May 2017, pp. 248–259, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5662126/

“Authenticity in Cultural Heritage Tourism.” Www.sohosandiego.org, 

sohosandiego.org/reflections/2003-4/authenticity.htm#:~:text=When%20authenticity%20is%20compromised%2C%20cultural 

Tesch, Noah. “Why Do Languages Die? | Britannica.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-languages-die 

Koubova, Hana. “The Advantage of Multilingualism in a Competitive Job Market.” Linguist 

Today, 18 Oct. 2023,   

linguisttoday.com/the-advantage-of-multilingualism-in-a-competitive-job-market/ 

Yulduz, Sayfullaeva, et al. “The Psychological and Cognitive Benefits of Multilingualism.” Annals of the Romanian Society for Cell Biology, 6 Mar. 2021, pp. 591–596, annalsofrscb.ro/index.php/journal/article/view/986/831.

Parker, Jeff. “Assimilation Is Great, but Shouldn’t Cost an Immigrant His or Her Native Language.” Desertsun.com, 2023, www.desertsun.com/gcdn/presto/2019/01/25/PPAS/4e3cb377-a9b5-44df-b7ce-cad64984d56b-TDS_Your_Turn_cartoon_012819.jpg?width=660&height=518&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp. Accessed 18 Nov. 2023.

Harrison, K. David. When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World’s Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge. Google Books, Oxford University Press, 1 Feb. 2007, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=61RCDHSkxqgC&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=languages+and+environemnt+such+as+hunting+practices+and+traditions&ots=IRb9XO8Cft&sig=uyATy7BE6h5ySeZiyHPe0DgR0zA#v=onepage&q=knowledge&f=false. Accessed 18 Nov. 2023.

Farooq Salam

English 

Lobell

10/15/2023

Cover Letter for Peer Profile

Creating a peer profile was an interesting assignment that allowed me to get to learn and know Karla better. I am most proud of the way I detailed the past experiences of Karla and some of the specific memories she discussed in her interview and in her narrative. I was able to use actual quotes that Karla said in the interview to show these experiences. 

Some of the rhetorical devices that I used in this peer profile are ethos and pathos, in which I described her experiences using an emotional appeal similar to what Karla used in her narrative. I emphasized and highlighted the struggles that she experienced at a young age and how she overcame it which showed her emotional development. I used ethos by adding quotes that Karla said in her interview, which gave credible sources because Karla is (obviously) an expert on her own life. 

Writing this profile helped connect me with the larger course themes of language politics by exposing me to a different type of narrative. In other words, Karla and I wrote our narratives in different ways and I don’t mean in the form of structure or that we answered different prompts. I mean that you can tell the difference in the way we speak from our narratives, and writing this profile showed me that even though we write in different ways, both of our narratives were just as good in showing the moments and experiences we had with language in our past. 

The audience of my peer profile are mainly the people who gave Karla a hard time when she was adjusting to a new life. Those teachers that turned her down or her bullies should know that making Karla’s life more difficult whether intentionally or unintentionally did not slow her down, and she overcame her struggles and the struggles have only made her stronger and more prepared for any future experiences. 

Peer Profile

It is always an eye opener when you learn about someone else’s story whether it was a struggle they had to overcome or an experience that taught them a life lesson and my peer’s was no different. Karla Louis immigrated from the Dominican Republic at the age of 10. She could not speak English and had to leave almost everything she knew from her childhood behind to a foreign land. 

When Karla moved here she immediately didn’t fit in, especially in school. She described it as leaving everything behind and having to start her life all over again. She found it incredibly difficult to speak and feel comfortable with the new environment. In her new environment she felt dumb and behind compared to her peers, which didn’t seem fair because she was a great student back home. She was also a very shy student and didn’t like to speak even when she did start learning a bit of English which became a problem in later years when she felt that even though she could understand English her vocabulary didn’t match that of her peers. “People say you have to talk to people while learning a new language but I was shy and didn’t want to speak to people and that was a mistake,” said Karla. Having to overcome her feeling of shyness was another obstacle that Karla was forced to face alongside learning a new language and being an immigrant. 

“I had a friend who moved to the US too and she couldn’t speak English and was also bullied for it and that was someone I could relate to,” said Karla. Having someone that you can relate to in a common struggle is always a blessing and makes hardship easier to go through which Karla was clearly grateful for during the interview. Now that she can speak both English and Spanish, she sometimes struggles with blending both languages by accident because she speaks Spanish at home and English with everyone else. 

The emotional appeal and pathos in Karla’s narrative is evident. She clearly expresses the emotions that were brought with the experiences she had whilst adjusting to living in a new country. When she says “the interview was done by a woman who said to me that they don’t accept students who don’t speak English, that made me feel insecure and dumb because even though I didn’t speak English fluently, I understand most things clearly.” This part of her narrative helped me truly grasp the frustration that she had with some of the things in her life that were out of her control. The school that was interviewing her wasn’t even truly evaluating her based on her intellect and characteristics but rather her ability to speak a language fluently which she only recently began to learn. 

Karla also uses imagery and paints specific scenarios in her narrative to actually show why and what her thought process was during those moments. For example in her narrative she says “Every day at school, I was left to watch videos and do activities on a computer to help me learn English, and once a week, a counselor came to help me learn English. Which I felt wasn’t useful at all. As time passed, I received help from a teacher to teach me English. He brought books and helped me with practice assignments to learn English, which was helpful because I had the basic information to communicate even a little with others in a different language.” This specific part of her narrative paints the picture of the days where she was actually learning the language and the methods that did and didn’t work for her. From the picture she paints, it’s evident that she struggled to do independent study and the school didn’t realize that until later when they sent her a teacher to actually work with her instead of leaving her on her own. The teacher helping her practice her language skills gave her a sense of hope that she was actually starting to work towards her goal of being able to speak to other people comfortably; her imagery illustrates the gratefulness and sense of relief that she had from the teacher helping her. 

In her interview you can tell that she has grown and learned a lot from her experience and struggle of immigrating to a new country and adjusting her life essentially in 180 degrees. “I don’t feel comfortable writing about my feelings which makes it most difficult for me because the narrative needs and brings emotions up,” said Karla. Despite having conflicted feelings from the past which even included moments of bullying because of the way she spoke and her inability to speak English, Karla still manages to write a strong piece of narrative and express her feelings openly in her interview which is extremely admirable. The readers of her narrative will be able to tell the different parts of her journey as an immigrant in the United States. The struggle she experienced in the beginning while the climax of her journey was when she felt the most down and hopeless that she wouldn’t be able to fully adjust to her new life. She even learned new methods of conquering her struggles such as journaling which she uses to channel all of her emotions without having to worry about what other people think or say.

The second phase of the course had an interesting assignment which was to create a profile on one of our peers. One aspect of this assignment that I liked was that we got to know our peers at a deeper level than we get to do in most of our other classes. We were able to share our stories and narratives of whatever life experiences we chose to discuss and how it impacted on us a significant level, how it developed us, what it taught us and how our reactions are looking back at them now.

I think the ability to understand one another and getting to know each other is something that is usually neglected at CUNY colleges because of the lack of opportunities to actually make real friendships. Though this might not have given life long friends it did give us the opportunity to meet strangers.

Furthermore, constructing a peer profile made us look at other people around us with less of a self-imposed image. As humans we naturally think more about ourselves and how our own problems affect us and which way our own life is going. We don’t usually look at other people and wonder how their problems are going and how they have valuable experiences that are different from ours, that they probably live completely different lives than us. One aspect of this assignment that I did not particularly like was that there wasn’t a more rigid outline for what the peer profile needed to include like there was for the narrative. I think that would have made it significantly easier to construct the profile and even get to know my peer better. I think that was a valuable part of this assignment and I enjoyed writing the peer profile.

In this modern era where digital media has become the norm, it seems like writing isn’t a useful skill that’s worth learning anymore. However, writing can still serve multiple purposes and is just as much a useful skill now as it was back then.

Bringing it back to the basics, when students are learning in class, writing notes as opposed to typing them or just listening to the teacher speak, is usually a much more effective method of learning. This is because when you write you’re more likely to be thinking about the information that is being given to you, hence it can stay in your memory longer and be more readily available. Even when writing notes for your job, your more likely to remember them and actually think more thoughtfully about your analysis if your actually writing it as opposed to just thinking about it. Even though typing is still a form of writing, the physical writing generally serves a better ability to conveying things to memory.

Whether we like it or not, writing is always going to be a part of everyday life even if handwriting isn’t as common anymore. We still have to write when it comes to jobs, such as writing cover letters, writing recommendations for subordinates, writing compelling narratives even for the purpose of immigration such as applying people from overseas.

The phase one of this course was interesting as it consisted of an assignment that I was not accustomed too from my 12 years in the NYC public school system. I could reflect on a specific moment in my past that actually had something to do with language development and understanding of other people. Other parts of Phase 1 such as working with my peers during classwork were helpful as they allow me to slowly get out of my comfort zone and speak to new people. Another thing I liked about Phase 1 was that we had the option to choose whatever moment we wanted from our life and it wasn’t something that was predetermined by the prompt.

One thing I disliked about Phase 1 is that there was a minimum amount of 4.5-5 pages that was required to be able to get an A. I think that aspect of the assignment only forced me to make my writing more repetitive so that I could fulfill that requirement. I would like to think quality matters more than quantity. Overall, I think I learned quite a bit about myself, my writing and past experiences that have a bigger impact on me than I think from Phase 1 and it makes me excited for the upcoming phases.