Speaking in Tongues

Audience Reviews

View All (3) audience reviews

Audience Member Many people have the misconception that Bilingual Education will make students lose their English or make them focus on Spanish or another language instead--but thats not the case at all! This is now one of my favorite documentaries. It opens your eyes to what you don't see everyday like a good documentary should. I was even a little moved by the end of it. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Really misses not only the point, but several others as well. A person can believe in both the learning of a foreign language and believe that English should be the official language of the United States. There is also a big difference in learning a foriegn language as an American and an immigrant putting his foreign language speaking child in an immersion program in an attempt to keep the child from becoming assimilated. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member I saw this at the Cleveland International Film Fest. One of the directors, Marcia Jarmel, was there to answers questions and meet people after the movie. For being only an hour long, I was surprised how much was packed into this documentary movie. It felt much longer and I mean that in a good way! Compared to the doc my wife and I saw the day before at the fest this one had much better graphics, camera work, and editing. But it doesn't only excel technically. The stories of real kids and families, the emotional impact, the way it treats the concerns people have for this different type of education are all fair and honest. Durrell, a kindergartner from the projects, is in a public school with a Chinese immersion program. Kelly, a fifth grader whose grandma is the only person in her family to still speak Chinese, is in a public school with a Chinese immersion program. Jason, a fifth grader whose father only speaks Spanish and never received an education, is in a public school with a Spanish immersion program. Julian, a seventh grader, has been in a Chinese immersion program for nine years. Julian is able to host a Chinese foreign exchange student and then later visit China while he looks forward to preparing for a career. Some humorous and sad YouTube videos are shown with people who want English to be the only language spoken in the United States. In counterpoint, Ling-chi Wang, a bilingual activist makes several clear points for the importance of children learning more than one language. Still parents and relatives of kids in these immersion programs or considering them as an option are concerned. It seems to me that this movie lets them express their concerns so that the issue can be looked at in a balanced manner. One important thing that Marcia Jarmel said after the movie was that opponents of this kind of program seem to think it is an issue of either/or. Whereas the issue is about learning both English AND some other language. She admits the pedagogy is different and the learning arch is longer. I still found this to be a valuable presentation of a new way to communicate and a very moving film. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Speaking in Tongues

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW