The variety of terms used to refer to Bilingual Paraprofessionals explains the lack of a universal definition for this job. Most definitions, however, focus on the roles that paraprofessionals play, namely, assisting professionals in schools (e.g., teachers, speech language pathologists, counselors) and providing services to children or their parents under the supervision of certificated personnel. Bilingual paraprofessionals are usually hired to provide educational services in more than one language, usually English and another language; help students in public or private schools, either in general or special education; and assist with students who may or may not have disabilities. The National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals (NRCP) in its seventh report, The Employment and Preparation of Paraeducators: The State of the Art- 2003, highlighted the difficulties of collecting data regarding the exact number of paraprofessionals working nationwide. The report estimated the number of paraprofessionals to be more than 525,000 in the year 2000.
As an aspiring physician, I believe that ILS will prepare me for success both inside and outside of the classroom. Through the connections, opportunities, and support I will receive in the ILS program, I know that I will best be prepared to apply to medical school. I value mentorship and am excited to have access to faculty mentors to guide me in my progress. The close community between peers and professors intrigues me to join this community and learn from a like-minded community. I am specifically excited to take new courses such as HLSC208, to learn about connections between molecular biology and computer programming.
In the beginning of the semester, I was unsure of what I wanted to do with my life. I was an exploratory major, but had Media Arts and Science in mind. As time went on, I drifted away from that path because I would have had to transfer to IUPUI in the spring semester, and that was something I did not feel ready to do at all. As the semester continued, my interest in my American Sign Language (ASL) class began to grow.
My most important possession is my voice. I speak up for what I believe in and speak out for the people and ideas I cherish. The ability to command and fully utilize my voice gives me the power to change myself, and the world around me. I believe a clear voice helps relay one’s inner values to others and influence their beliefs.
My most rewarding accomplishment consists of my ability to overcome the fear and weakness that was conceived upon my arrival to the United States from Mexico, in addition to a newly evolved character which allowed me to achieve academic, professional, and personal success. Nearly seven years ago, my mother and I immigrated from a harsh economic climate in Mexico that was plagued with unemployment. Additionally, our family faced bankruptcy. While holding onto our faith, we left our hometown with only what we could carry and bought two one-way bus tickets. With nothing more than fear, two bags, and $50 in each of our pockets, we set out for what would be the most challenging journey of our lives.
Bilingual is defined, according to Webster’s dictionary, as ‘having or using two languages especially as spoken with the fluency characteristics of a native speaker; a person using two languages especially habitually and with control like that of a native speaker’ and bilingualism as ‘the constant oral use of two languages’. Therefore, being a bilingual person means you are able to communicate in two languages and not only that. Anna Wierzbicka claims in her article that “A point which seems to me particularly important is that experience of bilingual people should not be construed as merely their experience of speaking two languages but rather as their experience of living with other people through two different languages”. Knowing two languages, at least, gives you a better experience with a variety of people, especially if you know English or Chinese, which are the most important languages in the world. The author debates a “research into the interface of emotions and bilingualism promises to throw new light on wider issues of the relationship between
With dreams, sometimes doesn’t come reality. Obstacles often hinder these plans and challenge their eventual existence. High school is a journey that presents more than its fair share of obstacles to students. In this manner, the last four years have been a journey that has transformed me into an individual completely different than I was as freshman year. Despite how much I have grown and matured in recent years, one thing has not changed about me: I still aspire to become a bilingual pediatrician.
Being part of this program would allow me to be prepared even more for what I hope to be in the future. Medicine has always been a wonder, it’s a subject in which you never stop learning and can all always continue to explore, the interest in this subject started in 2014 after I was involved in a car accident. In this
I’ve always seen myself as an independent and driven student since a young age and I have always worked my hardest to be the best I can be, whether it was intellectually or personally. I’ve always put my time into reading, writing, and trying to learn as much as I could. From a young age, I knew I wanted to go to college, however, I never knew exactly what I wanted to do. I traveled between the obvious jobs of being a teacher or a veterinarian, but it wasn’t until fifth grade I had found a great new job. At this point in my life, my eye sight began to diminish and it wasn’t until my optometrist found a specific problem and recommended I go to an ophthalmologist.
To be straightforward my goals are to attend a college or university in northern Colorado. Once enrolled, I would enjoy majoring in biology in order to enter pre med. Enrolling in pre med will enable me to earn a masters degree in dentistry. I would also enjoy minoring in Spanish. Having the ability to converse with others that don’t possess the ability to speak English would be outstanding.
For as long as I can remember, I have always created worlds of my own. All that was required for me to create these universes was a piece of paper and a pencil. As I grew up, I discovered that drawing wasn’t just a hobby of mine, but a solace when I felt the world crumble beneath me. This comfort would only evolve and I would eventually find a new joy in my art that would forever change the way I viewed my work and talent. This realization is what lead me to the decision that being an artist is what I love and it’s what I need to do to remain happy.
Success, prosperity, and happiness, are only a few of my expectations in life. But more than anything my expectation is to achieve knowledge. Whether it be a fact or a life lesson, I want to achieve wisdom as much as I can. All my life I’ve been told that knowledge is power, and I want to be able to use my knowledge to achieve success. I also want to travel the world and learn as much as I can so I can share and spread my wisdom to those around me.
All my life I have been on the move from one city to another living no more than three years in each. And each brought me unique experiences, that when people ask “well which do you like best?” I could not possibly decide, as you cannot compare a city with one another for each was during a different time in my life and in different circumstances. The one thing they have in common- Quito, Rio de Janeiro, Panama City, Sydney, New York and Buenos Aires- is the presence of the international communities.
Volunteering is what directed me to pursue my career as a social worker. It has always been clear to me and I been volunteering off and on since I was 15 years old. I have continued to volunteer while attending college, with activities with feeding the homeless, helping kids with school, helping build home for people who lost them and more. I enjoyed being part of something great that can improve myself and help someone’s life and make a difference in one’s life as well as my own. In my career as a social worker, I want and will make sure to continue to have these experiences and I believe it will make me a better person.
In my second component, I would like to write about bilingualism, bilingual language development and learning in children and show my own bilingual profile. Firstly, bilingualism is commonly defined as the use of two languages by an individual. It is a kind of system in children and adults who have a proficiency in two languages and it may change depending on the opportunities to use the languages and exposure to other users of the languages (ASHA, 2004). Many researches show that there are so many people who are bilingual.
