Rodriguez Carlos
Language and education in Aruba and the Caribbean
Bio:
Carlos Rodriguez is originally from Puerto Rico, but currently residing and teaching in Aruba. He has two Master's degrees, from Harvard University and Brandeis University, both in Massachusetts, USA, and he is a Ph.D. candidate in the English Department at the University of Puerto Rico, finishing his dissertation. He has over ten years of experience teaching both English and Spanish, mostly in higher education. In addition to English and Spanish, he speaks some French, Mandarin Chinese, Papiamento, and he is beginning to learn Dutch. He loves to travel and he actually lived in Taiwan and China for over 2 years. His research focuses on the rich linguistic diversity of the Caribbean, which includes not only Spanish, English and French, but also the Creole languages that came about as a result of aboriginal, African and European contact. His research is intimately linked to issues of multilingualism and its implications for education, especially at the college/university level.
Content:
Carlos Rodriguez is originally from Puerto Rico, but currently residing and teaching in Aruba. He has two Master's degrees, from Harvard University and Brandeis University, both in Massachusetts, USA, and he is a Ph.D. candidate in the English Department at the University of Puerto Rico, finishing his dissertation. He has over ten years of experience teaching both English and Spanish, mostly in higher education. In addition to English and Spanish, he speaks some French, Mandarin Chinese, Papiamento, and he is beginning to learn Dutch. He loves to travel and he actually lived in Taiwan and China for over 2 years. His research focuses on the rich linguistic diversity of the Caribbean, which includes not only Spanish, English and French, but also the Creole languages that came about as a result of aboriginal, African and European contact. His research is intimately linked to issues of multilingualism and its implications for education, especially at the college/university level.
Content:
- The scope of multilingualism in Caribbean societies (including but not limited to Aruba)
- The interaction and tensions between official languages vs home languages vs language of instruction in schools (including but not limited to Aruba)
- The role that higher education institutions can and should play in multilingual societies; in particular, is it their responsibility to protect the home language? How?
- Creole languages: What are they, and what role do/can they play in education?