Assessment

The article stresses the importance of discourse as a part of communicative competence. There is a need for testers to come up with different ways to assess discourse skills. I thought the quote at the beginning by McNamara was very true. It spoke about how oral assessment models focus on a candidate instead of on how they interact. Since the language tester is seeing how the candidate can orally communicate, it is important that the tester is studying the interaction part. Assessments need to be in context, because if they aren't  the tester cannot truly understand how the candidate communicates. The use of direct tests proves this. When a candidate is orally tested using a direct test, he/she uses more elaborate and indirect language and involves more pragmatic and social devices.

            Chapter 23 was about language assessment. It outlined different assessment types, such as performance based. These portfolios, projects, and experiments show how students progress without them having to memorize facts to copy down onto a pencil/paper test. Even though traditional testing offers higher levels of practicality, those types of tests are not individualized. This does not mean that they cannot be used. More authentic assessment types take longer to create, implement, and grade. I suggest placing more emphasis on alternative assessment methods because they show more of what a student is capable of doing.

            Brown’s chapter 24 went into detail on classroom based assessment. It also gave practical steps to creating a test, my favorite one being “form your objectives, draw up test specifications” because it gave a sample outline of a test. It encompassed many domains by including listening, multiple choice, and writing production. When it comes to alternative assessment types, I think that portfolios truly show the progress of a student from the beginning of the year until the end. It allows the student, instructor, and parents to see the work of the student in the beginning of the course and how/if they improved with various assignments.

Teaching Quality

Brown’s chapters 9-11 are all about course/lesson planning. I enjoyed the way Brown gave a concrete example of all the different steps of planning a curriculum. It made it easier to think about. A valid point he made was about the quality of teachers. Many times the successfulness of a course is dependent on its instructor. Since I have decided to become an educator, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what kind of teacher I want to be. There’s an important balance between being an approachable teacher and one that facilitates knowledge acquisition. It is important that the students feel comfortable enough to ask questions, but not so much that the teacher is seen more like a friend than an educator. Students might give high rating to “nice” teachers, but even though they have friendly personalities, did they cover material? A stern teacher might get more material covered. I want to make sure I have a balance of both in my classroom.

Lesson planning is the topic of chapter 10. When teaching ELLs it is vitally important to allow time for the students to communicate and interact with each other to produce language. Therefore, teacher talk should be at a minimum and student talk should be strongly utilized. This does not mean that teachers should not talk at all. They should ask the students questions and facilitate discussion. But, students should have many opportunities during class to produce the language. Also, I feel that it is important to over-plan when it comes to lesson planning. If the lesson is to end early, the teacher should still have activities in mind that she would be able to do. Otherwise, students are missing out of prime learning time.

The dialogue in chapter 13: Monitoring Teaching Acts in Kuma’s book helped me to understand one way of evaluating how a teacher presents her lesson. In the beginning of the chapter, the sections seemed theoretical and unclear. After reading the dialogue, I had many critiques that were addressed in the evaluation of the lesson. The part that was the most upsetting to me was the numerous times she passed up learning opportunities. When a student repeatedly asks a question, usually they genuinely want to know the answer. I bet it was difficult for the observer to watch the teacher and not say anything at the time about that. If you were the teacher, would you have addressed the housing issue of homeless people living under the bridge? To me, it is acceptable to get off topic if the students are still learning and if it is somewhat related to the lesson. For example, I got through 50% of my last lesson at the ELI on schooling. However, the reason we were unable to get through the lesson was that the students had things to add about what we were talking about. I had no problem going on a tangent because they were interested in the topic and asking questions.

Cultural Awareness

Kuma’s chapter “Ensuring Social Relevance” was about Standard English and the use of L1 vs L2. One time last semester, I took my conversation partner to a speaker about education. When the speech began, we quickly learned that English was the speaker’s L2. He was from India and my conversation partner was from Korea. I could barely understand him, and I knew that she couldn’t. This brings up the question, should ELLs be taught in Standard English? I feel that they would benefit from it, but not to the point of totally excluding exposure to other dialects. Non-natives varieties are present in the English-speaking world and people need to acknowledge them and not see them as less valuable. When that happens, it’s degrading because language is part of identity. This also applies to L2 use in the classroom. However, many times teachers don’t know how to speak the L1 of the students and the parents of the students don’t want it spoken to their children. But, the student will feel more valuable if the teacher connects the classroom activities to the student’s home language and/or culture.

Raising cultural consciousness is important in the classroom so that students know more than just the society in which they live. The first day of classes at the ELI, I had my students make bucket lists of what they want to accomplish at in class, ISU, and their lives in general. All of them stated that they wanted to learn about the cultures of others. How many Americans have you heard that have said something like that? My guess is not many. It’s refreshing to be around people who appreciate cultures other then their own. The chapter states that, “there is no one culture that embodies all and only the best of human experience”. So much value is given to the American culture that I fear it’s gone to people’s heads. There’s a difference between patriotism and ignorance and I hope that people become more knowledgeable about other cultures.

An interesting section in Brown’s chapter “Teachers for Social Responsibility” was Hot Topics in the Language Classroom. In general, I encourage raising student awareness about controversial issues so that students can be mindful of what is going on around them. However, my opinions on it were challenged when it happened to me in the classroom. During a class at the ELI, we were having an unexpected talk about religion. It was a learning experience for everyone so I told my students that we could continue the discussion at a later time. For the next time we met, I had prepared an article for the students to read about women’s role in religion. Right before class, a student asked me not to bring up religion in class because of differing religious views. I had a back-up article, so we analyzed that instead. When she asked me not to talk about religion, I wondered if it was something that I shouldn’t have brought up in the first place. After reading the chapter, I now know that it depends on the way in which I bring up controversial topics. How should I have presented the topic of religion in class? As the chapter title indicates, it is our job to teach about issues such as these. By choosing to be teachers, we are agents for change.

My paper is going to be about culture and rhetorical strategy in ELL writing. Originally, it was just going to be about how to teach writing, but after meeting with Dr. Seloni, she helped me tie in culture to how to teach writing, which is a large factor in how ELLs write. I will be using Contrastive Rhetoric: Reaching to Intercultural Rhetoric. The article is about how Intercultural Rhetoric builds on notions of the importance of difference based on culture and language in ESL writing patterns, but incorporates a more dynamic and pluralistic perspective on cultures and writing structures. A Comparison of English and Farsi Rhetoric and its Impact on English Writing of Iranian Students by Sasan Baleghizadeh and Azar Pashaii shows that there are significant differences in the use of these three elements between native speakers and Iranian students. It is argued that this is due to different thought patterns between the two languages claimed by Kaplan’s (1966) contrastive rhetoric. Lastly, Teaching Intercultural Communication in a Basic Technical Writing Course: A Survey of Our Current Practices and Methods by Natalia Matveeva provides some suggestions for addressing the challenges and enriching a technical writing curriculum.

Language Skill Integration

Context is a main point in Chapter 9 because language needs to be contextualized to make sense. Kuma talks about linguistic, extralinguistc, situational, and extrasituational realities. Which one should educators put the most emphasis on? The linguistic context teaches that words have different meanings in different contexts (such as “table”). The extralinguistic context says that emphasis allows attention to be drawn to certain parts of sentences and intonation lets the listener know the difference between a statement and a question. Intonation should be stressed for ELLs. I have a hard time understanding some of my ELI students because when they say something, but it sounds like a statement when it is meant to be a question. The situational contexts allows for meaning in certain places. Statements don’t make sense if they are out of place. Lastly, the extrasituational context talks about being culturally sensitive and knowing the culture of the people around you. One of my international students told me about a time in which she was describing her husband as fat to someone and they looked offended. She then learned that it is not socially acceptable to say that in America. However, in Saudi Arabia, she says that to describe him, not insult him. Therefore, teachers need to make sure that their ELL students are mindful of the setting.

Chapter 10 is about integrating language skills and not teaching reading, writing, speaking, and listening separately. Audiolingualists recommended a sequence of listening, speaking, reading, then writing because that is how children acquire language. They obviously did not consider that all language learners are not children and that people learn different skills at different times. It is important that the skills are integrated because learning and using any single skill can trigger cognitive and communicative associations with others. It’s like killing 4 birds with 1 stone. I do this as much as possible in my ELI classes. For example, this week we talked about Halloween. I first accessed the prior knowledge of my students and asked them what they knew about the holiday (speaking and listening), then I introduced vocabulary for a paragraph that were going to read (listening). They then read the paragraph and summarized two facts that they learned (reading and writing) to share their new knowledge with the class (speaking and listening).

Brown’s Chapter 17 not only talked about the importance of integrating skills, but also models of integration: content-, task-, and theme-based instruction. Of these three, I mostly utilize theme-based in my teaching at the ELI. Because my course is about the everyday skills of English, I have more flexibility in my teaching. For example, my students have formally debated the pros and cons of social media and written personal opinion essays. They also engage in experiential learning by ordering and interacting with restaurant staff, and using teamwork and communication to carve a pumpkin as a class. It is necessary to have a variety of skills and methods in instruction to keep learners engaged and to cater to their different learning needs.

Focus on Form

Eric Hawkins stated, “While combating linguistic complacency, we are seeking to arm our pupils against fear of the unknown which breeds prejudice and antagonism (157).” This is a good quote that is a vital part of Kuma’s chapter “Fostering language awareness”. When people are knowledgeable about something, they are less likely to judge it. We as teachers need to instill the desire for knowledge in our students about English and other languages in the school. Whole language doesn’t exclude some languages and dialects: it involves every aspect. Teachers also need to acknowledge that learning English is difficult. For every rule there is an exception. This is why language awareness is necessary for language teachers. The difference between speaking English and English Education is that English Education majors learn how the language works, while most English speakers just know how to speak it, not teach it. For English learners to develop an appreciation and knowledge about the language, they need to have control of the issues they learn about.  Teachers should explore issues that interest them and the learners. I make sure to incorporate this into my teaching at the ELI. At the beginning of the semester, I handed out a note card to each of my students and asked them to write down what they wanted to learn about. This allows me to cater to them and their needs.

Activating intuitive heuristics is when a student increases their language awareness by attempting to discover the rules and patterns of the linguistic system. This enhances their capacity to discover the linguistic system by increasing language awareness. When a teacher uses a deductive method of teaching grammar (usually focus on forms), they present students with set rules and expect the students to use the rules in speech and writing after enough practice. This encourages little teacher-student interaction and almost no learner-learner interaction that is necessary to create an environment that is conducive to self-discovery. While thinking of when you learned your L2, what deductive method features did you find helpful and which would you change? Inductive teaching (usually focus on forms) allows students to discover the grammar rules. It avoids explicit description and encourages students to analyze samples provided. Most importantly, it structures interaction.

“Form-focused instruction”, by Brown, commented that many language approaches in the past have learned to one extreme or the other regarding focus on form vs. forms. Teachers and researchers now have a better respect for the place of form-focused instruction in an interactive curriculum. After reading Brown’s chapter, I realized that it is important to have both. I usually lean on the side of focus on form, but it depends on the learners as to which one would be more appropriate. Age, proficiency level, educational background, language skills, style, and needs and goals need to be considered. For example, an adult student who already has developed their BICS would benefit more from focus on forms than a new English learner. However, it is important to take both into consideration.

Teaching Reading and Writing

Brown’s chapter entitled “Teaching Reading” helped the reader gain a sense of how to design effective activities, which I enjoyed, and had a lot of good points that I had never thought about before. The first one is that English learners should refrain from using a bilingual dictionary. The meaning of most words can be figured out from their context. I understand that that can help with fluency but I think that knowledge of word meaning is important, too. In regards to types of classroom reading performance, I thought of a disadvantage that is not listed. Oral reading can cause students to feel uncomfortable and inadequate to other students who read better. If students are put on the spot, especially in their L2, their affective filter may be raised because they do not have the necessary language ego yet. However, Brown made a valid point about extensive reading. It usually occurs outside of the classroom and involves pleasure reading. This type of reading not only develops reading fluency and accuracy, but also an appreciation for reading. It is an engaging way to discover more about English.

“Teaching Writing” briefly talked about the issue of voice and identity. How do we preserve the cultural and social identities of students but at the same time teach that English language writing conventions? It is difficult to accommodate students when the task at hand is clear-cut. I feel that we can be culturally sensitive by allowing students to choose topics to write about, such as their backgrounds and to look at the writing in the home country of the students. What is the style? How might the writing of that country be reflected in writing in English? When it comes to types of Written Language, I thought it would be a creative activity to show the students different types of writing (like on 362-363) and teach them how to identify and create these types, such as greeting cards. Lastly, in regards to peer editing, students will learn to be a better writer and a better reader if they take part in peer editing. I had not thought of it in this way before, but it is an applicable point because the students develop their reading skills when they look at the work of their peers. The Myth 5 chapter had good ideas about wiring, as well.

            My favorite of the three readings, “Myth 5: Students Must Learn to Correct All Their Writing Errors”, was a very real chapter in the sense that it gave real-life examples of how to teach and that the author made real connections from his life to the topic. Dana Ferris said that sometimes teachers sometimes expect their students to made radical transformations in a short period of time, which just does not happen. It takes time and hard work to improve and sometimes improvement is not as quick of a process as is wanted. I like that the author said that it is important to focus on the positive aspects of a student’s work. Every step should be celebrated as a big one because the student is that much closer to learning English. Students can be assessed in many different ways. Instead of a timed test, teachers can have students create a writing portfolio to show their improvement. What the teacher will find is that the quality of writing will be improved by higher expectations. Teachers who employ this method, demand more yet give students better conditions for success.

Principles, SBI, & Learning Opportunities

Chapter 4 in Brown’s book was an overview of cognitive, socioaffective, and linguistic principles that are the foundation of teaching practice. Two principles particularly stuck out to me: the anticipation of reward and the language-culture connection. I completely support the anticipation of reward. I have read articles that state that teachers should not praise at all. For example, when a student correctly completes a task, the teacher should say “I see just what you did,” according to the articles. I believe that the student can and should receive positive reinforcement. I understand that if a teacher is too generous in giving praise, the student can become reliant on the praise, but I see nothing wrong in telling the student they did a good job. Enthusiasm is also included in that principle. It says that the teacher needs to be full of life and that attitude is contagious. The language-culture principle is another one I feel is important and yet not stressed enough in the classroom. Language is a large part of culture. Therefore, when students are learning a language, they need to learn the culture along with it. All of these principles helped me better understand how I should approach teaching and what I should consider before planning classroom activities. What principles are especially important to you and how can you utilize them in the classroom?

Chapter 16 is about Strategies-Based Instruction. How a teacher’s classroom techniques encourage, build, and maintain effective language-learning strategies is what encompasses strategies-based instruction. The chapter discusses how important it is to get the students strategically invested in their language-learning journey. Sometimes the students are intrinsically motivated on their own, but many times the teachers need to set the fire under them to get them motivated. By allowing students to develop their own strategies, they become more motivated to learn English. If students dedicate time and energy to learning English, they will feel more of a connection to be responsible for their learning. The principles in chapter 4 play a large part in strategies-based instruction. They are relevant to the success of learners. Strategies are the students’ techniques for “capitalizing on the principles of successful learning” (258).

“Maximizing Learning Opportunities” is the title of chapter 3 in Kuma’s book and also the duty of teachers. The reason that the chapter is titled so is because this is the only way that teachers can facilitate learning for students. Teachers cannot force students to learn because learning is a personal task controlled by the learner. Learning is an individual task. What a learner takes from an opportunity relies on what the learner brings to the experience. A teacher can only do so much, but it is up to the learner to come away from a situation with new material. Teachers and learners need to work together to create learning opportunities and take the most from them that a person can. What are some ways in which the teacher can create authentic learning opportunities?

The Method Shift

“The End of CLT: A Context Approach to Language Leaching” by Stephen Bax touched on some of the issues that were addressed during the last class. It talked about the paradigm shift from CLT. Bax proposed that the new shift will be towards a Context Approach. He claims that it does not represent something completely new, which is good that he realizes it. In past chapters, I have read that when approaches arise, they are not new but reinventions of old ones. He also cites Nunan when he says, “the ‘methods’ movement—the search for the one best method, would seem to be well and truly dead.” This relates to the Post Method Era that we have covered. Educators are done searching for one right method, but are instead creating their own way to teach. Bax also says that an eclectic approach may be the best way to deal with a varied classroom. He believes that users of CLT assume it is the best way to teach and other methods are backwards. Bax argues that CLT puts context second and methodology first, which is why he advocates the Context Approach.

            Contrary to Bax’s article about the end of CLT, Guangwei Hu writes about the beginning (and perhaps end) of CLT in China in “Potential Cultural Resistance to Pedagogical Imports: The Case of Communicative Language Teaching in China”. The Chinese usually use a combination of the grammar-translation method and audiolingualism. Hu says, “CLT has failed to make the expected impact on ELT in the PRC partly because some of its most important tenets and practices clash with expectations of teaching and learning that are deep rooted in the Chinese culture of learning (94).” The article lists a variety of reasons as to why CLT has not taken root in the classrooms of China. While reading the article, I noticed that China would benefit from some American ideals and Americans can benefit from China’s ideals. For example, it might be useful for China to not place the students so much lower than the teachers on the hierarchy ladder. The teacher should learn from the students as well as students from the teacher. On the other hand, it would be beneficial for Americans to have more respect for teachers. Many times, they are just seen as people who hand out tests. The Chinese culture has a tremendous amount of respect for their teachers. It is important that teachers take an eclectic approach and make well-informed pedagogical choices that are grounded in an understanding of sociocultural influences.

            “Task-based instruction” by Peter Skehan helped me realize that even within one language theory, there are numerous approaches. This allows the theory to cover all the learning bases but still stay under the “task-based” umbrella. Researchers of task-based instruction have made large strides recently because of the shift from CLT to task-based instruction. Ways of measuring performance have increased, which helps teachers assess their students. More variety is better because different students have different results on different types of assessments. One student might perform poorly on one kind of assessment but might excel on another. All together, the three articles were about the shift in language theories, from CLT to task-based and in China, to CLT from methods such as grammar-translation method and audiolingualism.

The Postmethod Era

            Of the three readings this week, I took the most from Brown’s chapter entitled “The Postmethod Era: Toward Informed Approaches”. It did the best job explaining what the postmethod era is. My favorite quote from the chapter is that language teaching needs to be “sensitive to a particular group of teachers teaching a particular group of learning pursuing a particular set of goals within a particular institutional context embedded in a particular social milieu.” This quote puts to rest the idea that method is a strict way of conducting a classroom. It focuses on the fact that we need to cater our teaching to our students. The chapter also touched on the fact that there is a divide between theorists and practitioners. People need to see theorists as researchers who are involved in the classroom and practitioners as people who are not just participants or people who use the work of others. Communicative Language Teaching was talked about in detail in the chapter. From what the book described it as, I think that I am a fan of CLT, especially the real-life communication in the classroom. I like that it focuses on fluency as opposed to just accuracy. The seven characteristics on pages 46 and 47 are important in language acquisition. CLT involves spontaneity, such as unrehearsed situations guided by the teacher. I do this in my ELI classes. I give the students situations about the skill I am teaching and have them act it out as if it were real life. The students then can apply what they learn in class directly to the outside world.

            Kuma’s chapter 3 “Understanding Postmethod Pedagogy” talked about the concept of method. Something I found interesting is that what appears to be a radically new method is usually a variant of existing methods presented with “the fresh paint of a new terminology that camouflages their fundamental similarity.” There are three main types of methods: language, learner, and learning-centered methods and most methods fall into these categories. When I learned an L2 (Spanish) in a formal, classroom context, it was language-centered. I was taught Spanish as a linear, additive process. Rules of thumb were provided and taught to the students as a way to learn the aspects of the language. When teaching, each method needs to be investigated to see which one best fits the students and the teacher. The chapter also states that there are limitations to the concept of method. Concerned with the instructional strategies, methodology ignores the fact that the success or failure of classroom instruction depends on the unstated interaction of factors such as teacher cognition, cultural contexts, and societal needs, which are all interwoven. The macrostrategic framework consists of guiding principles derived from insights related to L2 learning and teaching. Besides the ones listed on page 39, such as  integrating language skills, maximizing learning opportunities, and promoting learning autonomy, etc, can you think of any others to add to the list?

TESOL Methods: Changing Tracks, Challenging Trends is about TESOL’s evolving perspectives on language teaching methods from communicative language teaching to task-based language teaching, from method-based pedagogy to postmethod pedagogy, and from systemic discovery to critical discourse. Any size shift creates a new state of awareness and awakening in the TESOL profession. The next step is for educators to devise a concrete plan of how to implement these changes in everyday lessons.

Teaching Hierarchy and Teacher Roles

Chapter 1 of Kumaravadivelu’s book is about teaching and the different aspects and ways to approach it. It presented many ideas that I had not thought of before, such as the difference between job, vocation, work, career, occupation, and profession. I hope that in my future, teaching becomes my profession. I feel that the definition really brings out all that teaching encompasses. Chapter 1 presented the three roles of teachers (teachers as passive technicians, teachers as reflective practitioners, and teachers as transformative intellectuals) as a hierarchy. Each level gets more involved. Some things that I liked about teachers as reflective practitioners as opposed to passive technicians is that a reflective practitioner is involved in school change efforts and takes responsibility for her own professional development. I thought that this role encompassed more than just the regular teaching time of the subjects, but it involved change for the better. Also, I feel that it is important to develop as a teacher because the students can benefit from that development, as well. These aspects are also true of teachers as transformative intellectuals. The process of transformative teaching asks that teachers take a critical look at the relationship between theory and practice and establish their own personal theory of practice. Unfortunately, teachers sometimes get into a routine of teaching that they find hard to break. They need to explore new options and see what is best for their students. It can be uncomfortable to change their ways, but it is necessary. My friend who is student teaching this semester told me about her classroom experience in which the teacher has set ways of teaching that are not reaching the students. The teacher just turns off the lights reads through a PowerPoint every class. Half of the students sleep while she does this. I think that she needs to look into new options of teaching and revise her personal theory. The last thing that I found interesting was that in the field of education, it has been suggested that there is no substantial difference between common sense and theory. I had never thought of relating the two, but it makes sense to me now. People who come up with the theories had to use their common sense to create the theories. Teachers should put more trust in their common sense and not just try to teach to a certain theory.

TESOL Methods

This week’s readings focused on the variety and individuality of methods. Chapter 1 of Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach walked the reader through a lesson plan. The lesson plan was presented; the author analyzed the lesson by asking questions about the method used, technique, student involvement, etc. This drew the reader’s attention to the detail put into lesson plans and that little aspects can affect the whole lesson. In chapter 2, the author explained that the difference between approach and method is that an approach “is a set of assumptions dealing with the nature or language, learning, and teaching” while method was described as an “overall plan for systematic presentation of language based upon a selected approach” (Brown 14). He then outlined various methods and concluded by stating that educators need to learn from the old methodologies and appreciate the value of “doing” languages interactively, of the emotional side of learning, of absorbing and analyzing language, and of pointing learners to the world in which they will use the language.

“Is There No Best Method – Why?” by Prabhu addresses that each educator is unique and that the best method varies from one teacher to another in the sense that it is best for each teacher to operate with his or her own sense of plausibility at any given time. To say that different methods are best for different teaching contexts is not helpful because it leaves that educator to look for the best method for a specific context. Also, to say that all methods are partially true is are unhelpful because it does not say which part is the valid part. Educators need to find the method(s) that work best for them and in what contexts because each educator has a different level of comfort teaching different styles on which they should maximize.

In Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach  I enjoyed reading the lesson plan in chapter 1 and all of the questions that can be asked. Right after reading the lesson plan, I thought it was a well thought through plan that did not need improvement. After reading the questions, I began to look at each part more closely. Would it have worked better in other ways? All of the different methods in chapter 2 interested me because they each took such a radical approach to language learning. Which method would I have benefited from the most out of the ones presented? The least? Some of the methods, such as the Silent Way, Community Langauge Learning, and Suggestopedia, seem too extreme to teach a second language. How could someone learn how to speak a language without hearing it from their language instructor? Regarding the article Is There No Best Method – Why?” by Prabhu, I appreciated the individual approach it took when it came to language teaching, or any teaching for that matter. There is no best method because each teacher is different and has different ways of going about the language process. There is a large variety in methods that no single one should be labeled as “right” or “wrong”, but instead be seen as another opportunity to teach. 

Introduction to Me!

Hi everyone! I am a senior Bicultural Bilingual Elementary Education major and am minoring in Spanish and TESOL. After I graduate from ISU, I hope to teach in Little Village in Chicago. I don't have a strong grade preference, but if I had to choose it would be fifth grade. I've also thought about teaching Spanish eventually. As a language educator, my goal is to inspire students to want to learn. I want them to be motivated to not only learn the language, but also the culture. In turn, I hope that this develops their appreciation for new things. During this course, I am looking forward to learning about current issues and applying them to my teaching. I learn the most from the stories that people share so I can't wait to listen to what people have to say! =)

Glocalization

“Appropriating English, Expanding Identities, and Re-Visioning the Field: From TESOL to Teaching English for Glocalized Communication (TEGCOM)” took a unique approach to research. The authors used their own narratives to support their beliefs. The article discussed Othering, told stories of learning and teaching English, touched on how English is seen in different contexts, and took apart the dichotic categories of native and non-native. In part III, the article talks about teaching jobs that look for “native English speakers only”. The article referred to Asian countries, but I thought of it in the United States. When I signed up for ENG 343 and other TESOL classes, I expected them to be taught by native English speakers because they are English classes. Who better to teach them than professors that have been speaking English their whole lives? Wouldn’t they be the best candidates as to how to teach the language? However, after learning the content of the TESOL classes and more about the professors, I have come to learn that I would not take as much from the classes if they were taught by native English speakers. The instructors had to go through the process of learning English as a second language so they can relate their experiences of what that was like. They also bring knowledge of other cultures that I would not know about if my professors were native speakers. Therefore, I am appreciative that the instructors are non-native English speakers so that they can share what it is like to learn another language.

Chapter 7, entitled “Towards a socially sensitive EIL pedagogy” discusses the social and sociolinguistic context of the L2 classrooms and talked about the way the classrooms were affected. It also examined glocal tension and the discourse of Othering. Lastly, it laid down principles that should inform EIL pedagogy. One of the principles that especially stood out to me was the one about EIL professionals. The chapter stated that they should try to alter language policies so that more people could learn English instead of just the elite of the country. If English is really going to become an international language, programs need to be established that offer English instruction to people of every economic level. After taking this course and my other education classes, I have realized that I want to go into policy-making sometime in the distant future. Many of the people making decisions for the students in the classrooms do not have teaching experience. I feel that the preparation given to teachers needs to be reflected in the standards of education. The law-makers need to be more culturally sensitive to their students and make decisions not based on performance, but on what is best for the overall well-being of the students. This ties into other principles such as the one that states that the way students learn English should respect the local culture. Being culturally sensitive is one of the most important issues when teaching English to others because the students must come to appreciate their own culture before embracing the one in which surrounds English.

World Englishes

“World Englishes and the Teaching of Writing” is an article that directly helps pre-service teachers. After reading it, I had a better understanding of the different approaches a TESOL educator can take in regards to teaching writing and how it is viewed in classrooms today. In language classrooms, corrective feedback on student writing is expected. Sometimes, students may complain if the teacher does not correct grammar errors. As a result, legibility and comprehensibility are often not considered satisfactory goals in the context of writing instruction. This was upsetting to me because I feel that comprehensibility should be the main goal of writing. I believe that students should be able to get their point across to their reader and then focus on the details. The meaning of the message is the most important part of writing, so it should receive the most emphasis. When the article was addressing the different principles, a quote about teaching the non-dominant language forms and functions stuck out to me, “to overlook alternative uses of English can actually work against the goal of helping students develop an accurate understanding of how the English language works and how it changes over time.” When thinking of what to teach when it comes to English writing, the non-dominant language forms do not come to mind. The article raises a good point, however, to draw attention to them because the students need to develop their writing style. Knowing the dominant and non dominant will be helpful in establishing those styles. It is important for teachers not to overly valorize either the dominant discourses or alternative discourses because it is the students who will be doing the writing.

The chapter of Kubota’s entitled “The impact of globalization on language teaching in Japan” was about the tension of globalization in language learning and teaching in Japan. It was compared to three corners of a triangle: (1) ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity in the local communities; (2) the prevalence of English; and (3) nationalism endorsed by linguistic and cultural essentialism. The language learning in Japan has been strongly influenced by kokusaika discourse. It is about Japan’s power struggle on an international level through Anglicization. This discourse merges nationalism and Anglicization together. The Anglicization aspect of kokusaika stresses the development of international understanding and intercultural communication skills. However, the cultural nationalism emphasizes national identity in contrast with English culture. This discourse in important because it shows that Japan has not lost touch with its roots but that it is will to adapt to new ways.

Stand English Ideology

Chapter 5 in International English in Its Sociolinguistic Contexts was about the issues of standards in reference to World Englishes, the Standard English ideology, and intelligibility. The challenge that World Englishes present to the Standard ideology is that there should be different standards for different contexts of use. Standard English should be determined locally, as opposed to outside its context of use. Kachru believed that letting a variety of linguistic norms exist would lead to an educated variety of English that would be intelligible across many varieties. I agree with Kachru in that a variety of norms would bring about positive results. I feel that it is an optimistic way of looking at different varieties of English. Plus, it is more realistic. The global spread of English will only give rise to many more varieties, each with its own norms. There will always be unifying norms because they are all a variety of English, but each variety is and will continue to be unique. It is degrading to say that speakers of different varieties don’t speak the proper form because they are all forms of the same language. Therefore, I disagree with the monolithic model that argues that if localized standards are allowed to develop, English speakers will no longer be able to understand each other. Also, it is highly unlikely that it will ever happen. The point is often missed that “it is people, not language codes, that understand one another, and people use the varieties they speak for specific functions (Bamgbose 11).” Who is the judge for determining intelligibility in various varieties of English? It is not our place to say that certain ways are right. There is a diverse number of varieties of English, just as there are diverse varieties of languages overall.

Lippi-Green refers to standard language and non-accent as myths and abstractions. I had never thought of it in this way, but she makes a valid point. An abstraction is the idea of something which has no independent existence. This is true of standard language because it serves as an idea, not a fact. Myths are used to justify social order; this is not a way to prove anything because myths are not factual. Lippi-Green states that every native speaker of English has some regional variety. This makes it difficult to define a standard English because all native speakers have some kind of accent depending on their region. Every native speaker of US English has an L1 accent. People appear to have accents when their speech differs from the speech of the person who is listening. It is all about perspective. The lines between where dialects start and end geographically are not clear. Code switching is when a speaker of one language switched to another in the same conversation. Code shifting occurs when a speaker switches between dialects. They are both thought to be a skilled and complicated process, however to me, code shifting would be more difficult because the two languages involved are very similar. A speaker would have to be aware of how to pronounce certain sounds; otherwise they would not be code shifting if the sounds are too similar between dialects. Even though myths are not tangible, they are real enough to cost people jobs, when it comes to L2 accents. Not only that, but laws do not truly protect people in these situations, such as Mr. Kahakua when he was not given a promotion because of his accent, but the judge dropped the case because he did not speak standard English. This is just as bad as discriminating against other languages as we have talked about earlier this semester. Now people are learning English and we still discriminate against them. When will America and its people accept people for who they are and the unique differences that they bring to the table?

The Importance of Bilingual Education

Chapter Four: “Languages planning and policy” in McKay and Bokhorst-Heng’s book is about the ways in which the designation of an official language has consequences for language learning and teaching. The first is that the insight the designation provides into prevalent social attitudes toward particular languages. The second is that the effect of approved language policies on the stated language-in-education policy. Last is the setting of linguistic standards. It was also about the worldliness of language. One theme that was present is the relationship between language and social class. In parts of the world where English is used and taught, knowledge of the language results in benefits. However, not everyone has access to it. This is similar to the ongoing cycle of poverty. Wealth is kept among the top percentage of the population and education is similar. Children are born into rough neighbor hoods. They go to schools with low performance. They don’t get the education they need. The jobs that they can get don’t pay enough to get them out of the bad neighborhood to start their own family, so the cycle continues. Similarly, English is limited to certain people. Not everyone has access, causing education and the opportunity for economic increase to stay concentrated. In the chapter, English is presented as being neutral, devoid of any ethnic identity. I would choose to use a different word than “neutral” because I feel that it can raise controversy, especially for the reasons stated above. I can’t think of a word to replace it which I think raises a point in itself. There is no one way to describe the language and its effects of society in the United States and other countries. It can be a unifying language, like the book says, or a divisive language, like when it comes to class division.

The article Language Ideologies and Policies: Multilingualism and Education is about how difficult and complex it is to educate multilingual students in a society in which English is the dominant language in school and even communication in general.  It shows that common language beliefs (and misconceptions) are what govern policies. The part that rang true the most for me was about the negative effects that English-only policies can have on students. First of all, it deprives students of learning opportunities. English speaker students lose the chance to learn about the culture of the other students and ELLs risk the chance of not learning at a fast-enough rate. Some students need to hear explanations about concepts in their own languages to properly understand them. English-only policies also inhibit ELLs from developing their native language. With no exposure to it, they cannot continue to learn it. Lastly, it instills a contempt toward subordinate languages and dialects. It makes it seem that they are not worthy enough to use in the classroom and that English is superior to them. Is this the impression we want to give our students: that certain languages are “better” than others? Not only does it shine a bad light on the languages, but also the speakers of these languages. They are categorized as deficit. Students need to see each other as equals whose language and background are something to be celebrated, not discriminated against. These reasons seem so clear to me and others in the class, so why can’t policy makers see them in the same light?

The Power of English

Chapter 1 in International English and Its Sociolinguistic Contexts is about English in an era of globalization. It examines how English has developed and how it has affected other languages. The chapter talks about globalization, why English has spread, and the problem with monolingualism.

Globalization can be seen as a link to growing relationships with other countries or as the cause of a loss of cultural and linguistic diversity. I was interested in the concept of globalization as deterritorialization, or the change of social space so that space is no longer mapped in termed of territorial places, distances, or borders. I always thought of globalization in theoretical terms, but this idea allowed me to apply it to something tangible. The homogeneity position views the spread of English as leading to a homogenization of world culture. English is believed to bring this about, and it might happen in the future. I am opposed to this idea because it ignores the uniqueness of cultures. These differences between cultures need to be celebrated, not ignored.
The spread of English is largely due to colonialism. It was always an important part of colonizing an idea so that the colonizers would be able to speak to the natives and also so that the natives would become more like the colonizers. English is also associated with power and was therefore seen as desirable to those who did not speak it so that they would be able to acquire a job. Lastly, it separated us from them. Language was a very clear way to see who was in and who was out. Phillipson published five tenets that inform the English teaching profession. They focus on the right way to teach and learn English. I believe there should be a sixth: Language attainment will come more smoothly if the learner has a desire to acquire the language. Just from talking to peers and other students that study another language, I have learned that those who like learning a second language are typically better at it because they have the internal motivation to learn it. This is one of the most important components in acquiring another language.

The chapter stated the following for incentives for learning English: economic, educational, and mass media (such as advertising, music, movies, and electronic communication). Each of these plays an important part in their own way. It also depends on which is most important to the English language learner. After reading this chapter, I learned that about 2,500 languages will become extinct in the next century. This is due to population loss or language shift. I have studied this topic in other courses and it was disheartening to learn that there are language speakers that would rather learn the mainstream language and completely drop their native tongue, causing it to no longer exist. This is where TESOL educators come in. It is our job to show students that they can know and grow an appreciation for BOTH languages. When a language dies, so do the customs, knowledge, and traditions associated with it. We cannot let English alone run the world. People need to know that although English is a powerful language, it is not worth risking one’s culture.

Diversity in Students and Teaching

Ibrahim’s article talked about becoming black, referring to it as a process. A part of this process is learning on the behalf of both the student and the teacher. Teachers need to learn how to associate different media types into their teaching. If the class is made up of African American students who enjoy rap music, then the teacher should create a rap about the 50 states or whatever else the students are learning. I like that Ibrahim made the point that rap music is more than bad lyrics. For some, it is a symbol of hope and a way to express feelings and problems. Different races do the same, but just in a different form. This learning is not just about gaining knowledge about classroom subjects but also about people’s identities. Over spring break, I volunteered at an after-school program in the Bronx. I worked with 6^th -8^th grade students. They each had at least one “major”. These majors were similar to college majors in that they would study a particular area to learn more about it. The school was 95% African American students. The school did not try to push majors such as business or politics, but offered majors such as African drumming, stepping, music, and dancing. The school took the students interests into consideration and helped them form identities based on what they had a passion for.

In Kubota and Lin’s writing, it is stated that race and racism shape aspects of teaching and learning. I completely agree with this and it reminds me of a previous discussion question that was posed in class. Should diversity be taught in elementary school? If it is, children will become more knowledgeable on the topic, but it will make them realize that people are different and they might begin to stereotype and see differences as a bad thing. I would argue that it should be taught. Students need to learn that diversity and differences are a good thing and that society thrives on them. The world would be a very different and boring place if everyone was the same. We would not be able to learn from each other. In addition to learning about diversity, it should be stressed to the students that they should celebrate it and find a way to teach others that it is something to celebrate, as well. As I am learning in my sociology class, human behavior occurs in a social context. With regards to white privilege, it thrives because society allows it to do so. This white privilege not only separates colored people against white but also colored people against colored people. They turn on their own race in favor of white scholarship.

Hard Times: Arab TESOL Students’ Experiences of Racialization and Others in the United Kingdom was a study conducted to see how Arab students feel in America in regards to racism and Othering. I was surprised to learn that not all of the participants felt discrimination based on race. That would be the quality that sticks out most in my mind when it comes to poor treatment towards Arabs. Another important finding was that TESOL communities need to make sure that they are not causing the Othering towards Arabs. Some students felt a shift from being seen as international students to feeling marginalized because of their culture and nationality. The community practices might not have been necessarily racist, but if students are perceiving them in such a way then something needs to change. TESOL educators cannot risk having international students feel like outsides. We need to go out of our way to accommodate their needs and make sure that they feel comfortable in America. If not us, then who?

Personality & Impressions

The topic presented in Construction of Racial Stereotypes in English as a Foreign Language textbooks was one that that is relatively new to me. The study explored how the images in textbooks, which represent English culture, shaped students' and teachers' impressions of the target foreign-language culture. The students and teachers thought that the United States is portrayed as the land of White elite, Blacks are represented as poor or powerless while Whites seem wealthy and powerful, and race is divided by continent. Whites were portrayed as powerful because they were usually wearing suits, or nice clothing, while blacks were not dressed that way. The physical positioning also played a factor in how races were perceived. It shows men as playing a larger role in society. The continent dividing is incorrect because no one country is made up of one race. There is diversity on every continent, whether it is more easily seen or not. The pictures create a certain discourse for the English-speaking countries that is not positive in my thoughts. It represents a White elitist nation. The images do not properly represent English-speakers; they represent Hollywood’s view on the topic. The first time I thought about illustrations in books was when I took a Children’s Literature class. Our teacher taught us that some books have come out with new editions that represent race more equally. For example there was a book in which white children were seen playing in a playground in the first edition. In the second, they added children of color where there were no children before. People may not think about how they are portraying English-speakers, but they need to be conscious that it is in a positive light.

            Personality and its social construction was one of the topics of Intercultural Communication. One of the fundamental assumptions of the common-sense view of personality is that it is stable across situations and over time. I disagree with this because as we grow as people, our personalities change, just as the rest of us do, like our bodies and knowledge. We also change our personality depending of the situation that we are in. We might be shy around new people, but outgoing around our friends. Because of this, personality is socially constructed. However, we should not judge people’s personalities based on first impressions. We do not know their whole story just by looking at them. There can be more going on in their lives than they display. As Burr states, personality exists not within people, but between them. This is well-represented in the example that people would not be considered friendly, caring, etc, if they were living on an island by themselves because they would have no one to interact with. Therefore, relationships construct personality. The other part of the book examined how society constructs the foreign “Other”. A major source of prejudicing, as told in the stories, is the information from the national media. We are fed information from the television, radio, and press. When we are in educator positions, we are in roles that allow us to be a source of knowledge to our students, who may be new to the country. If this is true, instead of teaching the language in order to live and work in the US, educators need to empower their students to express their identity. We need to be more aware of the images in our society that influence how we see other people. Whether we know it or not, everything we do is a portrayal of our culture and personality. Therefore it is important that we are conscious of what we are doing and see things from an outsider’s perspective. As an educator, we have the opportunity to open student’s minds to other possibilities and encourage them to express themselves as opposed to an identity created by society.

ELF, Code-switching, and Writing

            After watching the video in class, I learned how culture is presented in the writing of English Language Learners. Japanese writers include four different parts in their writing: introduction, development, turning point, and conclusion. They believe that it is the reader’s job to interpret the writer’s meaning. For example, the Japanese use pronouns that do not indicate gender, but that is their intention because they want the reader to figure it out for themselves.  Turkish writers use long, poetic sentences. In Brazil, writers include many details and go around the main point before stating it. Colombians are similar to the Brazilians and believe that American writing is too direct and therefore, impolite. I had never thought of this before, but I can see what they mean. I am more direct than most people in my writing because I have a hard time deciding which details support the main point. Because of these differences, educators need to be sensitive as to how writing is approached in the cultures of their students. Teachers need to know what the students want to be corrected on, whether it is the small details or the main idea.

            Interactional Sociolinguistics was a chapter about ELF interactions, code-switching and how it is seen by bilinguals. McKay and Bokhorst-Heng made a valid point: by choosing to speak in a certain way, people express their sense of who they are and who they believe others are. They stated that, “in this way, our daily interactions play a crucial role in creating and maintaining the roles we fill, our social identities, and our personal identities.” Social interactions create and maintain who we think we are and who others think we are. We need to be mindful of how we portray ourselves because others are always watching. The International English in Its Sociolinguistic Contexts book believes code-switching to be the alteration of linguistic codes in the same conversation undertaken by proficient bilinguals (p165). After reading this, it is the first time I entertained the thought that it is between proficient speakers. I always thought of it on a more basic level. They also stated that there are different approaches to code-switching. What are they? Are they more beneficial to the speakers? The last point that surprised me was that one’s “mother tongue” has to do with one’s father’s ethnicity, and may not even be one’s native language spoken at home. Why is the word mother in the phrase? Overall, the chapter was very informational and introduced new topics to me.

The research conducted in the two different work places demonstrated that it can be difficult to recognize the modifications that are necessary to work respectfully with people from other backgrounds. However, the researchers were able to work with others because they knew about the principles of the Kaupapa Maori. They demonstrate that knowledge is a powerful tool that can bring people together and be more aware of differences so that people are sensitive to the culture of others. This does not mean that they have the principles mastered or that they will ever be able to appropriately apply them, but that they have an overall idea of them, which is a good start to understanding others. When we have the opportunity to work with others, we learn from them. This is one of the reasons I am such a supporter of bilingual education. There are different cultures in the classroom and the students are able to learn through interactions with one another and a diverse curriculum.

The Cultures of English as a Lingua Franca by Will Baker states that it is difficult to identify a culture of English as a Lingua Franca because it depends on the individual. The same goes for language. It is never culturally neutral because the speaker brings their own cultural history which results in the way that they communicate. This includes attitude, body language, tone of voice, and the manner that the speaker delivers the message. However, at the same time, learners of ELF need to be open to new ways of communication. Because of this, the ability to negotiate, mediate, and adapt to emerging communicative practices are an important aspect of learning ELF. Some argue that they are as important as systematic knowledge. I agree that they are just as important because communication is a vital part of language. Those skills are needed to function in society and outside of the classroom. Even though there is not one specific culture that is associated with ELF, educators can still touch on cultural awareness, language awareness, and accommodation skills in addition to the basics like grammar.

Stereotypes

The way in which Kubota presented “Unfinished Knowledge: The Story of Barbara” was a creative way to talk about culture and how it should be taught in the classroom. The main idea of the article is to not abandon one’s culture, just to adopt new ways. This can be applied to more than one setting. It the article it was meant in regards to writing, but it can also be used in regards to language. In the beginning of the story, Barbara was not culturally diverse when it came to her students. It affected her work and her interactions with students. After eating out with her colleague, she decided it would be best to teach many different cultures to the students and tell them what it is like in those cultures. However, she did not realize that she was basically feeding them stereotypes, which was not her intention. She reevaluated her teaching methods and came to the conclusion that it is acceptable for her to teach her students about what cultures do but to let them know that it is different in every household and that one characteristic does not define a culture. Is there a clear way as to how to approach it in the classroom? How should we go about teaching about cultures? I hope that when I am in the classroom, I reach the same conclusion that Barbara does. I want to educate my students about cultures but not tell them how to think. How do I balance that?

According to Kubota’s 1999 article, people define cultures with labels, whether or not they know them to be true. However, because the labels are distinctive, the labels are perceived as correct. This knowledge is not true, scientific, or neutral. It just allows groups to have power over each other. When people continue to use the labels, it enforces the different levels of stereotypes and power. For example, many people say “no homo” as if there is something wrong with being homosexual. The more that people use this phrase, the more it is reinforced as a norm and as an accepted stereotype. Kubota states, "It is in discourse that power and knowledge are joined together," which means that through discourse, power is spread. Labels create difference instead of aiding the togetherness of cultures. Concepts of certain groups are constructed by others; it does not define the group because the labels are not self-reflective. When it comes to knowledge, I advocate extending knowledge because it is constantly changing, improving, and replacing outdated knowledge. It is about creating new knowledge and is always a step ahead of the others. Conserving knowledge is an idea that keeps old knowledge and is not as accepting of change. It does not evolve as extending knowledge does. The way that Japanese schools operate contrasts from the way most people see them. Recent educational research shows that the Japanese preschool and elementary school curriculum does promote creativity, original thinking, and self-expression in its cultural contexts. This is how American schools are thought to operate. It is refreshing to see that some of the stereotypes are no longer in existence.

            Contrastive rhetoric is undergoing changes in its goals, methods, and how culturally sensitive it is. Cultures have different ways of writing. Some are direct, while others are not. Until reading this article, I had never thought of that. I always assumed that it is the same type of writing between cultures, just in different languages. But now I realize that people have different ways of conveying messages in other cultures and that not only is the language different, but the writing style is, as well. All cultural groups engage in a variety of types of writing, with their own conventions and tendencies that suit each culture. Contrastive rhetoric is slowly becoming sensitive to minority concerns, such as African American writers. Differences in race make a difference in the text and contrastive rhetoric is realizing that. When it comes to teaching how to write, it is usually preferred to teach the content rather than form. However, teaching the form of how to write an essay in English has proved to be beneficial to Japanese students. They have taken the knowledge and transferred it to other types of writing.

Cultural Stereotypes

Problematizing Cultural Stereotypes in TESOL by focused on Asian student stereotypes of their behavior in the classroom. The article said that they are obedient to authority, lack critical thinking skills, and do not participate in classroom interaction. In reality, these are not true. There are multiple Asian cultures that believe students should true in themselves and not rely on the teachers. The article quoted Confucius’s well-known saying which means “the teacher does not always have to be more knowledgeable than the pupil; and the pupil is not necessarily always less learned than the teacher.” This demonstrates that both the teacher and student are able to learn from each other’s wisdom and experiences. When it comes to critical thinking, Asians are often compared with American students. One reason why it seems that Asians do not critically think as much is that kind of thinking is stressed in American and not as much in other countries. Atkinson even argues that critical thinking is a special characteristic of the American upper and middle classes and cautions against teaching critical thinking to international and language minority students. He doubts whether they will even benefit from it. I do not agree with this statement. Who is to say that Asian students will/ will not benefit from it? Critical thinking can be taught to anyone; however it takes time to develop that skill, which is not always given to students who need it most. Also, some students are stronger in certain areas than others, just like in any other country. Lastly, the comment that Asian students do not participate in class is one that needs further explanation. American students usually participate in class more because class discussions and activities are in their native language, unlike Asian students. When they must speak, sometimes they suffer from anxiety because they now only need to think out what they are going to say, but also how to saying in a foreign language. This was an insightful article into how Asian students are perceived. Even though I am a Bilingual Education major, I focus mainly on Spanish-speaking students. I enjoyed reading about how a different culture is seen, other than a Latino culture. Also, some of these thoughts can even be applied to students that come from countries that are not near Asia, but speak another language.

Language and Identity

Social Identity, Investment, and Language Learning by Bonny Norton raised many good points about ELLs. The central argument of the paper is that SLA theorists have not developed a comprehensive theory of social identity that integrates the language learner and the language learning context. Norton wrote about self-confidence and how Gardner argues that self-confidence arises from positive experiences in the context of the second language. I agree with this statement, being a second language learner myself. I feel competent when I am able to interact with a native speaker with Spanish in their mother tongue. Going along with this topic, Norton wrote that learning cannot proceed without exposure and practice. The more exposure and practice, the more proficient the learner will become. I can personally attest to this from volunteering for 130 hours at Western Avenue Community Center under the Hispanic Outreach Director. I listened to her and her clients interact and by the end of the semester, I would meet with some of the clients without her being present. My Spanish improved and I became more confident as a speaker. But was I fluent? What is the technical definition of fluency?  Norton also wrote about how ELL speakers may sometimes be motivated, extroverted, and confident and sometimes unmotivated, introverted, and anxious.  This is usually due to who the speaker is around and what power-role they have.  Different ELLs feel comfortable different groups of people. However, it is important that all ELLs recognize their right to right to speak and be heard by native speakers. Another important implication of Norton’s study is that the second language teacher needs to help language learners claim the right to speak outside the classroom. The lived experiences and social identities of language learners need to be incorporated into the formal second language curriculum, referred to as classroom-based social research (CBSR). With this collaborative research that is carried out by language learners in their local communities with the active guidance and support of the language teacher, ELLs will feel more confident as speakers of English.

Hall’s chapter entitled Language and Identity focuses on how people see themselves and how others see them. Identity is something that a person can change certain aspects of, such as religion. Identity is how people define themselves based off on certain contexts and personal experiences. Cultural identities are like “cloaks” because they can be taken on and off. This is demonstrated in language. For example, a Spanish speaker might come to America and choose to practice and focus on only American culture, meaning that the person no longer speaks Spanish or celebrates certain holidays, such as Dia de los Muertos. It can also be referred to the fact that people might belong to a cultural group but may not act like the assumed societal role of that group. Their individual identity may conflict with their cultural identity. Another conflict that may arise might be with social structures that shape us as individuals. However, we contribute to these social structures and are the building blocks of them. Another idea that stuck with me is that no one can be “culture-free.” Culture does not exist apart from language or people, as language users. To communicate, we must use language therefore placing us in a culture and adding to our identity.

In Intercultural Communication, identity and people’s perspectives on it dominated the reading. James Gee, who wrote excerpts in the chapter, wrote about how everyone has a unique perspective. He states that, “when we speak or write we always take a particular perspective on what the world is like.” I find this to be true and demonstrated in word choice and tone of voice. Someone else could say the same words as me but not mean what I am trying to convey. I speak from my experiences and beliefs, which are unique to me. This is why it is hard, at times, to understand others. We do not necessarily know what they have been through or what is internally motivating them to speak about the topic they choose.

Identity

The focus in Holliday’s compilations is ideas about identity. The readings centers on what others think and what one thinks about him or herself. At times we are faced with the task of educating others. In Parisa’s case, she had to teach her coworkers about her background and show them that she does not fall under the typical stereotype. By doing this, she was helping their image of her, them, and people they meet in the future. One way they we can bring this to our own world is by correcting people when we here stereotypes or derogative comments. We need to be the people to share our knowledge so that people around us are no longer ignorant. Relating to that, people need to be mindful of the image that they are portraying. Other people are watching, which is something that people forget. Actions can be seen and conversations heard by people other that the intended recipient. Another idea from Holliday’s reading is defining who we are. By being a bilingual education major, I have learned the importance of home culture and language. Many people see Americans and want to be like them in every way by abandoning who they are. They need to find that balance between old and new. If old ways are lost, there is no one to carry them on to future generations and they are lost forever. This especially happens when Mexican families come to the United States. Many parents just want to children to learn English as soon as possible, no matter the consequences. These students often lose their native language, because of it. The parents need to realize that it is best if their children learn English, but keep practicing their Spanish, as well. What are the benefits to finding a balance between cultures?

Paulenko’s article was about the identities of people coming to America. When immigrating to America, people had the culture forced upon them. There were many great quotes that illustrated this. In a piece compiled by Panunzio he says, “I have come to love America as I do my very life- perhaps more arid yet they still call me a 'foreigner.'” This shows that even though he had been in America for nearly twenty years, grew up here, was educated here, is a citizen here, he is still not considered “an American”. Which bring me to the question, what does it mean to be an American? I like to think that our diversity defines us. However, in the early 1900s this was not the case. People who already lived in America wanted things to stay the same. They were not very welcoming of diversity because they wanted everything to be uniform. I think that we have finally come to the realization that this will never be accomplished, but more importantly that it is a good thing! Antim states, “Now let any one compile a biographical dictionary of our self-made men, from the romantic age of our history down to the prosaic year of 1914, and see how the smell of the steerage pervades the volume!” This quote shows that the diversity of America is what defines the country. America is made up of people who came here by boat and worked hard for the country. Americanism is not something that can be taught, it is something that is lived. The backgrounds and experiences of the people who are here now make America what it is, which is something to celebrate.

Culture in TESOL

Culture and its meaning play a vital role in TESOL. Although there are anthropologists that believe the notion of culture should no longer exist, I disagree. Even though the word “culture” in not directly mentioned in the title of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), culture is represented in the background of the speaker and the language being learned. One should not learn a language without learning the culture that goes with it. Culture is what defines the language. It represents meanings and traditions. However, I do agree that the definition of culture needs to be revised in TESOL. When it comes to the different views regarding culture in TESOL, I identify with the one that moves away from the received view but still sees culture in the sense of shared values. I choose this middle view because I still think it should exist, but there is no clear-cut definition that is applicable in all cases. The term culture is used in different senses so it is flexible and forms to its context, just as people do when they are in a new culture.

Identity ranges from self to civilization. When on the topic of self, people tend to see themselves as desirable. They compare themselves to others, which leads to community. The awareness of others around and one’s relationship with them allows people to be interdependent. People who view themselves as a part of a community function as a whole, while individuals see themselves an independent. There also exists the issue of culture and civilization. These closely linked words have similar meanings because they both involve interconnectedness and not strictly defined boundaries. A civilization is just the broadest cultural identity. This is what causes cultures to flourish. Cultures all draw from one another. Each culture is a mix, so no culture is in its purest form. Because of this, cultures are always evolving and drawing influences from other cultures. That is why identity is constantly evolving, as well. Culture makes up identity and when it changes, so does a person as a whole.

When it comes to essentialist versus non-essentialist, I identify with the non-essentialist for the most part. Cultures should be seen as multi-dimensional. They is a transition between cultures, it is not just black and white. Some of the narratives in Intercultural Communication addressed this issue. If someone is black, but is born in Asia, what cultures do they technically identify with? There is no clear dividing line in this case and in many others. Also, when it comes to cultures, they are recently portrayed in negative light, which is something I did not notice before. Culture is something that people identify with, so therefore should not be seen as negative. People need to be aware of different cultures, but that does not mean that they should be taught to people through stereotypes, which is sometimes the case.