Week 16

The article written by Lin et. al explores different international stories and journeys of individuals learning English and the struggles that came with it due to the unpopularity or low usage of the English language based on where they are from. Many of these narratives explained how English was utilized as a subject course in school and nothing more. No one actually bothered to try to really speak and learn the language. This article introduces the readers by explaining the term “Othering” and later explains how these individuals perhaps felt Otherized while attempting to acquire English. Because of this, the article also explains how these EFL learners felt a sense of identity loss/change during this process. The stories of these individual learners were very eye-opening and interesting to read, because it gave a first-hand view of real experiences and feelings people had learning English internationally. As future educators of students who will be learning second language, it is important for us to prevent them from feeling “Otherized” so that they don’t feel inhibited from acquiring English and can successfully work to their fullest potential. The article suggests that in order to prevent otherization from happening, we must change TESOL to TEGCOM: Teaching English for Globalized Communication, which would refer to the students as being monolingual native English speakers. This approach may be difficult, but I can definitely see it being beneficial in a classroom.

Chapter 7 by McKay and Bokhorst-Heng discusses multilingualism in a classroom and how assumptions of an English curriculum result in foreign languages being marginalized. However, although native English speakers may be in a surrounding that promotes monolingualism, they are more likely to want to  learn another language and practice mulitingualism. The authors explain Westernization and the importance of teaching culture in a classroom which will benefit students and make them more culturally aware. They also explain Othering, which is “those from Western Inner Circle cultures are portrayed as having modern and desirable behavior while those from other cultures, who exhibit other ways of doing things, are seen as backward or lacking" (183). In order to help our students be successful, it is our role to provide appropriate textbooks that do not marginize local Western cultures. We can also follow the EIL pedagogy guidelines provided in this chapter that I also found to be very interesting and helpful.

Week 15

This week’s articles were very interesting to read, especially since this is an area I have always been fascinated with in regards to language acquisition. To begin, Lippie-Green’s findings in Chapter 2 of “Linguistics, Language, and Ideology” discussed present accents in an L1 and L2. The article explains how every native US speaker with English as their L1 has an accent resulting from a variation in language and is based off of geography or regions.  This makes me question though- what is an accent and how do we define it? Yes, the article says that it is “a specific way of speaking”, but how can we say: oh, this dialect is the standard way of speaking and the other ways are strange? An even more thought-provoking thought is how did these “accents” even come about? If we are all America and we all live in the same country and speak the same language, then how did geographic boundaries create such diverse dialects within the US? Where did they come from?!

I had never really realized this notion of every native speaker of English obtaining a specific accent until a studied abroad. Having classes with students from all over America opened my eyes to the different dialects and ways of saying certain words that are among us. I was constantly picked out for my “Chicagoan” accent, and I could definitely pick out some accents from other regions in my classroom (specifically the east and west coasts). My housemate in Spain was from Boston, so we always had a fun time making fun of each other’s choice of words and accents.

Another note mentioned in this article is that people who are learning a second language will have an accent along with their accent in their first language. Referring back to my study abroad experience, there were times of frustration when my host mom couldn’t understand what I was trying to say because my Spanish accent is very weak, so to read about how it is considered a “breakthrough” to achieve the correct accent in an L2 is exactly right. I always admired my friends who could speak Spanish with a perfect Spanish accent, and according to this article they were able to do so because of a breakthrough of native language phonology into the target language (43).

Chapter 5 in McKay and Bokhorst Heng’s book then discusses language intelligibility and that language EIL pedagogy should recognize the different variations of English and be aware of the validity of each one. I agree with this argument because I strongly believe in the importance of representing every language equally and providing enough awareness for our students of these diverse variations of language so that they are culturally conscious, open-minded and well-educated to prevent confusion.

Week 14

The readings this week regarding the impact of language policy and planning had many interesting and clarifying notes. Chapter 4 of “International English in Its Sociolinguistic Contexts” by McKay and Heng discusses some underlying consequences of designating an official language and how particular languages can cause an issue with different social attitudes. The definitions of language policy and planning, two words of which I was unaware of until now, put this stance on language direction in a different perspective for me. The authors explain how language planning aims at changing the behavior of a particular speech community (89) and involves making unified decisions about the position of the language. It usually has a direct effect on education and the status of the language which is why it is important for officials to keep language planning at a good stand point and in check. Language policy, on the other hand, refers to the goals of the actual language planning process that include a more general linguistic, political and social theme. I, as I believe many of my classmates did as well, was confused upon reading this section at first because I had predetermined that these two key terms meant the opposite. However, this chapter filled my gaps of confusion and uncertainty. Another key term discussed in this week’s reading was language politicking, which refers to the worldliness of a language and how the relationship between language and power, such as political, historical, and social contexts can affect the reflection of language in a society.

This week’s reading described how Singapore encourages multilingualism and the effect that encouragement has on their school curriculum (which involves 50% spent learning a second language). It was also surprising to read how Singapore’s official language is English and yet America hasn’t claimed English as their official language yet. Is this causing harm to our educational or political system?

This chapter also discusses bilingual education in the US with some positive viewpoints, along with English only movements. King and Fogel’s study on bilingualism was refreshing to read because it is my personal belief that bilingualism is a beneficial thing (although I know many disagree and there are many contributing factors we have learned in class that argue this). 

Week 13

I was able to make several connections during this weeks reading. I enjoyed exploring the importance of making students realize their own accents and the need for our students to have knowledge of this linguistic diversity. I think it’s very important to aware our students of the linguistic diversity that is among us and the different variations and dialects of the English language, especially since English is so commonly used (which relates back to our previous discussion on globalization). Here is a short video of a girl performing different impersonations of different “English” (some are dumb!):

As you can see, although this girl was only speaking one language, she was using different dialects and variations of this language to portray a certain demographic or culture. I have always assumed I spoke the “Standard English”, and was quickly informed that I had a strong Chicagoan accent while studying abroad with many students from the west and east coast. This came as a shock to me, but the more I paid attention to their words, the more I realized the difference. Especially after taking a linguistics class, I now find myself fascinated with how people pronounce things and why they do so! If our students are aware of these differences as well, then they can view English with an open mind and avoid confusion. It will also help them tolerate and be more knowledgeable of a certain community. 

Week 12: Globalization

Chapter 1 & 2 by McKay and Bokhorst-Heng
     Globalization is an important key term that I've learned about not only in several history courses, but in many language courses as well. Chapter one discusses the different meanings of globalization and how it has caused English to be a shared national language among many countries- making it much easier to exchange information and knowledge in a variety of social contexts. The world-spread usage of English can be used for economic purposes, advertising, music, movies, and much more. Having taken many economic and history courses, it was not surprising to me when reading about how knowing the English language is correlated to having personal success. This sort of influence that globalization can have is extremely powerful, and the two others continue to discuss throughout these chapters whether or not it can be a good thing or a bad thing.
     The second chapter then describes Kachu's presentation of these different social contexts as being the Inner Circle, Outer Circle, and Expanding Circle- which are permeable with the rising number bilingual speakers. There are many different programs to serve the individuals within each circle, but it is hard to say which one would be the most beneficial (especially when taking personal differences into account for each student). However, I do believe that the student's learning English as a second language should also concentrate on their first language as well. Just because knowing English will make you more "successful" is no reason to completely ignore your first language.

The impact of globalization on language teaching in Japan by Kubota
     This article discusses how globalization in this case can relate to Americanization, along with the discourse of internalization. Americanization includes the three categories of: 1) ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity in the local communities, 2) the prevalence of English, and 3) nationalism endorsed by linguistic and cultural essential-ism.  Internalization, on the other hand, has led to four premises for foreign language education which are: 1) English is the foreign language, 2) the model for English should be standard, 3) learning English leads to intercultural understanding, and 4) national identity is fostered through English. The two terms are similar in that they both understand the concept of diversity, and the fact that English linguistics endorses nationalism. This article continues to suggest that Japanese students should adapt to the English way of logic while learning the language to help them and reflects on other types of speech-thinking as well. Overall, globalization has had a huge impact on not only people in Japan but all over the world in terms of the English language.

Week 11

      Out of all the readings assigned for this week, “Becoming Black: Rap and Hip-Hop, Race, Gender: Identity, and the Politics of ESL Learning” by Ibrahim stood out to me the most. The author’s explanation of how Blacks base their representation (culturally and linguistically) on pop culture (and in this case-especially rap). The author continues to describe how the effect of pop culture also helps them form an identity. Pop culture not only influences this certain group, but many others who change the way they dress, talk, act, and more. Ibrahim suggests that since learning takes place within the curriculum sites of rap and hip-hop, then using these popular culture contents while teaching will help us as teachers to have our students be more invested in learning and help them become more engaged in these identities.  I believe as teachers it is in our best interest and our student’s best interest to adapt to any certain change that might help them along the learning process, and if utilizing rap in a lesson plans is what it will take to help them then so be it.

“Race and TESOL: Introduction to Concepts and Theories” by Kubota and Lin focused on the difference between some well-known terms: race, ethnicity, culture and identity, but also states how there is no specific definition of what each one is and how they define us as a person.  This relates back to what we have been learning in class since day one when Dr. Seloni had us write out our own definition of culture.

            “Cultural Stereotypes” by Kumar focused on stereotypes in relation to the Asian population and why people may think these stereotypes. As future TESOL teachers, this was a great article to read because it advises us to be aware of these student’s in our classroom so that we can help them learn in a classroom setting. 

Week 8: Culture, Materials, and Methods Reflection

This week's readings were very insightful in regards to the materials used in a classroom and the effect it can have on the students- especially English Language Learners. Tyler-Mendes, Giashi, and Hinkel all demonstrate and explain to what extent the materials-specifically textbooks-can influence an ESL classroom. Before reading these articles, if someone were to tell me a textbook could negatively influence students, I would think it would be due to inadequate content or poorly written structures. Therefore, after these readings, you can understand how surprised I was to find out how much the images in a textbook play a role in the perspective of ESL student. Images of white, middle class people and images of poor black people in textbooks demonstrate how gender roles or race are perceived in a certain culture which can create stereotypes that the learners are somewhat taught to believe. Tyler-Mendes's article mentions how we should discuss the images in the EFL books to prevent this from happening. Having ethical discussions with our future classrooms can really help us as teachers to avoid the students from forming social prejudices and stereotypes.

Giashi explained the difficulties ESL students go through when given material to read in their English classes due to a feeling of "inferiority" to the teacher and the rest of their class. I can't imagine what that would feel like, and I am positive that if I were in these student's position I would feel the same way. Its so easy to feel vulnerable when exposed to something that we may feel we will fail at, something that will possibly embarrass us something that has potential to threaten your cultural stereotype.  This author also discusses how ESL textbooks should focus on its visual presentation rather than the textual content, and that critical image analysis is the way to go about dealing with these images. As teachers, it will be beneficial to critically analyze the images in a given textbook to help the students become more aware of the issues in society and how to deal with them. 

Chapter 11 by Hinkel's discussion about the importance of having a textbook that emphasizes culture stood out to me because I agree with this suggestion. It relates to his focus on how a teacher can learn along with his or her students through discussing and evaluating the cultural content of the textbooks such as social identity and social groups, social interaction, belief and behavior, national identity, etc. I believe these are very important things to discuss in an ESL classroom so that the students understand the diversity that is among them and to help the teacher understand their students perspectives as well. Discussing and evaluating cultural content of textbooks will (hopefully) create a more comfortable atmosphere in the classroom by allowing the students to freely express their opinions and thoughts and, more importantly, free themselves of any stereotypes they may hold of a culture according to the texts.