Culture and written discourse: Cross-cultural writing

This week's readings were filled with powerful information. I would be lying if I said I understood everything 100%, but what will do my best to explain what I got out of it. To start out, I think it is important to discuss the contrastive rhetoric hypothesis (CRH). This hypothesis focuses on the research and teaching of writing among different international students and cultures in English as a second language. According to Hinkel in chapter 4, "The major theoretical claim of the CRH is that different speech communities have different ways of organizing ideas in writing." Hinkel further goes on to explain that this piece of information results in the language learner to have a "basic" or even "unskilled" level of writing, and that it is necessary for them to follow a specific paradigm if they wish to "contribute to the pool of scientific and technological knowledge."

Before further reading this chapter, I was skeptical on whether or not this was true. I felt as though I know several people who's second language is English and they are just as capable as forming an intelligent paper as I am. However, it is important to take into account their culture and how it may affect their thinking process and style of writing. According to Halliday (1985), "People express meanings to realize some social goal. Evaluation of texts rests on interpretation of the context of situation and the context of culture." What this makes me wonder is two non-native English speakers from two separate cultures would take away a message in English the same way. They would be both reading something in a language non-native to their own, and even though they would be reading the same thing, would their culture affect how they interpret it? This is something we have previously discussed, and is still something that really interests me.

The main focus in Hinkel's chapter 6 seemed to me to be the varying cultures that we might have in our ESL classrooms and how to go about dealing with that and teaching our students in an effective manner. Hinkel states, "there is a thin line between informing students of cultural norms that will further their L2 writing development and ability to function as L2 writers in academic contexts, and prescribing and enforcing dominant cultural norms in and through writing." I think this is an important piece of information to know, because what he is saying is that as teachers we must make sure that we don't force our students to focus on just one culture in the classroom but to inform them of all cultural norms and help them develop a steady writing pattern in their second language. I am determined to make sure I do this in my future classroom!

Kubota and Silvia's readings also mention constrastic rhetoric and how the thought process of each culture can create negative transfer while learning a second language and interfere with the learning process. I enjoyed the writing style of Kubota's article, and Silvia's reading offered many helpful tips to help students with their writing in an ESL class, and I look forward to taking advantage of those in the future.

Week 5: Korean Immigrants Reflection

I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Step from Heaven by Ana. The fact that the story was told through the voice of a very young girl made it very real and eye-opening. At the end of every chapter, I found myself having to take a moment to soak in what I had just read. The writing was very powerful and full of relate-able issues to what we are learning in class. It also tied in very well with Kang's Korean-Immigrant Parents' Support of Their American-Born Children's Development and Maintenance of the Home Language. As I was reading this story, I marked down some of the quotes that stood out to me and made some connections with Kang's article:

Pg. 16 - "Gomo says a lot of Mi Gook people have curly hair."

Korean immigrants (as well as other immigrants as well) at times feel the need to fit in with Americans so that they feel accepted. There are many other situations throughout the story where I notice that the Park's try very hard to fit in with Americans, but also try very hard to remain true to their Korean culture. Where do they draw the line?

Pg. 26-  "Everyone in Mi Gook loves Ko-Ka-Ko-La. They drink it like water. You will love it too."

Another example of trying to immerse and become accustomed to the American lifestyle.

Pg. 29- "In school you are only Young. Mi Gook people will have too much trouble saying all the syllables. It is better to keep it simple for them."

Pg. 29- "I have never seen so many different colors of hair."

Some of the differences that Young Ju noticed when coming to America were things that I would have never thought would be noticeable- such as hair! This could be egocentric of me, and I can definitely see how it would be confusing to a little girl coming here from Korea. 

P6. 30- "The witch teacher is talking fast like she is mad. I cover my ears. I am so scared..."

This really put the struggle of a second-language learner into perspective for me.

Pg. 41- "She does not understand the English that sounds perfect in my head and then comes out messy as the can of Spaghetti.."

I can definitely relate this to when I am trying to speak Spanish. I can form sentences perfectly in my head, but when I go to speak it it comes out a mess. 

Pg. 51- "Use my best English teacher voice."

Imitating authority figures such as her teacher helped Young Ju with her language learning process. 

Pg. 52- "I nodded and said yes, even though I did not know what cider was."

This stood out to me, because I remember several times while studying abroad I would pretend I would know what something meant even if I really didn't. At times, it would work out and I would figure it out on my own. Other times, I would be confused and regret not asking what it meant initially. 

Pg. 52- "I have found that the dictionary doesn't always explain everything. Like 'going'...none of it makes any sense to me."

This paragraph was extremely powerful. It really shows the reader how confusing it can be for a non-native English speaker to hear these sort of implicatures in conversation. 

Pg. 62- "Uhmma and Grill Woman spoke in a language of mixed and chopped Korean and Japanese, glued together with pieces of English."

In this situation, English may have been the median in which the two woman could communicate. 

Pg. 63- "We clinked glasses just like people in the movies."

This is another example of imitation. 

Pg. 73- "Let's pray like they do on TV and in church." Imitation. 

Pg. 75- "I am embarrassed when Uhmma puts down a million pennies...I pretend I am not that woman's daughter. Not a poor Oriental who saves pennies like gold."

Feeling ashamed of your family and culture is something that a lot of immigrants go through when coming to the United States.

Pg. 98- "I was shopping at the Korean market."

In this community, there are still plenty of opportunities to only speak Korean. Young Ju's mom takes advantage of this market and most likely doesn't shop anywhere else so that she can stay in her comfort zone.

Pg. 103- "Uhmma and Apa do not like it that my best friend is an American, a girl who might influence me in the wrong ways. Fast American ways. Supposedly, American girls do not study, they are boy-crazy, and they do not think of anyone but themselves. Uhmma and Apa do not want me to end up like them."

This example shows how adamant some families are when it comes to preserving their culture. Uhmma and Apa are very proud Koreans, and don't want Young Ju to fall into the negative stereotypes they have learned about American girls. This must have been very frustrating for Young Ju since she was the one who was going to school and fully immersing herself with the Americans and got to see and witness first-hand that that is not how they are like.  

Pg. 104- "Young Ju, have I not taught you never to take from others? Do not make yourself obligated to another person." "In American it is fine to borrow money from friends." "We are Korean, do not forget."

Another example of showing how they want to remain proud Koreans. This relates to Kang's article when many of the Korean woman with families insist on only using Korean. Mrs. Cho, for example, explains how she doesn't spend too much time in the community, therefore making her English very weak. Mrs. Cho and Uhmma seem similar to me in this situation where they both are conservative and want to stick with what they know. 

Pg. 106- "There's my house. I not my head to a two-story gray stucco bungalow on the corner."

I was wondering why Young Ju chose this specific house to have the Doyles drop her off at. Was it very "American-looking" to her?

Pg. 108- "I eat my rice and wonder why my parents can't speak or joke with the ease of the Doyles."

It could be part of the Korean culture to be more on the serious side. Comparing and contrasting could be very confusing for Young Ju. 

Pg. 109- "You have been running around with that American girl for too long. You are not allowed to see her anymore. She is a bad influence."

Another example of being afraid to let Young Ju be influenced be Americans.

Pg. 110- "You are becoming too American. That girl is worthless."

Pg. 121- "Did you bow?"

Even though they are in America, Uhmma still asks Young Ju if she bowed to her principal at her graduation ceremony. Young Ju then becomes frustrated. In Uhmma's defense, it must be difficult to stray away from such traditions. 

Pg. 129- "Your life can be different, Young Ju. Study and be strong. In America, women have choices."

While they want to remain proud of their culture, Uhmma still believes that America is the place where opportunities are available. It makes me wonder if she sees America in a better light or darker light...It's very in between. 

Pg. 138- "Do I really believe the police can help? They care about me? They would not help people like us."

This makes me sad to think that Young Ju believes that the police wouldn't help her family because they are immigrants.

Overall, this book was very powerful and tied in well with Kang's article. Two questions I have for Kang are:

1. What do you think is the best way to fully immerse in a different culture and to learn a second language?

2. What was your biggest struggle learning English?

Language and Identity I

Norton and Pavlenko's readings were very insightful. They brought up many key terms and concepts in which I have experienced or witnessed, but never really knew how to explain. What stood out to me the most in these readings was Norton's theory on social identity and how it affects the learning process of another language. It is something that I have always recognized and thought about, but after reading her explanation and research I now have a better understanding of how one's experience and social identity can really affect communication.

Whenever I am reading something for this class, I always seem to relate back to my time abroad in Spain. It isn't intentional, and I think it is a good thing that I am able to make certain connections. Having said this, I'd like to discuss some of the connections I made in Norton's research, Social Identity, Investment, and Language Learning. To begin with, she discuses the key term: social distance. According to Schumann (1976), where there is great social distance between the language speaker and target speaker, the less acculturation there is, therefore leading the second language speaker to become less proficient. I find this concept to be 100% true. If a person who is very intelligent sits in his or her room and studies a second language every day for a year, it is guaranteed that they won't be as fluent as someone who has had many conversations with someone in that target language. This is where I made my connection. In Spain, I could tell a drastic difference between the people's speaking abilities who were always conversing with the Spaniards and their host families and the people who refused to speak Spanish to anyone. Social distance is something that everyone who plans on learning a second language should become aware of so that they know it is something to work on if they want to succeed.

Norton also discusses how power relations play a crucial role in social reactions (pg. 12) and how language learners all have a complex social identity. We can see this through Eva and Martina's stories in the research. Both of their identities and investments were completely different, but both forced them to learn English. According to Norton, language is not conceived of as a neutral medium of communication but is understood with reference to its social meaning (pg 13). She also argues that investment rather than motivation more accurately signals the relationship between language learners and the target language speakers (pg. 17). Therefore, Eva and Martina's investment in surviving in their communities signaled them to learn English. As future teachers, we must help students claim the right to speak outside the classroom so that they can avoid the problems that Eva and Martina experienced. To do this, we must research and observe the experiences and social identities of the language learners and apply it to our curriculum.

Moving on to Pavlenko's text, I really enjoyed reading the immigrant narratives and getting their perspective on learning a second language as well as seeing how the issues they face today are so different than the ones they have faced in the past. It was interesting to me to see how effective these narratives are in portraying identities as a second language learner, and I think it would be effective to use this technique in my future ESL classroom.