Non-accent

In Lippie-Greens chapter about non-accents, the author explains the terms prosodic features and segmental features in reference to accents.  She explains that elements of social identity are often clearly marked by means of choice between linguistic variants.  Everyone speaks a different accent based on their family background and what they were exposed to when their language skills were developing.  I was infuriated when I read about Kahakua not getting a promotion because of the Hawaiian accent.  When I went to Spain people would tell me I had an American accent when I spoke Spanish and even though I spoke fluently, they could tell I was not a native speaker.  At first I wanted to lose my accent because I didn’t want to be labeled as an American and treated differently.  After taking some classes in TESOL and cross cultural issues I began to realize my accent is a part of me and I don’t work so hard to try to “lose it.”  The author of the chapter questions what it means to lose an accent.  She asks does losing an accent means replacing one’s way of speaking with another?  or adding new phonology to a person’s existing inventory?  It does seem a bit pretentious to require Kahakua to sound one way for a brief period of time so that he can get the promotion.       

English in the World/The World in English

In her article, Pennycook discusses the relations between global inequalities and the English Language.  She discusses questions of language, power, and inequality and how these influence the world.  This article is interesting because it relates to the Farr and Song article about language policy and further investigates the effect worldliness has on English and English has on worldliness.  Pennycook’s views contradict other researchers because others say that people have chosen to learn English and it is accepted as the language of commerce, science, and technology along with being an international language of communication (36).   One of the points I find most interesting in this article is the exploration of English teachers and the worldliness of English.  As teachers we need to be aware of the questions of standardization and intelligibility.  Pennycook says “the spread of English is taken to be natural, neutral, and beneficial.  English language teachers, therefore, have been poorly served by a body of knowledge that fails to address the cultural and political implications of the spread of English” (54).  This statement is powerful and after reading Pennycook’s article, we can more clearly see the realities in this concern.  As a current teacher I often reflect on my lesson plans and first think about how the students in my classroom are improving.  I seldom consider how the English language and its conceptions affects the class and fails to address other political implications. 

Ideologies and Policies

In the article, “Language Ideologies and Policies: Multilingualism and Education,” Farr and Song explain discuss the language ideologies of standardization and monolingualism that underlie bilingual education and English-only policies in the U.S.  Farr and Song discuss how these policies conflict with the reality of multilingual students’ linguistic and identity practices. The authors want to inform language teachers about the language ideologies and policies so they can challenge these policies and fight for what research proves to be true rather than accept the policies that are in place.  They want to raise awareness of the conflict between language ideologies as they inform policies and pragmatic sociolinguistic realities.  In addition they strive to raise awareness among teachers so this can help them better understand learners’ multilingual practices and develop a critical perspective toward language policies and norms that deem these practices deficient.  Farr and Song hope teachers will develop a critical perspective and this will enable them to negotiate language polices in their local contexts in ways that best serve their multilingual earners.

 

 

 

Globalization and Social contexts for EIL learning

 In their book International English in Its Sociolinguistic Contexts, Sandra McKay and Wendy Bokhorst-Heng discuss globalization and the influences English has on other languages.  They discuss Pennycook’s research on the homogeny position and heterogeny position of globalization and how she argues that the ultimate effect of globalization on the use of English is neither homogenization nor heterogenization but rather it is a fluid mixture of cultural heritage and popular culture of change and tradition, of border crossing and ethnic affiliation, of global appropriation and local contextualization (3).  They also discuss the incentives for learning English which include economic incentives, educational incentives, and mass media incentives.  If we know our students incentives for learning the language, we can better help them achieve their goals.  In addition, we can more clearly understand the influences English has on other language and cultures by examining what the incentives are for learning the language.  The demographic breakdown of the languages in terms of numbers of native speakers for a variety of languages was interesting because Chinese had the highest population; however, English is considered the international language of the world today and English is the dominant language in over 60 of the 185 nation states.

In addition, Chapter 2 discussed the social contests for EIL learning.  In the inner circle countries, language diversity may be viewed as problematic and for this reason, programs are designed to encourage the acquisition of English without developing the students’ native language first.  This can be a determent to the student because if they have not developed their own language before learning English, it will be hard to transfer skills or reading and writing from one language to the next.  Outter Circle countries also face problems.  One of these includes providing equal access to English education so that less advantaged students can successfully complete higher education.   Whereas in expanding circle countries, educators are challenged by motivating learners and teachers may not have sufficient proficiency in English.  By examining the challenges people face with learning and teaching English, we can gain insight into how pedagogical issues researchers study can be approached.         

Cultural Stereotypes

While reading Kumaravadivelu’s article Cultural Stereotypes, I learned about some of the stereotypes Asian people face in the United States.  Some of the stereotypes include that they are obedient to authority, lack critical thinking skills, and do not participate in classroom interaction.  The author explains “a homogeneous body of Asian students who represent these stereotypes seems to exist more in the imagination of Western academia than in the actual classrooms of Asian societies” (710).  Before reading this article I did not have much background about the stereotypes these cultural groups face nor was I familiar with the realities that Kumaravadivelu argues.  Kumaravadivelu makes a good point that before putting the stereotype of a group of students as being passive in the classroom, it is important to “take into account, besides cultural beliefs, factors such as the relevance of the topic under discussion, the instructor’s presentation of the material, the students’ familiarity with the subject, the students’ motivation to participate, the students’ anxiety and tolerance of risk-taking, and their speaking abilities and communicative competence” (711).

Communicative competence in ELT

When reading Alptekin’s article “Towards intercultural communicative competence in ELT” I was surprised to read about the contrasting views of communicative competence teaching.  For my comprehensive exams to earn a Master’s in Spanish Pedagogy and TESOL, I read several books on communicative competence teaching and learned about the four competencies: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic.  I also learned the benefits of communicative competence teaching and how to use this method for teaching a foreign language as well as teaching English as a second language.  When I read that this article questions the validity of the pedagogical model whose focus is on native speaker competence in the target language setting, I was intrigued.  The paper discussed many things I had not thought about before.  For example when learning about communicative language teaching, I had not thought about the variety of dialects within the English language.  How can we teach certain language patterns over others when there is not a “correct” English language?  Alptekin explains, “Only by producing instructional materials that emphasize diversity both within and across cultures can one perhaps avoid presenting English meanings in fragmented and trivialized ways, where communicative functions are conceived as simple speech acts realized through specific structures, and where situational content generally portrays an idealized image of the English-speaking culture” (5).  She also explains that communicative competence often portrays and “idealized” portrait of the English language and culture.  In addition, she explains communicative competence, with its standardized native speaker norms, fails to reflect the lingua franca status of English.  This article focuses on the fact that a new pedagogical model is needed to accommodate the case of English as a means of international and intercultural communication.  This was an interesting article because it helped open my eyes to the fact that as English language teachers, we should consider implications for appropriate pedagogies and instructional materials that will help learners become successful bilingual and intercultural individuals who are able to function well in both local and international settings.      

A Step From Heaven

“In second grade you have to do a lot of talking.  Not as much coloring.  Not as much play time.  Just a lot of talking and listening and reading.  So in Mrs. Sheldon’s class, if you do not have anything to show when it is your turn to share, you can talk about important news” (41)  Reading this made me feel nervous for Young Ju because being uncertain of the English language in a second grade class and having to share something to the class would make me have anxiety if I was in her shoes.  “Her forehead bunches up like crinked paper and her eyes squeeze shut in the corners.  She does not understand the English that sounds perfect in my head and then comes out messy as the can of spaghetti Uhmma lets me eat on Saturdays if I help with the laundry” (41).  This is exactly how I felt when I went to Spain for the semester to learn Spanish.  My thoughts would seem clear in my mind but when I tried to speak it just didn’t come out clear like I wanted.  I couldn’t express my thoughts and feelings even though I knew exactly how I felt on the inside. 

 

“My dream of the cloud is not new.  I have had variations of the same dream since we immigrated to America.  Sometimes I fall from the tree.  Sometimes I wake p before I have even finished climbing to the highest branch.  Most times I am leaning out, reaching.  But in every dream there are always the clouds just beyond my grasp.  They float close above me in thick, solid folds of billowy white sheets.  In my dream I have somehow figured out that to catch a cloud means I’ll fly to heaven.  Fly to the place that I have never seen but only dreamed exists.  Heaven, the place I was supposed to go, but instead I ended up here.” (90).   The dream Young Ju has in her sleep is a representation of the dreams immigrants have moving to another country.  For example, the place we are going to seems like it is going to be the best because we have dreamt of it forever and imagined good things with what it would be like.  However, when we arrive at our destination the reality of the situation sets in and may not be what we expected.  We know we have a lot of climbing to do before we get to ‘our heaven,’ we face challenges, struggles, and are often not greeted with the type of kindness we were hoping.  I experienced this when I moved to Guatemala.  I had a dream and a vision but it took several struggles and a lot of falls before I reached my happiness there.  I believe that Young Ju is going through this type of journey also.

Self-Identity

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis explains that language systems, discourse, and lexis reflect ways of looking at the world and its various realities.  Our interactions with society influence our understanding of the world and affect the way we view ourselves.  Bonny Norton explores the difference between motivation and investment.  She explains that if learners invest in the target language, they do so with the understanding that they will acquire a wider range of symbolic and material resources, which will in turn increase the value of their cultural capital.  Throughout my travel and study experiences I could feel the change within me moving from simple motivation to learn the language and culture and ‘investment’ in it.  Unlike motivation, which can be seen as a primarily psychological concept, investment should be seen within the social framework.  As Norton explains, investment seeks to make a meaningful connection between a learner’s desire and commitment to learn a language, and their changing identity. 

I began my travel experience outside of the country for the first time in Mexico.  I was motivated to learn Spanish and had the goal of improving my Spanish speaking skills.  When I arrived, I began using my second language (Spanish) to communicate with the local people and began to realize there was a whole other culture to learn in addition to the language skills!  The more I traveled and studied cultural theory, the more I realized how complex it was.  I slowly began to feel myself move from just being motivated to the investment stage because I was allowing my own identity to change while exploring each additional new culture and society I was learning about.  I still have so much to learn and am excited about the learning process.  I enjoy using my language skills and knowledge of second language acquisition to teach international students English.     

Complexities of Culture in the Classroom

In his book Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning, Hinkel brings to our attention many concerns and realizations about teaching and learning second culture and language.  He explains that culture is sometimes identified with notions of personal space, appropriate gestures, time and so forth.  Part of his definition of culture that appeals to me is that it includes defining the way a person sees his or her place in society.  I believe how we view our personal role in society makes up a big part of who we are.  For example, I view my role in my community as a teacher and student and someone for children to look up to.  This gives me a purpose in life and helps fulfill my identity. 

One concern Hinkel brings up is that foreign language can rarely be learned or taught without addressing the culture of the community in which it is used.  Unfortunately though, in many language classrooms culture is frequently reduced to foods, fairs, folklore, and statistical facts.  Instead of teaching these surface level parts of culture, it is important to link the teaching of language to culture as a whole.  Often times this is a difficult task and teachers are not trained in pedagogy courses successful ways of teaching culture and language together.  Another concern is that even the nonnative speakers who have had many years of experience with the second culture may have to “find their own place at the intersection of their natal target cultures” (6).  Also, although it may be possible to develop an intellectual understanding and tolerance of other cultures, it may not be as easy for people to become cognitively like members of other cultures.  For example, it may be difficult for adults to see the world through culturally different eyes.  When teaching Spanish I am challenged by these concerns because I have spent a very small amount of time in countries where the Spanish language is spoken; therefore, I have not developed my own identity within the target language culture and find it difficult to teach something I am not completely a part of.  In addition, Spanish is spoken in several countries that I have not even visited.  Although I can read about the culture in books, it is hard to relate to the “below the iceberg concepts of culture” let alone link this to the language to teach culture and language hand in hand.      

What is Culture

Often times when people think of culture, the first thing that comes to mind is what we see on the surface such as spoken language, music, clothing, religion, etc.  However, culture is much harder to define than some simple surface observations.  In her book Teaching culture: perspectives in practice, Morgan divides culture into five main aspects which include products, practices, perspectives, communities, and persons.  She says that “Culture is the evolving way of life of a group of persons, consisting of a shared set of practices associated with a shared set of products, based upon a shared set of perspectives on the world, and set within specific social contexts” (24).  Morgan illustrates culture as an iceberg where products and practices are the top of the iceberg, communities and persons are deeper into the ice, and perspectives are the big block of ice below the water.  This concept of culture resonates with me because it clearly shows how culture is made up of so many aspects and goes deep below the surface.  My definition of culture includes the fact that it is always changing within society and within individuals.  Morgan touches on the process of change within cultures when she explains “the evolving way of life reflects the dynamic nature of culture-that there is a history and tradition to the products, practices, perspectives, and the communities of the culture.  It also stresses that the persons of the culture are in the process of actively creating and changing products, practices, perspectives, and communities” (24).  I believe culture is so complex because it encompasses large groups of people yet each individual is unique.  Culture is actively changing as a whole and also individual beliefs and values change with time. 

Morgan also brings up a good point that the five aspects of culture are extremely important for language teachers to understand because teachers deal with products, practices, perspectives, persons, and communities particularly as they intersect with the use of language.  We can use these aspects to help our students better understand language and its uses in different contexts. 

In addition, Morgan’s example of the use of the French forms of tu and vous were interesting to be because it relates to my personal experience with Spanish.  When I went abroad for the first time I tried to use the vocabulary and forms of words to fit into the culture.  Then when I went abroad to a different Spanish speaking country, I applied the same “rules” and customs of the language and soon found out the language was quite different even though I was still speaking the Spanish language.  Language can be a means of showing respect, and the pragmatics of language vary from country to country even when it is labeled as the same language.  Morgan’s chapter Language and culture, was useful in understanding how as a teacher, I can use language as a way to teach culture.  Participating, describing, interpreting, and responding to culture are all things that can be difficult for students, and as teachers, if we are able to help are students develop these skills, they will come to understand and be more accepting of other people different from them.        

English 343: Cross cultural issues in TESOL

I am excited to get to know everyone in the class and look forward to learning together to gain a better understanding of cultural issues such as assimilation and globalization and explore how these apply to language learning and teaching. It will be interesting to study classroom interactions, participation patterns and cross-cultural issues in curriculum and material development so I can improve classroom lesson plans and become a better teacher.