Last week: TEGCOM and socially sensitive pedagogy

These were interesting readings because it focused on adapting a more socially sensitive pedagogy and fundamentally changing to the idea of TEGCOM, meaning teaching English for glocalized communication putting value on local situated knowledge. Lin discusses the process of “othering”, of dichotomizing, essentializing, and hierarchicalizing through discursive and institutional practices, as well as TEGCOM. I can somehow relate to the narratives mentioned by the English language learners in the article, like Wendy and Angel. I learned English as a school subject for academic grades, so I was not expected to learn a high level of competence in English. The main language in Peru is Spanish, so English is usually not spoken in social contexts. English was one of my favorite subjects in elementary and junior high when I was in Peru, but I was not fluent at it. After I settled in the US, acquiring more English and trying to fit in by sounding more like an English native speaker was challenging. Lin says that teachers should help us appropriate English to expand our horizons and identities. As language teachers, we can encourage appropriating English by engaging in practices that are self-transforming, culturally enriched, psychologically liberating, to help expand their socio-cultural horizons and their own identities. The last chapter in Mckay’s book discusses the importance of following a more socially sensitive EIL pedagogy. She comes up with 6 key principles to achieve this type of pedagogy. By taking various TESOL courses, I am able to be familiar with all the principles and agree with the idea of having a more ESL class that is more sensitive to social contexts. The language curriculum should reflect the student’s life. Reflecting on the diversity the students’ bring to the classroom, as well as respecting their culture and language. Appropriating English promotes English bilingualism for learners of all backgrounds. It also recognizes the variety of Englishes used today and teaches English in a way that meets local language needs, respecting the local culture of learning. We need to reduce othering as well as any tensions globally and locally. 

Week 15: Codeswitching and interactional sociolinguistics

In her chapter, Mckay talks about ways in which interactional sociolinguistics influences english as a lengua franca interactions, codeswitching of bilingual users, and their attitudes toward codeswitching. Context is critical to the interpretation of meaning.  We need to consider the student's background when we teach. In the example from the book, the teacher believes the African American student who answers "i dont know" doesnt want to answer or doesnt know the answer, but in the African American community is understood to mean "I need some encouragement". This example was interesting because teacher could be making assumptions based on past experiences without considering the student's background. We also need to consider student's attitudes toward codeswitching. Codeswitching "is the alternation of linguistic codes in the same conversation" by bilingual speakers. It is interesting to see that in Singapore codeswitching is a dominant feature of speech. Speakers in Singapore are considered "English-knowing" bilinguals because English is the medium of instruction. Overall, Mckay's chapter examines research on ELF, codeswitching, and language attitudes in which interactional sociolinguistics has provided valuable information on EIL interactions.

We rarely consider the fact that native speakers of English actually do have different accents. Lippie-Green's chapter on English with accents. An accent is distinguished with a stress in words or even sentences. It is a specific way of speaking. I like this article, because it definitely relates to the movie "American tongues". I enjoyed watching that movie. I find it interesting to see that not only do L2 speakers of English have different intonations because of their native language, but native speakers also have different accents and intonations that sets them apart based on their geographical area. People only use standard English in certain contexts, such as in jobs.  They mention that all spoken language is variable to convey social, stylistic and greographic meaning. They also talk about sound houses. Sound houses is a new term that I had never heard before. It is an evolving product of our minds, the home of the language or accent. It is built by the people that surrounds us at the beginning, but then it is changed/rebuilt to construct our own's phonology. These readings have been interesting because they discuss accents, codeswitching and sociolinguistic interactions.

Week 14: McKay and King & Fogle

Fogle and King's article about bilingual parenting is interesting. It is so nice to see in the article how some parents were getting informed about bilingual education and its benefits in children's academic development. We also need to consider their own personal experiences to bilingual education, it is the main motivator in opting for an additive language family policy. In the study, it would have been better to see more specific sources of information, besides just one book or hearing from other family members. As future teachers, we really need to become advocates for bilingualism in schools and provide parents with the necessary tools to help their children become successful in two languages (at least). Many families are not fully aware of the benefits of being bilingual. Families need to be aware and understand the process of bilingual education and the challenges that come with it. We need to support our future parents emotionally as well as with a variety of techniques and approaches based on specific updated research. Communication with parents is a vital part of the child's learning outcome. We need to receive as much support from the families as we can, and this can be accomplished by showing families the benefits and challenges within bilingual education along with updated research findings.
 McKay's chapter 4 discusses language planning and policies, as well as language politicking. Language policy is "the more general linguistic, political, and social goals underlying the actual language planning process", while language planning means "all the conscious efforts that aim at changing the linguistic behavior of a speech community" (p.89). It also mentions the phrase "language politicking" meaning the "focus on the position of language in real historical and social circumstances", Singapore is a great example of it (p.91). I wasn't aware that Singapore greatly encourages multilingualism and how 50% of the school curriculum is spent learning a second language. The chapter also the discusses English only movements and bilingual education in the U.S. The chapter captures the importance of appreciating the language the student brings to class, such as Ebonics. Both of these readings were interesting to read and helped me understanding more about language policies and planning, as well as the importance of bilingual parenting.

Week 13: Multilingualism, World Englishes

Kubota and Ward's article "Exploring linguistic diversity through World Englishes" is a useful resource to start teaching students the importance of learning about diversity and the word "Standard English". We all come from different linguistic backgrounds, have different accents, and should respect each other as members of the community. I liked how the unit was composed of different topics and learning materials. The word "World Englishes" is composed of different accents and dialects of the English language around the world. I don't think there is a single person that has the same accents/dialect as another person. There is always linguistics differences because everyone has different linguistic backgrounds. This article reminds me of the movie "American Tongues" which is a real eye-opening movie about different accents and dialects of native speakers of English within the US. There are different linguistic accents between non-native speakers and native speakers of English, but there is also differences in accents within a single community of native speakers of English. It is so important to realize that we all come from different linguistic, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, and we should respect each other and learn from each other as well. In chapter 3 of Mckay's book, she talks about multilingual societies and diglossia mainly comparing India and South Africa. Diglossia simbolizes "a community where two or more varieties of the same language have different roles to play in society", such as for school purposes and informal situations. English language learning is supported by various official language-in-education policies that make it the main language to learn. The main incentives to learn English are for the purposes of citizenship, and social and economic interaction. It is necessary to maintain the mother tongue as well as designing English learning environments that support bilingualism. Students should be aware of the importance of bilingualism (keeping their own native language as well as learning English). Farr and Song explains the importance of negotiating language education in local contexts to appropriately serve our learners. They discuss the bottom up and top down processes and how they play a part of adjusting the policies for various groups of people. We need to show appreciation for all types of languages when teaching language inside and outside of class. We want our students to become knowledgeable about other languages and cultures. They also mention that language education policies can intervene with research findings. Overall, these readings helped me become more aware on the importance of bilingualism and multilingualism in the classroom. We need to teach the importance of both and embrace it in the classroom.

Week 11: Race and Stereotypes

As I read the readings for this week, it made me realize the importance of introducing topics such as race and stereotypes in my future language classrooms. Kubota focuses on race and racism in the TESOL environment in his article. Researchers in the TESOL area have not fully addressed topics such as race, racism and racialization. Race, racialization, and racism can shape the social, cultural, and political dimensions in the TESOL environment. We can investigate how these topics influence our children's lives by using them in instructional practices within the classroom. Race is a big word that nobody really wants to mention because of the social conflicts it may bring, but as teachers we need to analyze this word with our students to make them be aware of the conflicts they might encounter in the future. We dont want them to end up creating solidarity and resistance towards the new culture/community. We want them to embrace, as individuals, what they bring to this new culture, such as their identity, personality, language, ethnicity, race, culture, etc., as well as appreciating what the new culture/community brings to them. Kubota mentions that racism creates assumptions of language proficiency. This is sadly true, most individuals are not racist, but the structured ideas that shape social reality makes them create these assumptions based on people's race. Another reason why we should discuss race and its issues with our future students is the fact that they might encounter racial discrimination in the workplace. Our students are most likely to encounter prejudice, stereotypes and racial discrimination when finding a job, during an interview and from coworkers in the workplace . It is hard to avoid this type of situations, as teachers we need to prepare our students for these issues as well as helping embrace their own race and ethnicity. They are all unique in their own ways, and they should be proud of who they are no matter the differences.

Kumar talks about "Problematizing Cultural Stereotypes in TESOL" mainly focusing on the Asian (Indian and Chinese) community. People usually construct stereotypes of people based on their race. There are three big stereotypes that relate to the Asian community mentioned by Kumar: obedience to authority, lack of critical thinking skills, and how Asians dont participate in classroom interaction. I think people usually get these ideas from the media and technology. These stereotypes are not true for most Asian students. Every student is different no matter their race or ethnicity around the world, like in American classrooms. There are obedient kids as well as aggressive ones in every classroom around the world. Asian students can rebel against their teachers.  Also, just because Asian students in TESOL classrooms in the US might not be comfortable speaking in front of other classmates, it does not mean they lack classroom interaction or critical thinking skills. There are various factors that effect the behavior of every student. Stereotypes should not be part of an ESL classroom. This reading has reminded me the importance of treating and accepting every students as a unique individual and to avoid stereotypes, even small stereotypical comments can hurt someone for the rest of their lives. We need to watch what we say, we need to think before acting.

The last reading I read was the idea of "becoming black" by Ibrahim. This reading was interesting because it discusses how people with dark skin color identify themselves with Blackness and Black English, as well as hip hop and rap from the media. They experience "moments of identification", which means where and how they see themselves by others. Blackness, Black English/BSE, baggy clothing and hip hop/rap become their identity just because these "represent" their skin color. Some African Americans like this type of music and lifestyles, but this does NOT mean that ALL African Americans live this lifestyle, but foreign students with dark skin color feel the need to have a sense of belonging, so they become attached to these types of concepts and ideas (popular culture) that relate to their skin color. They feel the need to follow certain linguistic styles. I think this also depends on the people they hang out with. I have seen this happen to other racial groups as well, such as hispanics/latinos that come from Central or South America and end up speaking and acting like some Mexicans do, such as wearing baggy clothing, mimicking their accents, listening to the same type of music, and living the same lifestyle as they do. In ESL classrooms, we need to help students embrace their own culture, share with others and listen to other classmate's cultures as well. We can create an ESL environment that accepts each other for who they are. We know kids will always need a sense of belonging, a group they feel related to, and to hang out with. As ESL teachers, we dont want to forget this "sense of belonging"/"moments of identification", race, and stereotypes because these are factors that influence students' academic and language achievement. As language teachers, we need to remember these social issues that affect every student's life.

Week 8: Taylor-Mendes, Giaschi and Hinkel

As I analyze this week's readings about stereotypes in materials, such as textbooks, these make me realize that textbooks are not only a resource where students develop socially, but it is also where students can develop stereotypical views about others without even realizing it. Teachers need to be cautious and knowledgeable when discussing images presented in textbooks, we don't have the power to avoid stereotypical images in textbooks, such as whites seen as elites and blacks seen as poor, so we need to teach students to improve the circumstances of their lives by discussing sociopolitical issues and stereotypical views that surround them as ESL learners in a mainstream culture. Taylor-Mendes and Giaschi's articles were interesting to me because they point out stereotypes in books written in Brazil (Whites over Blacks) and Britain (Britains over Muslims). It is interesting to see how the United States is seen as a prestigious country in Brazil only by looking at texts. Taylor-Mendes points out how in textbooks discussing the US, there was no evidence of poverty and violence in textbooks or even how people reached their financial achievement or social power, US is just seen as peaceful and beautiful. Textbooks don't show the real circumstances and struggles people go through to achieve their success. As an immigrant, my family and I have encountered many struggles throughout the years, but EFL textbooks in Peru did not show many sociopolitical issues in the US to help us realize the difficulties we would encounter. US is seen as a positive role model for many other countries, but in reality is not as easy as it looks to achieve a successful life in the US. Race division by continents is also seen in textbooks, mentioned by taylor-mendes, such as Africans lacking food, Indians as poor, Asians living in Asia, etc. Racial division is not something we want our students to receive from our classrooms.

In Giaschi's study, done in Britain, results show how much gender and class stereotypes are shown in certain textbooks. For examples, men were shown as having more of an active role than women, men as having higher status than women, etc. I know he just focused on differentiating gender roles, but I would have also liked to see: how many people from other races were shown in the images?, and how many images showed poor people?. He only focused on gender interaction, I wonder if the textbooks he chose had images depicting minority groups at all. Hinkel also discusses materials in EFL classrooms. He mentions the importance of teaching culture, and being aware of other cultural groups and their behaviors and perspectives. Textbooks are sources where students should be able to learn about other cultures. Intercultural competence helps increase the student's own social identity as well as to encourage the awareness of other's identities (Hinkel 219). All of this week's readings were very insightful and interesting to read. We need to be aware of stereotypes in textbooks and discuss these issues with the students.

Week 6: Hinkel, Silvia and Kubota

It was interesting to read about the differences and similarities between NSL and ESL writing. Silva's article explains some of the differences ESL students can encounter and mentions some ways to help teachers aid their own students to notice these differences by applying it to the classroom. Teachers need to focus on sentence structure, create strategies to help with unfamiliar textual patterns, providing realistic strategies, help construct complex sentences, help ESL students increase their lexical resources, etc. Through writing and reading, ESL students can learn more about their own needs and increase their skills. These readings helped me see the importance of teaching diverse students how to explore their own culture and language as well as their second language and culture. Their culture depends on their language. Hinkel mentions contrastive rhetoric and the interesting variations of literacy as well as the importance of teaching students about cultural stereotypes. We need to help them become aware of these stereotypes and help them see the good and bad about these views. We need to aid students because no one else will be encouraged to help them realize how difficult it can be to assimilate to a new culture without receiving negative views. As an ESL student myself, I have encountered good and bad experiences but one needs to learn to overcome the bad ones and learn to understand how people have different views and try to avoid negativity. Also, as language teachers we need to help students connect with their own life experiences to the new culture. Kubota's article can clearly help us see cultural differences using the Japanese culture as an example. Teachers need to be open and encourage students to examine the cultural differences as a group. All three authors suggest teaching students how to reflect and examine the differences between dominant and minority cultures and help affirm cultural heritage. We need to help students embrace their own heritage as well as encourage them to examine the differences between both cultures. These students have to learn to assimilate to the new culture, so by helping them see the differences and similarities as well as stereotypes, they will be able to facilitate their assimilation to the new culture.

Week 5: Korean Immigrants

Dr. Kang’s article allows me to reflect on the importance of bilingualism with the aid of parental involvement. We usually have Spanish courses that can help Spanish speaking students retain their Spanish, but there are not many Chinese, Korean, Indian or Japanese courses in schools that can help these minority students remain bilingual. This is why we need the help of parents to help their kids maintain their first language at home. As a future language educator, I can help by allowing students to share their language and culture in class as well as learn some of their language in class to help them maintain bilingualism. The study focuses on parents in professional fields wanting their kids to remain bilingual. These parents know the importance of being bilingual in a professional field because it increases their chances for a better job and allows them to communicate with a wider range of people compared to monolingual people in a professional field. Many of these Korean participants were college professors, but what if the parents worked as store clerks, cooks or janitors, (as question for Dr. Kang) do you think these parents would be as highly encouraged to help their kids remain bilingual? Do you think there would be a difference between careers, or would their encouragement for their kids to remain bilingual be the same? I was wondering about this question throughout the article. I guess it also depends on the family and their traditions (like Young Ju in A Step from Heaven).  Many of these parents wanted their kids to be bilingual so they can communicate with family members in Korea. I would also like to know if there were other language struggles for these kids to become bilingual that you were not able to add to the article? 

Young Ju’s family wanted their kids to be bilingual so the kids can communicate with them and help them socialize with Americans. As an immigrant myself, I encountered some of the things Young Ju experienced, such as helping my mom translate and socialize with immigration services and the mainstream society. Unlike Young Ju, I was not encouraged to be bilingual and retain my Spanish, because my mom felt kind of embarrassed if people heard us speaking Spanish, but I would have to speak Spanish anyways to communicate with my mom and translate for her. I enjoyed reading this book (A Step from Heaven) so much, not only does it help me realize the problems of a Korean immigrant living in the U.S, but also lets me reflect on the fact that I have to realize my kids can encounter several struggles outside of my classroom, such as I would not know how their families treat them (only if I would decide to intrude), the language problems they stumble upon with Americans when they need to get important documents to follow U.S. laws, such as speaking with the immigration services, the need for a better living condition, if they are eating healthy meals outside of school, or even the cultural shocks they encounter. Every kid brings their own culture and experiences to the classroom, as a language teacher, I need to be considerate to every aspect of every child’s life. This book is so inspirational because it helps me realize the problems ELL students can encounter outside of the classroom. Even though it is not an autobiography of the author, she mentions she has encountered many of the feelings that come with assimilating to a new culture. I like how the author embraces the Korean language in the book, by mentioning words such as: Halbugi, Halmoni, Apa and Uhmma, as well as using Korean and kid language such as when the teacher says “Tees es Yung”, to picture how the child interprets the English language in her own words. I also like how the author writes the book from when the family is in Korea until she reaches college. It will probably use this book as a source someday.

Week 4: Social identity and Investment

I enjoyed reading the articles. I believe many of the ideas mentioned in them related to my life as an ELL. A quote that really related to myself in middle school was in Norton's language and identity article by Duff: "Silence protected them [ELLs] from humiliation". I was that shy ELL kid that would rarely raise their hand to avoid embarrassment because I was proficient in the English language. I knew some English but not native proficiency. Norton discusses that there is an unequal relations of power that language learners are trying to fit in. I liked how she mentions that a persona negotiates through language throughout a variety of sites at different points of times. I denied access to the powerful social network that allowed me to speak. I was really hesitant to make a mistake. I would only speak out if the teacher would ask me questions. During group time, the native speakers would rarely ask for my opinion because they knew I was proficient in English. I would try to speak, but sometimes I would not invest in trying to create a social distance between me and them. There was times where I would say an incorrect utterance in English and feel embarrassed like Eva. Eveytime this happened, my motivation would decrease, so I would start speaking less and less in front of the mainstream classrooms. Eva and Martina's journey as language learners have led them to experience their own social identity in a powerful social network. Even though I cannot recall being marginalized as badly as these ladies, I did feel separation between social relations of power. Because of the lack of proficiency in the target language, I felt they were the dominant group. In my ESL classes, I would speak normally because I would feel comfortable with my English proficiency. I knew most of these kids were at my level or lower in English proficiency. Constructing my own social identity was not a priority especially if it was with native speakers. I would always encounter social interactions with native speakers but it was minimal, because I would try to avoid it.
The classroom-based research discussed in Norton's article is a great way to keep active by carrying out social interaction with their local community. These are great ways to increase social identity and understanding the difference in social interactions between the native and non-native groups. They are able to analyze and examine, as well as compare data, issues that were difficult to resolve. ELLs are able to reflect on their experiences and examine any breakdowns they encounter. I liked this list because cultural issues in social interactions will occur to ELL students and these can help them overcome difficulties in social practices between them and native speakers. Americanization and narrative identities are discussed in Pavlenko's article, which got me remember how I was as a new immigrant in the United States. It was not easy for a mom, a 12 year old and a 6 year old to come to a new country by ourselves. We encountered so many difficulties, but now we have assimilated to the new culture and language. I have enjoyed learning about social identity because I had never analyzed the topic in depth.

Week 3: Exploring Culture

It is easier to learn a second language than to learn a whole new culture. Learning a second culture is more complex. Getting used to another culture while at the same time maintaining the first culture is not an easy task. It is interesting how there has been various researchers and studies on the concept of culture, but it is still challenging to come up with a set definition for it. I enjoyed the readings, especially the one by Wintergerst because he gave some tips on how to explore culture in the classroom. The tips give me an idea on how to help students be aware of their own culture and of others. It is also helpful to see some sample lesson plans to start using the tips within the classroom. I will probably use them in my bilingual or ESL classroom in the future. Also, the Big C culture (grand themes) and Little C culture (minor themes) are interesting ways to teach the concept of culture. I liked how Wintergerst uses each to organize the concept of culture that can be used in the classroom. As a future language educator, I will create a multicultural community in my classroom where students accept other cultures and are aware of their own and others' culture. As Kumar mentions, teaching culture is both rewarding and challenging for language teachers, but at the end it is rewarding to be able to help students develop their own cultural identity. It is not easy to teach culture, but we can help them be aware of cultural differences and similarities that will help them understand various cultures. I like how hinkel brings up the idea of second culture acquisition and how the minds, selves and worlds are organized. He discusses lexical networks, metaphors and mediational tools between a variety of cultures. As a second language learner myself, I have seen myself struggling with cultural differences, between Peruvian and American. At the beginning, it was more difficult to assimilate to the new culture, but after years of observing, practicing and living within the American culture, I have been able to avoid less cross-cultural and intercultural misunderstandings. I have tried not to forget my own culture and its beliefs while adding the aspects of the new culture to my life.

Week 2: Defining Culture in Morgan's Article

After reading the article I realized the definition of culture was more complex than I thought. When we were asked to define culture in class, I came up with "culture is a variety of traditions and customs that have been passed throughout generations". I was just looking at culture as traditions passed from different ethnic groups. Even the author Morgan had trouble figuring out the definition of culture because it is pretty broad. He defines it as "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). The definition is pretty lengthy but it taps into everything that culture consists of. It is interesting to read about culture and how it encompasses everything around us. I didn't realize culture entailed everything around us from practices to people and specific communities to products and perspectives. I like how Morgan uses the drive-through restaurants as an example to explain the 5 dimensions of culture. Products are like the napkins or uniforms, practices are like learning how to drive a car before ordering the meal, communities are the members of the town, patrons or employees, persons encompass factors such as race, ethnicity, social class and others, and lastly is perspectives which are the different attitudes towards the meal, positive or negative, or different meanings for different members of a culture.

Morgan also defines culture as an iceberg because there are explicit and tacit cultures, where perspectives are usually placed under the tacit part because many other perspectives remain unseen by a certain culture. Usually the rest of the dimensions are seen and some perspectives as well, but most perspectives lie outside our awareness. Morgan also discusses how language cannot be separated from culture, "language-and-culture". It is a product of culture and these are both intertwined. People need language to transmit information in their everyday life. Every ethnic group has its own language that represents their own culture. It is needed to maintain relationship as well as to communicate a message to others and organize our life. Also, I like how Morgan comes up with 4 language functions useful when using language to learn culture: "language to participate in the culture, language to describe the culture, language to interpret the culture, and language to respond to the culture" (39). These are useful in language classrooms because as language teachers we will have to separate language from culture. I have had to define "culture" many times in the past for classes and now I found a definition that fits the characteristics of culture. And lets not forget about language!, these two go along with each other. Both of these are needed to carry out actions and share opinions with others in the world we live in. As a future language teacher, this topic will definitely come up, probably everyday in my classroom. I agree with Morgan and the 5 dimensions of culture. I have finally understood what culture really means and how the language functions can be very useful for future lessons. My future students will bring their own culture into the classroom as well as I will, and together we will be able to create our own little culture in our classroom.

Hello, first post of the semester!

My name is Melissa Shinke. I am majoring in bilingual elementary education with minors in Spanish and TESOL. I am interested in learning about the cultural issues surrounding TESOL. It is important to create a classroom environment that accommodates the students' unique cultural backgrounds.