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.