Week 16

The article talks about Othering. There are four parts to it that help explain. It was very interesting to read about the way the authors became interested in English even though their parents might not have spoken it, it wasn't common at the time, or for other reasons. For me, by living in the United States I knew that I had to learn English at one point. Even before I started school, I would ask what certain words were in English. Once I started the bilingual program, I was able to successfully transfer to an English-only classroom in the middle of fourth grade.


Chapter 7 talks about some topics we have already learned about. Othering is one thing they mention, 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). It talks about how teachers can evaluate and choose the right textbooks for their students so they don't only see the Western cultures and not the marginalization of local cultures. There are principles for a socially sensitive EIL pedagogy. One of those is that "EIL curricula need to exemplify L2-L2 interactions." This can help students see some examples of L2-L2 interactions and they can discuss clarifications of what was said. Another one that I liked is that "Full recognition needs to be given to the other languages spoken by English speakers." Code-switching should be encouraged and not be seen as a problem.

Week 15

After reading the article for this week, it made me aware of how accents are really important in different situations. I thought it was sad that a man was refused a job position just because he didn't have that "Standard English". Accents are what make people stand out and let's them be who they are. Not everyone can easily leave behind their own accent. As long as people are understandable, their accent shouldn't be used against them. The man in the article should not have been refused a job position because of that. I really disliked that they called the accents a "handicap". Why should speaking the way you can be a problem? We can't force everyone to speak the same way. Accents occur even between native English speakers. They can be different depending on what parts of the region they live in.

In chapter 5 of the book for this week, it talks about how other people from other countries might speak English. There are many varieties of noun or verb usage that might be grammatically incorrect in the US, but for them it is just the way they want to say it. Different countries speak differently, but again these ways of talking should only make them be who they are.

It was interesting to have examples of how other people from other countries might say things differently.

Week 13

English is widely used in other countries like Africa or India. Some encourage the English-only movement, while others agree that bilingualism is better. In my opinion, bilingualism is the way to go. Not only should students learn a new language, but they should also maintain their native language that makes them who they are. No one should be pushed to forget their native language. As future teachers, we must motivate our students to use both languages. Some people think that by having a bilingual program, students will not learn the English language, but that is not true. Students need to use the language they know so they can learn a new language. If you were to learn Chinese for example, would you learn it better if you were put in a Chinese class where no one spoke English (or whatever language you know)? Of course not.

Many people want to learn English because of citizenship, social, and economic integration. Everyone wants to be a part of the country, so they try as best as they can to learn the language. This can help in communication and to get a better job.

We can teach our students about world languages by doing some of the activities mentioned in "Exploring Linguistic Diversity through World Englishes." This can include having class discussions in circles where everyone participates, watching videos on language, inviting in guest speakers and many more. We should explain to our students that it's ok to have an accent and just because people have them, doesn't mean they don't want to learn English.

Studies show, according to page 86 of International English in its Sociolinguistic Contexts, that children who are in bilingual programs do better than their monolingual peers in tests of academic achievement in English. As we can see, by using their native language, students can be very successful. Using their native language is not the problem, its the solution to learn English.

Week 12 Readings

The first chapter of International English in Its Sociolinguistic Contexts, introduced English as a language that is most commonly used all over the world. There were many statistics about where and how it is used. One reason is for economic use. In order for people to have a successful career, knowing English plays an important role, especially when the career includes something to do with knowing the language for international business. Advertising, movies, music, and electronic communication are widely used all over the world and English influences those in many countries.

I find it very interesting to know that the English language is that popular. I never really paid much attention to that because by living in the United States, I thought it was normal here. I didn't know that so many countries out there are influenced by it and they might even change their advertising so it includes words in English. People see it as a language that is in a way superior to the rest.

In the second chapter, it talks about teaching and learning English in Inner Circle, Outer Circle, and Expanding Circle countries. I find it so interesting that in a lot of Inner Circle countries, the student's native language is seen as a problem and only English is important. In other countries from the Outer Circle, they do appreciate their native language and English so they can become bilingual. It is important that we encourage this multilingualism everywhere. English does not have to be the best one. Just because it is used more, it doesn't mean the rest are not as great.

In the article "The Impact of Globalization on Language Teaching in Japan," it was somewhat surprising that in Japanese schools: "the 'foreign language' is English; the model for English should be standard North American or British varieties; learning English leads to international/ intercultural understanding; and national identity is fostered through learning English." We can see how English plays such an important role in Japan and they are highly motivated to learn it.

If English is encouraged to be learned and used in countries all over the world, I wonder what would happen in the next few years. Would the native language of countries die and English would be the only language left to use? Even though it is good to have a language that can be used all over the world, we should not stop learning more about our own native languages and cultures. We should not forget that by knowing our native languages and culture, it will help us continue to be the unique individuals we are.

Week 11 Readings

Week 11 Readings

                After reading the “Becoming Black” article, I found it very interesting how students and people in general make assumptions of how Blacks are and how they act just because of what they see in the media, especially pop culture. People have thoughts of how they are based on the music they listen to, such as hip hop and rap, as well as the style and language that they see on TV. As future educators, we cannot let our students do that. We should not encourage that kind of thinking that only allows students to think of people by having these ideas they get from pop culture. Not everyone follows that trend and Blacks can be different than that. The African American students who do follow pop culture and go along with the style, music, and the way of using the language, are doing so because it gives them an opportunity to be who they want to be. They are forming their own identities.

                Assumptions and these preconceived thoughts can make people think something without knowing for sure the truth. In “Problematizing Cultural Stereotypes in TESOL”, we see how there are also stereotypes of Asian students. These include that students from Asia are obedient to authority, they lack critical thinking skills, and they don’t participate in classroom interaction. These beliefs are most commonly held in the Western hemisphere and they might also not be true. We as educators cannot let these ideas, stereotypes, or prejudices take over and tell us how students from other countries are. We have to understand and learn on our own who they really are.  

                The first article I mentioned talks about how teachers should be familiar with what the pop culture is. If they don’t know much about it, they can have their students teach them about what it means to them. We can learn about any culture if we take the time to know our students. By knowing our students, we can be better prepared to help them.

                In “Race, Culture, and Identities in Second Language Education”, it talks about the differences of the words race, ethnicity, and culture, as well as racialization and other important concepts. It is important that we know these differences and not get them mixed up.

Week 8 Readings

It is important for teachers to choose textbooks that will be helpful for children's learning.

In Taylor-Mendes' article, it talks about the racial stereotypes that are seen in Foreign Language Textbooks. I find it interesting that so many of the books that students read include images that have stereotypes of different races. The images in this study showed Americans as clean and nonviolent; war was seen in other countries such as Afghanistan. There are many famous people in power that were recognized from America and business people were also portrayed in images with Americans. There were not as many minorities shown in the images, and if there were, Blacks in particular, they were represented as powerless or poor. What was seen overall in this study was that the images only reinforced the previous thoughts or stereotypes of those countries that does not exist (because there was no multiculturalism shown).

In Giaschi's article, we see gender differences in the images. Men were seen in the majority of the images as having the principal role. They had the active roles. They were in most of the business images, but women had the principal role in the fashion images. Men were given higher status in these images and if a woman didn't look straight in the eye at them, the men were seen as sort of angry; whereas if the man looked away it was perfectly fine and the women would be looking up at them.

In Hinkel's chapter 11, it says that a textbook can be a teacher, a map, a resource, a trainer, an authority, a de-skiller, or an ideology. This is very true.

It is important for teachers to be aware of the books they are choosing for their children to learn. Stereotypes and gender inequality should not be portrayed that much in books for children. If students rely too much on these books and images without no one really explaining, they might develop the wrong ideas and thoughts about certain people or countries. Teachers should inform their students about all of this in order for them to not develop these stereotypes and continue believing them. Students should not be judging people or countries based on the wrong textbooks they have.

Week 6 Readings

I have summarized ideas and thoughts about the two chapter readings and the articles:

There are many differences in ESL and NES writing. The essays that students write are not the same because the students learned how to write them differently. Students who are not native English speakers might have learned how to write an essay a different way. This does not mean that they are incapable of writing a good paper; it simply means that it might not be the same as those who are native English speakers. As future teachers, we have to acknowledge this and know that not every student has learned the same way. We cannot grade a recent immigrant to the United States the same way that we would grade a U.S. born student who knows the most appropriate ways to write a good paper. Teachers have to know where these students are coming from in order to understand why these differences in writing occur. 

Teachers should know at what level their English learners are at. Some students need more help in reading/writing/speaking the language, others might already be at the proficient level and they don’t need to be pushed down to do easier assignments. It’s important for teachers to not only know if they are English learners, but know where they are and what kind of help they need. As future teachers, we won’t be helping students by giving them an assignment that is too easy for them. 

Also telling a child to write about their native country or where they are from, might not help them either. Many times children are brought to the United States as little babies or toddlers, how are they supposed to know what their country was like? It makes no sense to have these types of assignments. The teacher can ask the student to write a research paper about the country, but personal experiences might not be a good thing to use if the student did not spend many years in the country that he or she can remember. If I were told as a student in elementary school, to write about my country, I wouldn’t have much to say. Even though I’m a bilingual student and I was in the bilingual program, I was born in the United States and the only country I know is this one. Other than the few trips to Mexico I would go in the summer, I didn’t know much about where my parents were from as a child. 

In Kubota’s article we see how a teacher who does not know much about other languages starts to learn more about it just because she has bilingual students in her class. Mainstream teachers should know that not all the students in the classroom will be monolingual English speakers. There might be bilingual students in a classroom and they have to know how to teach them and help them succeed. As a young child, I was always in bilingual classes up until half way through fourth grade. Luckily, I was able to get the help I needed in order to be proficient in both languages. Schools should have bilingual education programs, but sometimes they don’t because of the lack of students who are bilingual. For those random bilingual students that are put in any monolingual class, teachers need to be prepared. They need to find ways to teach them and grade them a little differently perhaps since they don’t know everything as well as the rest of their peers due to their low level of English proficiency.  

Week 5

A Step from Heaven

This story had a lot of different things we can learn from. Young Ju does not know a lot about coming to America because she is so young. Her parents don't tell her that much and it is hard for her to assimilate to America coming from a Korean background.

I was surprised when Young Ju mentioned in her class that her brother had died when it wasn't true. She called him a worm when she first saw him. She felt like she was not a baby anymore by having that new baby in the house. Not being the baby anymore affected her.

The issue with the new language was a big problem for them in the family. This is seen when Young Ju goes to school for the first time and then when the father goes to get Young Ju a green card.

Besides the fact that this poor girl has to go through so much in order to assimilate, I was not surprised to read about the problems that the father and the mother had going on. Everything started to become worse when the father's mother died. He let it out on the family, he was not who he was before. The first issue they had was with money. They were struggling with where they were going to live because both of them didn't agree. It is sad that the dad became so violent with Young Ju and the mom. This to me, was the most heart-breaking, to see a family fall apart just because they came to a new country and they couldn't deal with everything that is going on. This happens with many families. Families come from other countries to the United States just so that they can work and have a better life, but in reality sometimes it's worse. They miss their family and if something happens to their family members from their home country, there's not much they can do. If they don't have a great job, they will spend their lives working just so they can pay off the rent or whatever it is they have to pay. Fights start in the family just because they're not happy with what they have.

It's important for schools to have bilingual programs so that children can assimilate a little easier. Not only should they teach the language, but it would be good to teach them about the culture as well. The parents could benefit from information about the country as well, anything that can teach them how to be a part of the country and not feel too left out.

This story of coming to America is very well explained with much detail that portrays the family's personal life. It makes me think about the struggles that people deal with. Instead of us watching newcomers in this country, we should try to become friends with them and make them feel comfortable.

Kang's article

I was really surprised to see that bilingualism is such an important part for Koreans. For those that come to America, they still feel the need to maintain their home language. Even if they have good jobs where they speak English fluently, at home they will still use their native language and they want their kids to do the same. They enforce the language use in the home and some parents are even willing to go back to Korea just so that they can have their children learn their native language.

I guess the reason why it is such a big deal to continue using the lanugage in America is because they don't want to forget who they are and the culture they're coming from. I see this in my own family. Even though we can speak English well, it is still nice to know our Spanish language. A person can't just go to a new country and completely change who they are. They can learn the new language and customs, but keeping their own identity is key. 

Week 4- Norton & Pavlenko

Norton & Pavlenko articles

"It is through language that a person negotiates a sense of self within and across different sites at a different point in time, and it it is through language that a person gains access to- or is denied access to- powerful social networks that give learners the opportunity to speak" (Heller, 1987). This quote explains the importance of language and how it is used in everyday life to have everyday conversations. It can make someone be a part of a social interaction or it can exclude someone from doing so. For those who are immigrants to this country (or any country), if they don't know the language fully, they will not be able to have a very well understood conversation with others. Language is what keeps things going. Without making clear sense of what someone is trying to say, then it will be really hard for communication to occur.

We can see this in how Martina and Eva struggled to improve their language in order to be understood. This happens all the time. There are many immigrants coming from South America into the United States, especially from Mexico. As future teachers, we need to be aware of this and be prepared to help these people out. It is not easy for them to assimilate into a new country, but as teachers, we can guide them along the way and help them do so.

When people don't know the language, they might feel like they don't fit in or that others don't like them, which is true in some cases. It was interesting to read about Eva and how she thought that no one cared about her just because she is seen as inferior since she doesn't know the language. People will feel this way if they are recent immigrants or if they don't speak the language, but we can help them out. As teachers, it is important that we approach these second language learners in a friendly way and help them get more comfortable.

One important thing mentioned is that second language teachers need to help language learners speak outside the classroom. The article talked about classroom-based social research (CBSR) which might help language learners speak outside the classroom. The objectives are-
1. Investigate opportunities to interact with target language speakers.
2. Reflect critically on engagement with target language speakers.
3. Reflect on observations in diaries and journals.
4. Pay attention to and record unusual events.
5. Compare data with fellow students and researchers.

Language and identity play an important role on identity and investment, communities, categories, educational change, literacy, and resistance.

Autobiographies were mentioned in Pavlenko's article as a way to have an identity narrative of someone or the community the member is a part of. As a future teacher, I would like to have my students write a short personal narrative at the beginning of the year in order for students to get to know each other better and be a little more comfortable in the class. They will be able to find similarities from other classmates.

It was interesting to find out about European immigrants and their struggles to assimilate in America. At first they were not accepted and they were seen as foreigners. I think this is something important that happens today. Immigrants are made fun of or are told that they don't belong in this country just because they have not fully assimilated or they are not US citizens yet.

Knowing English means so much. It was mentioned that it is one of the most important forces in the process of Americanization. This is true because English is required almost everywhere in the US. If someone wishes to become a US citizen, they most definitely have to know the English language as well. English is the main language of America and although other languages are appreciated, English is still the main one used.

Week 3 Readings

I learned a lot in these three readings. The first one, which is Hinkel's Chapter 2 and 3,talked about implicatures. The person hearing what someone else is saying has to inference what is meant when not everything was described in detail to describe fully what they meant. It's hard for a bilingual student to learn a new language and sometimes a lot of guesses have to be done in order for them to understand the new language.

In the Kumaravadivelu article, what caught my attention was when culture was said to be used as a noun and it gives the wrong impression of an object, thing or museum piece. The article mentioned that culture is a verb. What is important is what culture does not what it is.

In the Wintergrest article, what stuck out the most to me was reading about the differences in big C culture and small c culture. Big C culture includes the "classic or grand themes," little c culture is "minor or common themes." I had not learned about these differences before and I found it very interesting in this article.  I also liked that the article gave a lot of activities that teachers could use in their classrooms in order to teach students about culture. Finally what I liked about the article is that they explained the five dimensions of culture, which include identity, hierarchy, social gender role, truth value, and virtue.

It is important for teachers or future teachers to know these definitions about what culture really is in order to be a great bilingual teacher. There are so many parts of the definition of culture that I didn't know before reading all this. It is interesting to know that the word culture can have such a big definition.

My Own Definition of Culture

After reading Morgan's Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 in Teaching Culture, I have learned a lot about culture and language. In her articles, she defines culture as having five dimensions to it, which are products, practices, persons, perspectives, and communities. She says that culture is the evolving way of life that consists of a group of persons, that share a set of practices that are associated with a set of products, based on a shared set of perspectives on the world, and that are set in specific social contexts. I agree with her definition.

I agree that culture does consist of the products or artifacts that are produced by those in the culture. Each culture has its own objects that are used to identify them. If we look at the Hispanic culture, people might have pinatas at a birthday party. Maracas, sombreros, or a mariachi band might be heard or seen at an event. The objects that they have make them a distinct culture from everyone else.

Members of a culture have their own practices and this is very important. They have their actions or interactions that they carry out by themselves or with other people. If we look at a group of preschool students and their culture, we can see that some of their practices could include reading out loud, singing, or dancing. These actions can be used anywhere else, but the way it is used in their own classrooms makes it possible for them to have their own culture.

The perspectives of culture include the beliefs, values, and attitudes about the culture. I agree with this as well. People have different views on different things. If we look at the Catholic religion, they believe in God and saints. Everything that they believe in, what they, and so forth, is part of their own culture.

Culture has it's own community, where they do whatever they do. Offices at work have their own community where they carry out all their activities, they work at buildings with offices and do office work. This goes for any other culture; they have their place where their activities are held. 

Everything in the different cultures is carried out by the persons. These individuals are the members who carry out their own unique actions to keep their culture alive.

Language is used throughout all this in order for people to be successful in their culture. Things so basic, such as products, that seem like no language is necessary to use them or buy them is not true. At some point you had to read how to use them or how to read the value of money, which requires knowledge of the language.

It makes sense to me that culture is all of the above mentioned that I read in Morgan's article. After reading all this, I have realized that culture can be anything from race, religion, work, school, or anything else. It happens everyday through active members that keep their own traditions going. Culture is ongoing, it's nonstop. It also keeps changing everyday, new things could happen, etc. Culture can be a social group, ethnic group, or age group. It includes the shared beliefs, ideas, values, attitudes, and goals.

About Me

I am currently a senior majoring in bilingual elementary education. I still have two more years to go so that I can graduate with my degree. I'm from Palatine, IL and I transferred two years ago from Harper College.

I am really excited about this course and hope to learn a lot.