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VIEWING 1 - 9 OUT OF 9 BLOGS.
Would you ban this book?
Cash for Grades
DATE: 09/16/2007 11:57:21 / MOOD: about language
In New York City, the mayor has recently spoken out about supporting cash for grades. He believes this can only motivate struggling students to perform better academically.
I, personally, never gave financial rewards to my students for their language progress but I did reward them with parties and food or sometimes, candy. In theory, I guess it's the same thing--providing a reward for a job well done.
The mayor says students will learn this is the way of the world. Afterall, workers in a capitalist society are rewarded financially by doing a good job via promotions.
Is he right or are we creating an atmosphere of entitlement by rewarding students for a job well done? Are we also imparting the philosophy that education is only valued when it can be measured in gold?
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Upcoming Professional ESL Conferences
DATE: 09/01/2007 11:20:47 / MOOD: conferences
Get Your Conference On!
For those living in the Chicago area, there is a conference coming up you might be interested in. It's in Oak Brook, Illinois from October 1st through October 2nd. It's called CREATE and it focuses on ESL/Struggling Readers.
Also--it's already time to start thinking about big TESOL! Is anyone planning on going? It's in the big apple this year. Dates are April 2-5. I sure would love to go this year and I'm hoping to attend.
Happy Conferencing!
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Ordering is Cultural for ESL students, too
DATE: 08/28/2007 23:43:18 / MOOD: random ramblings
For those of you who were in the MA TESOL program, do you remember the service encounter project? We worked with ESL students and then developed activities to help them with their English in a service encounter. One thing I neglected to include in my activities were cultural. For example, in the US, we stand in a line when ordering. Unlike some other countries, it's considered highly rude to push to the front or shout your order. For some reason, people in the US wait in an orderly line to be served. I know how this can feel because I could never quite grasp how to aggressively shout my order over others when traveling in Israel. I could have used some cultural lessons, too.
Well, if I did that project again or taught EFL students, I would include some of those cultural components. Here is why:
The other day at the airport a Japanese EFL student budged in front of the line at a coffee shop and said: Cup of Coffee. I could tell he practiced and practiced that phrase and he was nervous to say it. Unfortunately, the barista told him to go to the back of the line and wait like everyone else. I could see his enthusiasm shrink and his confidence fade and I wanted to reach out and teach him this cultural part of the exchange...I think language and culture are two halves of the same whole.
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Aloha
DATE: 08/27/2007 21:59:54 / MOOD: about language
Hi Tesolers...
I just returned from a 10 day vacation and haven't had any time to blog. Anyway, I am back now and ready to network on pundit.
I wanted to pass along that if you are looking for a quick but efficient read--try Teaching English Language Learners (The How-To Handbook) by Teresa Walter. I am going to use this as one of my texts in a course I am teaching.
So, back to vacation. I spent part of my vacation in Hawaii on the island of Kawaii--aside from the greeting Aloha and the thanks of Mahalo, I was interested in the intersection of native language with the americanization of the island. I tried to listen to the language patterns of natives speaking with one another and then a native speaking with a tourist. Interesting stuff!
Anyway...I'm back to work tomorrow and I'll post more about articles/books I'm reading for the course I'm working on.
Cheers!
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Part II to Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
DATE: 08/14/2007 17:36:34 / MOOD: linguistics
In light of some recent interesting comments, I thought I would add some more information from my textbook. According to An Introduction to Language, Inuit actually does not have more words for snow than English does (think of flurry, slush, sleet, blizzard and so on) but “even if it did, this would not show that language conditions the Inuits’ experience of the world, but rather that experience with a particular world creates the need for certain words. In this respect the Inuit speaker is no different from the computer programmer, who has a technical vocabulary for Internet protocols or the linguist who has many specialized words regarding language.” (Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams 2007: 27)
Furthermore, languages such as Hopi, that do not have word endings for specific tenses have other expressions for time. (Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams 2007: 27) So, even though languages are structurally different, most have in common the same ability for expression of a particular language function.
That said, it is interesting, as Blondie ponders, to think about the experience of learning another language. As a pretty proficient Spanish speaker, I do admit to feeling different when I speak in Spanish. I try to adapt to my cultural perceptions of the country where I am speaking Spanish and this influences my behavior. Most of this is culturally related but in some ways, subtracting what I know about language, the flowery and poetic qualities of the language influence my presentation of its delivery and my behavior.
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The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
DATE: 08/14/2007 17:36:05 / MOOD: linguistics
Yesterday, I wrote about an unfortunate incident concerning an indivdidual who labeled the speakers of a certain language “stupid.” Then, as I was reading An Introduction to Language by Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams, I came across this hypothesis. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis attempts to link language and thought. In this hypothesis, it is stressed that the language we speak shapes our thoughts and perceptions of the world.
The linguist Edward Sapir’s student Benjamin Whorf stated:
The background linguistic system (in other words, the grammar) of each language is not merely the reproducing instrument for voicing ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas, the program and guide for the individual’s mental activity, for his analysis of impressions, for his synthesis of his mental stock in trade…We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages. (Fromkin, Rodman & Hyams 2007: 25)
There are variations on this hypothesis ranging from the strongest form (linguistic determinism) to the weaker form (linguistic relativism).
The textbook goes on to express that the hypothesis is “controversial” and that linguistic determinism is “false.” (Fromkin, Rodman & Hyams 2007: 27) In actuality, language may influence our cognition but it is DOES NOT shape who we are or define our intelligence level. The textbook validly states that “language itself is not sexist or racist, but people can be, and because of this, particular words take on negative meanings.” (Fromkin, Rodman & Hyams 2007: 28)
If language does not establish how we view the world, we are still left to contemplate how we use language to express our worldviews.
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ESL students and literature
DATE: 08/14/2007 17:35:16 / MOOD: teaching
Here’s my rant of the week:
ESL students can love literature, too!
Recently, someone remarked to me that he hated having to change or add extra information to help ESL students understand classic literature. This person said he loved literature growing up and it’s wrong to change it to foster ESL learning because it ruins the literature. He feels that making the literature available to ESL students cancels out the merits and the art of the literature itself.
This brings me to another point. We have to imagine ourselves learning another language to appreciate an ESL student’s situation. As a foreigner living in Japan, I think I COULD appreciate classic Japanese literature if it was enhanced for me to understand. I guess it goes into a deeper discussion of what literature means and to whom it has this meaning.
If we are enhancing text for classroom purposes, to teach culture, and to inspire the love of reading, what’s wrong with this? Besides, why should ESL students only read ESL texts? That is not congruent with academic findings in the field of Applied Linguistics. Literature has so much beauty within, just like the person I talked to has fond memories of learning about in his own school experience. Why, then, not share it with all students and not just a few?
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Memory is not an option
DATE: 08/14/2007 17:34:16 / MOOD: about language
Remember back to the old days when we were told to memorize new vocabulary words in our foreign language classes? Even if you were motivated to memorize 25 new words, what is the probability that you can retain and later use those words in a meaningful situation? Unlikely.
I’ve recently started thinking about the power of word associations in acquiring new vocabulary in another language. I’ve been trying (slowly) to learn Nepali. I have a tough time retaining new vocabulary (I’m past the critical age hypothesis by a long shot). Then, my husband taught me a word that reminded me of another word in Hindi. Sometimes I would forget the Nepali word but remember the Hindi word. Making this cognitive connection always helps me to remember the Nepali word again. It’s one of the few words in my vocabulary.
So, for students that we teach, that means providing exercises to encourage connections. One way to do that is through graphic organizers or by listing categories. For example, you could draw a chart with the word at the top and categories like–color, sound, and so on. At the bottom of the chart, you could have students fill in what the word makes them think of. For example, if I am learning English and I want to remember the word Elephant, maybe I make an association of the gray color with the word for gray in my native language and I can remember Elephant. Of course, pictures always help the brain to process, remember, and make connections.
New words are only a connection away…
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