Week 7

I had never really been exposed to what lingua franca was until I read Baker’s article in this weeks readings. Before I read this article I thought that English was a good bridge language for two people with different native languages because English is known as one of the most powerful languages globally. Reading this article gave me a lot of insight to things I had not thought of before or was just simply not aware of.  When Baker stated that language is used to both represent shared experiences and knowledge and to create those experiences (527) it made me think of how people who solely use English as a lingua franca relate to one another. I feel that even though they understand what the other person is saying, they might not be able to understand the concept behind it if they do not have knowledge of one another’s culture.   Another part of this article that really made me think more about the struggle of learning English as a Second Language or simply a lingua franca was when Baker stated that learners of English are not learning to join a single language community, but are ‘‘shuttling between communities’’ between the local and the global, in which a variety of norms and a repertoire of codes are to be expected (572).  The learners need to be able to keep their culture and gain insight on a new culture, and also now when to go back and forth between the new language and the new culture they are being exposed to. I brought this up to my parents and they explained to me that they are still so rooted in their Mexican culture because they still celebrate all the same things and have not changed their traditions, but instead have added new things to their culture. They feel that exposing my brothers and me to both cultures from the beginning was beneficial to us so that we were not completely out of the loop of either culture or language. The study done by Marra in the Maori workplaces was very interesting and I liked that it focused on the difficulties of understanding the interaction in those workplaces. The fact that they speak English in New Zealand has always made me think that it is the same kind of American English we speak here, but now I know that is not the case and even in the same workplace there can be differences in the way people communicate.

learning log #4

The Kuma article, “Cultural Assimilation and it’s Delusions” really had me thinking from the beginning when he was explaining what the Ford company did with the immigrant workers they hired “helping them assimilate American cultural beliefs and practices, including ‘table manners’ and ‘the care of their teeth’ (65). I was a little bit offended that the Ford Company thought that their new employees did not know how to do those simple things just because they were immigrants. I think that they indeed do know how to care for their hygiene and they have their own table manners, but the company thought the employee’s way was incorrect simply because it was not the “American Way”.  The rest of the reading talked about the concept of assimilation and how different people view it when it comes to assimilating to the American culture. When Kuma talked about the way Peter Salins views assimilation to the American society I was shocked by the three things he wanted people to do to become truly assimilated, “As per this contract, immigrants "would be welcome as full members of the American family" if and only if they (a) accept English as the primary language, (b) take pride in their American identity, and (c) live by the Protestant ethic” (67).  I do not think anyone needs to give up their first language to live in America, I do believe that they should make an effort to learn English because it will make life easier in the long run. I also think people need to take pride in America, but they do not need to lose or lower the pride they have for their homeland in order to live in this country. The Protestant ethic does not coincide with everyone’s beliefs and therefore I do not believe that in order to be a true American that one needs to have the same beliefs as everyone else. I think one of the things that makes our country so great is all the diversity it has to offer and if everyone assimilated to the way Salins thinks we should, then America would not be what it is today and the culture would be completely different.  The “Old Stock” immigrants were the first to come to this country, but that does not mean their way is the way everyone has to live by, they came here to escape religious persecution so why were they trying to get everyone to convert to their beliefs?

 In Kuma’s article “Problematizing Cultural Stereotypes in TESOL” he talked about how even though the TESOL community is supposed to be away from stereotyping the students and learners there are still some stereotyping going on particularly in the Asian community.  The stereotypes that are given to Asians are not just in the TESOL classroom, but in the academic setting in general. People think they are anti-social with class interactions, are very obedient to authority figures and they do have good critical thinking skills. Those generalizations can be very offensive to anyone and we need to learn to step away from them and look at every person as an individual. As TESOL educators we need to try extra hard to not assume things about our students when we first see them, we need to let them be their own person and achieve their goal of learning a second language. Even though we live in a society full of stereotypes, I know we can look past them and help the students succeed.

learning log #3

      

    This weeks reading about identity and culture really out some things in perspective for me and it made me realize that it is really easy to make a generalization about someone because of their culture, but it does not always mean that it is part of their identity. I also learned that just because someone is learning a new language it does not necessarily mean that they are familiar with that culture yet, and we as teachers need to make sure to not assume things about our students just because of where they are from. The story of Gail and Eva was a really good example of not making generalizations and I liked that Gail said how she felt about what happened in the article. I also liked how the twelve month case study was executed and started out with a diary study. I think that the diaries could come in handy as a good reflection tool for the students so they can look back to see what they can improve and what they have been mastering throughout their time learning the new language. 

      The only downside I saw to this article was that it focused on all adults learning English and as a bilingual elementary education major I would like to know how children act in situations where they are learning a new language and have to adjust to a new culture. Martina's story about having her daughter go with her to apply for jobs showed how stressful it can be for the whole family when it comes to finding jobs in a country where you do not speak the language.  I could really relate to this part of the article because my parents came to the US in the late 80's and spoke very little English, my dad said he regrets not taking ESL classes right away because he and my mom struggled to find good jobs when they first got to Illinois and he also said that once they became fluent in the language it was a lot easier to find good jobs. They both also noticed that they were more accepted in the society they lived in once their English improved. Back then it was hard for them to make the ESL classes because the closest one was a 40 minute drive but they went twice a week and it was very beneficial and worth the time. Now in the town we live in there are ESL classes offered right in our public library, so the community has acknowledged that they are needed in any community with people who do not speak the language but want to learn.