Week 5: Kang's study, A Step from Heaven

I was excited to read Dr. Kang’s study because I have been in three of her TESOL classes and she was the first teacher I had in any TESOL class. Even though I have had Dr. Kang in all of these classes I have never read her published work and I was very curious to examine her work. When I read the title of her study Korean-Immigrant Parents’ Support of Their American-Born Children’s Development and Maintenance of the Home Language I got excited all over again because being an Early Childhood pre-service teacher I always find myself interested in the child, even in class I picture classroom scenarios in an early childhood setting. So needless to say I was looking forward to reading Dr. Kang’s study and I was happy this was assigned to us and that Dr. Kang is going to come into class to discuss it with us. How many articles have we read for countless classes where we never get to ask follow up questions to the author? Today we will get to talk about the article with the author and discuss her work.

Pairing Dr. Kang’s study with A Step from Heaven took what Dr. Kang wrote about and made it real. I pictured Young Ju as a child in these very real households. Last week we read about immigrant narratives and the fear that many have about the loss of identity in a new country and both Kang’s study and A Step from Heaven address this concern. It was interesting to me that Kang suggests that families reflect their language use and teaching strategies in order for their children to obtain and maintain their home language which can be a challenge. This is a major challenge for second language learners because they are living in America and feel like that is a part of their identity now but they still want to hold on to the other side of their identity. It can be confusing for children as we saw in the case of Young Ju. Young Ju did not want to seem “weird” or “different” around her American friends and her parents fear she is losing her Korean heritage. At the same time Young Ju and her mother have many other concerns such as her father’s alcoholism and poverty. I like how the book made it seem real, all of the situations and immigration hardships were true with what we have been studying in class. The book and study went hand in hand and I am looking forward to discussing it with Dr. Kang!

Questions for Dr. Kang

How can immigrant parents successfully advocate a new language and culture while still cultivating their first language and culture?  Is it important for both parents to speak both languages to the child or like in Mrs. Moon’s case is it enough to have just 1 parent speak the second language?

Week 4: Language and Identity

There are many different language learners and it would not be fair to categorize them as motivated versus unmotivated or extraverted versus introverted. There are many factors that go into the process of second language learning. To learn a language the student has to be exposed to it, hopefully in a natural setting, and practice it. This is hard to do when the student has no idea what their social identity or has a very low opinion of themselves in the language learning.

Motivation plays a big role in second language learning, without motivation or an active goal in mind the student can fall off course. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are important but if the student does not have a need for the language that is growing inside of them it will be hard to learn and use the language. Even though Norton’s study concluded that motivation does not necessarily aid in successful language learning in every case it helps the students become invested in the language. The student must be invested in second language learning or else they may feel like they don’t have a need for it and therefore not learn the language or culture at the best of their ability. Learning the language in a natural setting can help shape and form an individual’s language identity. Teachers can help students form their own language identity by having discussions in the correct target language, use journals and diaries to not only practice their writing skills but to reflect and examine the communication opportunities they have experienced. Talking to other language learners can also build a language identity because they can compare experiences.  

People have more than one identity. For example I am a woman, an American, a daughter, a sister, a pre-service teacher, etc. This list can go on and on and it is important to know that people are made up of more than one identity. After reading the Pavlenko article it would be a great lesson for second language learners to write their own personal narrative on who they are their personal identities and sharing them with their peers and teacher. This can be a growing experience for the student; they can share their identity with their peers and understand that they fit in. 

Week 3: Exploring culture

“His goal of education was that its goal should not be efficiency and power but a search for knowledge and understanding. Someone looking for perfection and power should not go into the profession of teaching. Things go wrong all the time, classes go off track and there are power struggles in the classroom. This is what is beautiful about teaching, not one day is alike and the teacher grows and learns every day as much as the students do. Knowledge and understanding are the goals good teachers have for their students. Every student is different and not every student learns the same way or at the same pace and this is a challenge for teachers because their pedagogies change and having one set method does not work. Teachers have to change to accommodate their student’s needs. The quote about Socrates hits the nail on the head and made me think about the goal of education and the roles of the teacher in the classroom. I’m not sure if I agree with Confucius’ view of the role of teachers to answer questions. While I agree this is an important aspect for a teacher I would think it is more important to evoke the students, give them all the support and knowledge they need so they can find the answers themselves and have the teacher as an aid if they get off track.

Communication is an essential role in the classroom. Teachers have to know their students and learn how to communicate the best way to them to aid in their learning. If there is no communication in the classroom no one is learning anything. Culture can be a communication barrier and it is the teacher’s role to both understand the student’s culture and teach the student’s about culture as well. This can be done by having an ongoing conversation about the student’s personal culture. By talking to each individual student regularly about their culture this aids in understanding and also helps preserve the culture in the student. By continually talking about the student’s culture it makes the student more proud and less apprehensive about being different.

“Culture is a total way of life for a particular group of people.” Wintergerst explains that culture is life for a group of people. I’ve never experienced living in one culture and being moved into another but I could only imagine how difficult and challenging it would be. Not only do these students feel pressure to fit in and do well in school they also have to learn a new culture. This can be a confusing time for these students and by referring and talking about culture and language constantly students gain a better understanding and become more comfortable with it. 

Morgan: Teaching Culture chapters 3&4

Morgan states that everything he has read about culture has given him a different perspective on culture and he can relate to every one of those perspectives. In class last week we discussed our personal definition of culture and I found myself agreeing with everyone’s definition. Because the idea of culture is complex, there are many different perceptions that can relate to different people. Culture means something different to different people but if one takes the time to comprehend and value that culture understanding grows.

The three components of culture are products, practices, perspectives; artifacts, actions and meanings. All of these components merge together to create an understanding of what a specific culture values and finds important. For these cultures to live on people and communities need to come together and work on preserving these products, practices and perspectives. The example of drive-thru restaurants exemplifies that all five pieces of the puzzle of culture are needed. The products needed are things like food items on the menu, cars, napkins, bags, etc. The person would also have to know specific practices such as the rules of the road, how to order the food properly, and knowing social norms like paying for the meal. Perspective involves how people generally feel about the food and the make and model of the car. Communities have to be supportive of the drive thru as well as the people or else the restaurant will not survive.

As a pre-service teacher for students learning the American culture I would incorporate how to scenario’s such as a drive thru restaurant, a wedding or a grocery store to help the students learn and understand some of the practices, products, perspectives, communities and people that make up this culture. By acting out scenes or going on a field trip to actually act out these scenarios these students have a firsthand familiarity with an aspect of culture in this country. Language and culture go hand in hand; language is seen and heard everywhere in a culture. This is why practicing these scenarios is a good idea, while the children are learning these product, perspectives and practices they are also practicing the language which is hugely important in the culture.

Language is used in culture to describe certain products, participate in the culture, identify and explain thoughts, participate and actively express individual identity. In the classroom setting language also does all of the above that is why it is so important that teachers cover all of the five dimensions of culture so the students are well versed and comfortable with culture and language. 

Week 14

Assessments are a crucial part of teaching, it shows us the progress the student has made over time as well as the strengths and concerns some students need. Assessment can be as formal as a final project or test it can be as simple and informal as observation. Assessments give the students a freedom in the classroom, tests can harbor anxiety in students and assessments can give them an opportunity to show what they have learned in a creative way. There is also freedom with what a teacher can do with assessments, there can be a lot of creativity and versatility in assessments but they must be practical, reliable and valid. If the test is dependable, tests what it is intended to test and practical then it is trustworthy and the students will feel more comfortable with it. The test should always be authentic and use authentic language, this is especially important for English language learners.

I personally believe alternative assessments provide more stability and security in students. I believe they showcase student’s strengths and concerns better than a traditional test. For example in this class we have a good mix of alternative assessments and tests. It is important to know what a student knows and tests can do a good job of that but there are so many factors that can influence a test. With alternative assessments students have a better opportunity to demonstrate what they know. When the students have an opportunity to use alternative assessments such as portfolios, journals, conferences and observations they are more in control of their learning. In portfolios students can pick and choose what they think is most important, the students are more in control of their learning and learning outcomes which is more meaningful than taking a multiple choice test and forgetting about it a week later. Alternative assessments are an outlet for students to be creative and for me it is more meaningful. Traditional tests are important but there should be a healthy mix of alternative assessments as well.

When traditional testing is needed it is important that as a teacher you know how to construct a quality test that is valid, reliable, and practical. The items that are being tested should be clear and unambiguous, the last thing a teacher wants to do is confuse students when they are being assessed. The directions should be clear, this can be challenging especially for non native English speakers. Teachers should have a variety of discourse types in the test as well as in the evaluation. It is important for testers to develop a variety of procedures to assess different skills.

Oral Proficiency tests are a whole new area that needs to be assessed differently. An interdisciplinary approach is a great way to understand the language because it is practical and an effective means of assessment. 

Brown ch. 9-11 Kumar ch. 13

Brown ch. 9-11 Kumar ch. 13

Curriculum design can be daunting at first; you have to think about so many different areas; the setting, classroom characteristics, teacher characteristics, course content and evaluation requirements. When developing a skeleton for a curriculum plan it is essential that you take in consideration of the kinds of learners you have in your classroom. You have to look at their background, their learning styles, what they need to learn, what materials they have available to them and goals of the curriculum, students and teacher. When making a course syllabus as a teacher you really need to make sure that when teaching is going on you are going to be making changes constantly, no teacher follows or should follow the syllabus to a t. Constant redesign of the syllabus should happen because the topic of conversation could go further in one direction than you previously planned, this is not a bad thing. When this happens teachers should take advantage of this because students are engrossed and there is meaningful conversation happening. Texts should help with this meaningful learning, not be the number one source of it, especially with L2 learners. Texts should support learning and give another outlet for further learning but it should not be the only articles that shape it.

The first element of a lesson that at teacher should think about is the goal of the lesson; what the students will accomplish after the lesson is completed, how you as the teacher will carry out the lesson and how the students will take what they have learned and apply it to their lives. The objectives help the teacher organize these goals and bring them to life. Teachers should be constantly thinking about the terminal and enabling objectives as well as the materials they will need to carry out the assignment. Beginning lesson plans the teacher should have a clear set of goals and objectives they want to cover as well as the materials and texts they are going to use with keeping assessments in mind. Teachers should not be discouraged is the topic goes off course or if a topic or assignment lasts longer or not as long as they planned, teachers need to think on their feet and run with it.

Thinking of techniques can also help teachers know what direction they want the lesson to go. It should be clear from the beginning if the lesson is open-ended or structured, student centered or teacher centered, in other words controlled or free, but this does not mean if you are teaching a lesson with controlled characteristics you should not have free characteristics. In the real world classroom it is not so black and white, the students and teacher the lines will blur. 

Week 12: Social Relevance, Cultural Consciousness

Ensuring Social Relevance, Raising Cultural Consciousness

“No classroom is an island unto itself. Every classroom is influenced by and is a reflection of the larger society of which it is a part of.” This quote is the perfect way to start off the chapter because it personifies what good classroom social relevance should be. Class, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, language, and sexual orientation are some factors in social relevance that teachers have to keep in mind, especially if they are teaching ELL students. I think it is unfair for “standard English” to be in our vocabulary, in the past this may have worked but right here and now there is no “standard American” so the term “standard English” should be rewritten. The standard variety Kumar is talking about in this chapter refers to a person with no regional accent, who resides in the Midwest, who have more than average or superior education, who are educators or broadcasters, who pay attention to pronunciation and grammar, who are easily understood by all and use “proper language”. This is not the case with many Americans and it is not fair to say that one variation is superior to another. Imagine English Language Learner’s whose teacher refers to their variation as nonstandard or wrong, it is more than discouraging and it would not make them want to become a better speaker.  American’s have different variations that is what makes this country so interesting, English in a L1 setting is very different than English in an L2 setting but that does not make either setting better or worse than the other. When teaching we need to make this issue personalized to each student and we have to keep an open mind to the background of each student. It would be appropriate to tap into the unique linguistic and cultural knowledge that all the learners have in the classroom, connect with them. Give clear directions and providing simple clear examples and be friendly; being in an open welcoming environment can make a change.

Culture can be hard to define and hard to maintain in a classroom. It is upsetting to see learners from other cultures and countries lose some of their culture when going to school in America. While we want our students to flourish with the English language and custom it would be a shame for them to lose their original background and way of life. In order to help these students preserve their culture we as pre-service teachers have to make an effort to understand their way of life at home. The classroom should be rich in culture to make the students feel comfortable being themselves and comfortable to share their culture with other students.

Social responsibility can be tricky because there are controversial issues that need to be dealt with, especially regarding ethics. As teachers we should try to stick with the “universal” moral principals such as love, equality, tolerance and freedom and not get into the topic of religion or any topic that can go in the direction of making students uncomfortable or that are potentially offensive or disrespectful. The classroom is a community and the students should always feel a part of that community.

For my final paper I am focusing on the pedagogies and methods used in Early Childhood classrooms with students who are English Language Learners.  I have found some articles; Beverly A. Clark’s “First- and Second-Language Acquisition in Early Childhood, Teacher Skills to Support English Language Learners by Deborah Short, Effective Practices and Principals to Support English Language Learners in the Early Childhood Classroom by Vickie E. Lake. Some new questions I have formed form the last time we meet are: how can programs support English Language Learners and what specific pedagogies should be in place?, How can we assess ELL’s language without the skills of reading and writing?