What's the difference between EFL and ESL?

A friend of my asked me the question, "What's the difference between EFL and ESL?" Honestly I couldn't have told you the answer before doing a master's in TESOL (yet another acronym = teaching English to speakers of other languages!) but now I know it is simple: ESL, or English as a Second Language, is the English language as taught to non-native English speakers in an English speaking country, such as the USA, England, Australia, etc. EFL, or English as a Foreign Language, is the English language as taught to non-native English speakers in a country where the official language is something other than English, such as in Japan, Mexico, Thailand, China, etc. The purposes of learning ESL and EFL are different, since a person learning English in the USA probably wants to integrate and learn English to get a good job. However, students learning EFL probably have to know English for a college entrance exam, but have little chance to actually use English with "real" English speakers. Learning English may help EFL students get a better job, but this is not usually a top priority. Many EFL students choose to study English as a hobby. So teaching ESL is actually different from teaching EFL, but they are both basically English but with slightly different student goals.

A Perfectly Snowy Christmas Day

This Christmas I went sledding and made snowmen with my classmate Mareika and her boyfriend Matt. It was a rare treat to have such lovely winter weather and good friends to play with!

Read my Turkish Coffee Grounds

A classmate from Turkey read my Turkish Coffee grounds to tell my future. She saw a large woman with big thighs. Hopefully this is not an accurate fortune telling device!

Chinese Herbal Medicine

Here is a picture of the Chinese herbal medicine I have been prescribed by my new Chinese doctor in Boston. I boil this for 30 minutes then drink 5oz of the "tea" twice a day. When its ready to drink it looks and tastes a little bit like coffee with milk. I enjoy taking it and along with acupuncture treatments from the same doctor, eating lot of vegetables and exercising every day, I am happy to say I feel a lot of good energy and better health!

Me as a Super Substitute Teacher and Friend from the 70's

Halloween Party at CELOP @ Boston University

Cultural Issue in the ESL Classroom

I will be posting some writing inspired by my TESOL classes this year. Here is a piece that has to do with culture in the classroom. As you will see, it is difficult to know how and when to elicit equal participation from people from different cultures and ages in the same class. In the US classroom and for American teachers, student participation and verbosity is highly praised. If we are teaching English, we are also teaching this aspect of US classroom culture. It really goes together. I cannot imagine teaching English by lecturing and having students take notes the entire time, although this is how classrooms in other countries work. So the challenge is to get students to understand they are not losing their identity by acting more American in the classroom, but they are learning to fit in to international communication situations with English skills AND culturally appropriate behavior.

When I substitute taught for a Business English as a Second Language class in Boston, I experienced an intercultural problem. The teacher had prepared me with a handout for class to read about ways to deal with change and stress in business. The class plan was heavy on discussion. The problem was trying to encourage equal participation between all students during open class discussion.
There were six students: a 40 year old Spanish man, a 30 year old German man, two Korean women in their mid-20’s, a Panamanian woman in her mid 20’s and a 20 year old Turkish man.
When it was time to discuss, I called on specific students but at times also asked the entire class, whoever felt like speaking, to answer.
I found that in open class discussion, the European men completely dominated class conversation. Each one spoke on his own at length about a topic and then at one point they even got into a heated debate about something just between the two of them. I had to actively moderate discussion to give other students a chance to contribute. Both of the men had significant experience in the business world which helped support their arguments when talking about the class material, but also made it difficult for others to follow them. Both were very straightforward when giving their opinions and comfortable interrupting others. Their English also seemed a bit more advanced than the others’, but after just one class meeting it was hard for me to tell if their English was better or they were just more confident speakers.
The next most talkative student was the young Turkish man. He spoke assertively when asked his opinion. However, it seemed he did not want to be as bold or talkative as the other older European students.
After him, the next most talkative student was the Panamanian woman. She was able to talk about herself, but did not want to give many opinions about business advice.
The young Korean women were even less eager to speak up. When called on, one would giggle and shy away from answering, telling me she did not have a good answer. However, when I waited and encouraged her she gave a good response. The other two Korean women were a bit more bold in answering, but still comparatively shy with the men in class.
At the end of class I asked students to summarize information from the handout. When asked to share with the class, the European students gave their own individual opinions which were not really a summary but were interesting nonetheless. After they spoke I called on one of the Korean women and she refused to answer because, she told me, she thought she had to give her own personal opinion too. I reassured her what I asked for was just a summary and either a summary or opinion would be fine, so she was comfortable giving a summary.
The learning process, in this case learning English conversation with a business focus, was affected because the Spanish and German men essentially got more English speaking practice time than the others. The other students’ reactions to the Spanish and German men’s verbosity ranged from annoyed to indifferent to intimidated. On the other hand, the Spanish and German men seemed annoyed with the quieter students for not holding their part of the class conversation.
Some questions that this class brings to mind are: How do culture, race, gender and age affect learning and class participation in a mixed group? What are the dis/advantages of having a mixed group like this one? As a teacher, how can I make oral participation more equitable even among students who are not used to speaking up in classroom settings? How can I help students to learn to communicate across cultures using English? In other words, how could I get the Europeans to be more patient and the rest to be bolder? How can I encourage students to give their own opinions if they come from a culture where giving one’s own opinion is frowned upon? How can I assess speaking if I am not sure if I am hearing a student’s ability or confidence or lack thereof?

Two Way Immersion Schools

After reading the following article, I wrote a review and critique for a class I am taking. I wanted to share it because I am really excited about the idea of two way immersion schools. In areas where at least 2 major language groups reside, it could be an excellent way to foster bilingualism and intercultural understanding in the US. I have read that in Europe two way immersion schools already exist, in countries like Andorra which is situated between France and Spain. Some schools in Western Europe also use English as a language of instruction for many school subjects, although it is not technically a two way immersion program since none of the students are native English speakers.
I think that in the US, with all the Spanish speakers now two way immersion could be a great program for schools of all levels and also for summer camps and enrichment programs during breaks. Especially now that the economy prohibits more students from study abroad during high school, a two way immersion program could provide an even better home-based immersion program.
As a Spanish and English teacher myself, is a dream of mine to someday work in or even open a school program with two way immersion, because it has so many very practical possibilities for two groups of people to exchange language. I would like to see more of these programs available for middle, high school and adult learners. So I am really interested in the development of these and other language exchange type programs.

TESOL Quarterly , Volume 43 Number 2, June 2009
Middle-Class English Speakers in a Two-Way Immersion Bilingual Classroom: “Everybody Should Be Listening to Jonathan Right Now . . .” by Deborah K. Palmer
Summary:
Many elementary level classrooms across the US are experimenting with Two-Way Immersion (TWI), a program in which native English and usually native Spanish speaking children are placed in the same bilingual classroom in order to learn each other’s language. All students are expected to learn both languages through receiving instruction in both languages. There are benefits to this model, but the author sheds light on some problems. For example, minority language students are more at risk to loose their first language because of language learning outside of school. Also, differences in economic class and cultural dominance mean that each group has somewhat conflicting priorities and may even be treated differently by the teacher, who in this case was a native English speaker. Although Spanish is part of the curriculum and TWI encourages pride in being bilingual, students pick up on the different status of English speaking students as part of the dominant culture. Also, English speaking students are often “turn sharks” who push for the teacher’s attention and she frequently gave in. However, to end on a positive note, Palmer cites that both groups in TWI programs are scoring higher on certain standardized tests and so in general it may be a better learning environment for both sides.
Critique:
After reading Palmer’s case study, the biggest challenges I see to TWI education are:
• Teachers do not know how to deal with the dominant culture’s effects on students’ learning and socialization, or their own subconscious favoritism between themselves and students of the same language/culture
• Teachers may not be able to understand students’ behavior if based on a different set of socio-cultural norms than their own
• Although the program helps students become bilingual, not much research has been done about cultural understanding between students
• The long-term effects of students who grow up in an English-dominant society, and whether they are able to sustain the Spanish language they learned in elementary school TWI programs
Some areas that Palmer touches on but should be analyzed more deeply:
It seems like the TWI teachers observed as part of Palmer’s article may have sufficient language training to teach in both languages, but it is not apparent that they have had any cultural training. This is a crucial part of teaching two language/cultural groups in the same classroom. Part of the reason why English speaking students were able to participate more in class was because in North American culture boldness and equality are praised, whereas in Latino culture reservedness and respect to authority are praised. It was not apparent whether the curriculum included any lessons on any culture.
Also, since for English speaking children the TWI program is “enrichment” and for Spanish speaking children the program is in most cases the best academic program available, there is inequality from the outset. Teachers and parents should put more emphasis on the necessity and utility of being bilingual for both groups. Unfortunately, this is difficult to reinforce if the student’s environment outside of school is English-dominant or if parents or even teachers treat it as “just for fun.” Included in the emphasis on true bilingualism should be truly bilingual teachers; in the article, Palmer noted that the main teacher was basically fluent in Spanish as a foreign language but had a significant accent. If the children are going to be bilingual, they need sufficient role models in both languages. Perhaps this means the lead teacher needs to improve her Spanish language ability and/or another fluent Spanish-speaking teacher should step in to help fill in language gaps in the curriculum.
Palmer admits she was a former employee of the case study school, so she may have had an insider view into the classroom culture, but alternatively she might have been hesitant to criticize any individual or the institution itself.

Harpoon Brewery Tour in Boston

It's an understatement that beer is very popular in Boston. There are many pubs (Sunset Grill, Publick House, John Harvard's...) that survive on epicurean beer. Boston is a great place to visit if you want to try many different makes of beer. It is almost as big a sport as baseball here.

There are two popular beer brewery tours here: Sam Adams and Harpoon. I recommend both. The tours are very similar, but at Harpoon the tour guide has a microphone so you can be sure to hear him/her. At the end of each tour there is ample opportunity to sample different selections of beer, but at Sam Adams you have about 3 or 4 samples of beer that is pre-selected and you sit at benches with fellow tour participants. You have to wait for the beer to be served, so actually it is a good opportunity to talk with other people. By contrast at Harpoon you can ask for as many samples as you want at a bar-style sample counter with about 8 varieties straight from the tap. If you want to try them all, I don't recommend drinking a full glass of each! My favorite was a light, orange flavored UFO White.

Other recommendations: Go early, buy tickets ($5) for a tour later in the afternoon and in the meantime get a fresh seafood meal around the corner or even visit the nearby Children's or ICA Museum.

Espaco Aberto Dance Lesson & Performance

In February 2009, I went to Rio de Janeiro to study dance. One of my teachers was Yolanda Demetrio of Espaco Aberto, a non-profit organization in Rocinha, Rio's biggest favela. I will post more pictures soon!

Fall Festival in Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture, Japan

I just got around to scanning these photos from film to my computer, about 4 years after taking them. Well, I'm posting them now because they remind me just how beautiful traditional Japanese dress is and how rich the culture is in festivals throughout the year even in small towns like Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture, where these photos were taken. I remember this festival too because it was where & when I met my friend Daniel from Brazil who was working in Japan at the same time I was. I'm entering a photo contest with these - grand prize 2 tickets to Japan. Wish me luck!

The Silver Woman

I saw this woman sitting outside of Lizzy's Ice Cream Store in Harvard Square and I asked to take her picture. She said I could get a better picture of her when she is performing, but I like her in this casual setting. Since taking the picture a couple weeks ago, I saw her performing in Fanuiel Hall downtown.

Island Hopping Boston

A summer ESL student of mine from Taiwan, a man dressed up in 19thc clothing working on a Boston Harbor Island Tour, and me. The man is dressed as a ghost of an island resident. In the 1800's Boston Harbor Islands had a population of about 2,000. Now just visitors come to pass time.

One of Boston's lesser known attractions is the islands just off the coast in the Boston Harbor. When you take the ferry from Long Wharf and arrive on one of the islands, you feel so far away from the big city. There's not much to do on the islands, but you can have a picnic or a walk and enjoy the view. Its a relaxing yet adventurous way to spend a day.

Boston's Chinatown

For my summer job, I took my students from Spain to Boston's Chinatown for a Chinese Dim Sum lunch. None of them liked the food, but it was an eye-opening experience since they said they don't have Dim Sum in Spain.

Boston's Chinatown is one of the biggest in the US, but smaller than San Francisco or NY. I recently visited Chinatown in Honolulu, HI and apart from some Chinese owned lei and flower shops, there wasn't a very good variety of shops or restaurants and overall was a bit more seedy than I expected. For example, at lunchtime we saw an Asian girl(?) standing on one corner decked out in clothes that made no mistake she was a prostitute. At that point, I realized how good Boston's Chinatown is. It can seem a little seedy, but I would never expect to see prostitutes so openly out on the street in the middle of the day. Boston's Chinatown is a little more family friendly. It has a great variety of Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai and Japanese restaurants. Presently one of the most hyped Japanese restaurants in the country, O YA, is located on the outskirts of Chinatown close to South Station's bus terminal. It is where you can get a $20 piece of sashimi that reviewers say is worth it because of the intense, intricate flavor. I don't know about the food inside, but I did walk by it and it has a very interesting entrance door, big and wooden like a castle from the middle ages.

One of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown is the Vietnamese sandwich shop at Beach St. & Oxford St. There are big delicious sandwiches for just $2.50 each and they also serve milkshakes and boba tea.

In Chinatown there are several Asian grocery stores where you can find the most scarce ingredients, and cheap. There are of course several jewelry stores where you can buy gold and jade items. And there's even Asian fabric stores for making Thai dresses, Asian salons, Asian martial arts schools, and probably many more hole-in-the-wall places I have not yet found. It is really a treat to explore Boston's Chinatown. Even though it is not geographically that large, maybe 6 blocks, the population and storefronts are packed in to those blocks densely.

New York City Student Tour - I love my job!

Myself, Carmen and Desi in Times Square. They are student group leaders from Spain. Coincidentally the majority of the students I am working with this summer are from Spain. It has nothing to do with the fact that I teach Spanish, but I am really happy to be able to keep up my Spanish while I teach English!

A group of Spanish students I am working with
Another Staten Island Ferry and The Statue of Liberty in the distance
Central Park in the view from the top of the Rockefeller Building
The M&Ms store near Times Square... colorful!

During the month of July, I am working for EC in Boston. They have offices all over the world in English-speaking countries. In Boston, I am teaching English for 3 hours in the mornings and leading activities for 3 hours in the afternoon. The weekday program is a great experience and gives me the opportunity to help lead extra weekend activities, such as last Saturday's day trip to New York City.

Our first stop was 47th & Broadway, or Times Square. Whenever I come here, I can't help but feel overwhelmed by all the people, buildings and lights. It is not a large area, but it is a very special area. The herds of people walking every which way make it impossible to walk quickly from one end of the Square to the other, making it seem larger than it really is. The City has blocked off traffic in Times Square and deposited about a hundred lawn chairs for people to rest in. We sat out in the middle of Broadway, ate our sandwiches and people watched!

We also went to the top of the Rockefeller Building for the view and then took a ferry to Staten Island and back to see the Statue of Liberty. It was amazing to see it in person after so many years of just seeing pictures of this national icon. After visiting these three places in New York City, we drove down 5th Ave, Madison Ave., and through the East Village on our way out. It was a short trip, but the time we had was well spent.

I am always impressed by the number of free events, entertainment, museums and generally interesting things going on in New York City. Its energy is actually tiring in a way, but also inspires creativity.

Also for someone like me who enjoys studying language and trying out different cultural foods and activities, it is a mecca for all things from other countries, since it is truly the world's meeting place.

Boston's North End Hot Spots

I wonder if the North End is still an authentic ethnic neighborhood, as its been a while since the Italians started immigrating to Boston.  But you can still here plenty of Italian spoken on Hanover St., the main drag.  Boston's North End is one of my favorite areas in this city.  I've spent several Saturdays wandering through the narrow old-world style streets on my way from Haymarket, Fanueil Hall or Downtown Crossing, just a short walk away.  There are several great Italian style cafes, including ones that specialize in gelatto, pastries, espresso, cigars, wine and liquors.  Also you can find small Italian markets with cheese, olives, salami and fresh pasta.  Lastly, there are small clothing and jewelry shops that are fun to wander in and out of.    Here are some pictures of my favorite places.

Photos #6, 7 - GQ magazine's June 2009 issue featured Galleria Umberto #19 out of #25 of the Best Pizzas on Earth, reporting "it represents what Boston's North End once was: bedrock Italian, absolutely old-world..." I had to see if it was true.  In fact, the best part of Galleria Umberto is the feeling you get as you walk in, that you are suddenly in a more simple time and place, say a Goodfellas movie.  The pizza was really good (not excellent), but the prices are fantastic.  Only $1.45 a slice!  Also they serve beer, which is a big deal for a small pizza place in Boston where it is difficult to get a liquor license.  The menu is simple, the prices are really low and the food is good.  Beware, they are only open for lunch and close at 2pm.

#3, 4, 5 Mike's Pastry: this place is in all the tour guides, as it should be.  It is just the coolest place because they have all the Italian desserts you could think of.  They are always super packed and you have to be a little aggressive to get your order (cash only), but its worth it for an indulgent sweet and some fun people watching.  I've tried the canolli, Boston cream puff, tiramisu and oreo cake, all good.  And they serve espresso with really cool rock-candy sugar on a wooden stick (to sweeten to taste).

#2 Modern Pastry: similar to Mike's Pastry but not as much seating and usually a longer line, so its been a really long time since I've been there, but I remember it was good when I did go.  Next door is the Paradiso, a cafe where you can order just about anything you want: coffee, wine, beer, ice cream, food, etc.  I remember meeting my friend Kate Tighe and her friend Tezeta there a while ago and it was really nice.

#1 A Great little Italian market, The Salumeria Italiano

Boston's Haymarket Fruit & Vegetable Market

 A view of Haymarket from a distance - you can see the traditional red brick old style of the buildings directly behind the market and above that the fog blowing in on the ocean breeze starting to cover the tops of the buildings.

Vendors accept cash only, of course.  Many vendors wont give change for a $20, so come with small bills and a backpack or cart and load up for the week!

Haymarket Square is an open-air area between the North end, Government Center and Faneuil Hall Marketplace.  The market is held every Friday and Saturday during daylight hours (except next weekend, when it will 

be open Thursday and Friday since Saturday is the 4th of July).  I love this market for its intensity, low prices, surprising selection of fresh fruits and vegetables that changes every week depending on what overstock shows up for sale, the diversity of foods and cultures represented at market and the atmosphere.  I enjoy hearing many languages, seeing people from different cultures in their traditional clothing, smelling the fruits, vegetables and seafood for sale, and even having to push through the crowds as the narrow corridors between stalls are always clogged with people, carts, strollers and boxes.  It is a crazy, unruly open air market and I love the unorganized, wild nature of it, so different from the orderly pricey perfection of Whole Foods.

The open air stalls face a building that houses several small Middle Eastern markets and a pizzeria.  I haven't tried the pizzaria, but the Middle Eastern markets sell many hard to find items at good prices including bulk dried fruits, nuts, spices, seafood and halal meat, incense, African made soaps and beauty products, tropical juices, and probably many other interesting things I haven't even spotted yet.  The last picture is me, happy to be hanging out at Haymarket.

Global Student

I wrote about my alternative path in education, skipping high school and going straight to college and taking several opportunities to travel and live abroad, for Maya Frost's new book Global Student.  It is receiving a lot of press already - check out this USA Today link!  http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-06-08-college-book_N.htm

And a Boston Globe book review:

http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/06/07/new_global_student_you_majored_in_what_how_to_love_provide_different_ways_of_learning/

ING Miami Marathon

January 2008 I ran the ING Miami Half Marathon, which I am really proud of since I was never a runner.  In fact, when I was in grade school gym class and we had to run, I would often pretend my sneakers had come untied so I could stop, rest and slowly re-tie them.  I am proud to report I did not do that during the Half-Marathon!  In fact, I remember in high school we had to run a mile and I timed in at 15 minutes.  I think some people can walk a mile faster than that.  But I actually finished the Half-Marathon in 2 hours 20 minutes, which isn't fast but is a better average than high school.  So its comforting to realize that you can become a runner at any age, really.  I just read about the twins Barbara Alvarez and Angelika Castaneda, winners of several marathons and triathalons, who didn't start their athletic training until they were in their 40's.  

Now that is inspiring!

Miami was fun to travel to for the ING Marathon too, since my dad is near there.  Miami seems like a very fun city to go out in, although I didn't go out the weekend of my half-marathon.  Actually, as I was arriving at the start line there were groups of inebriated people just leaving the clubs.  I thought it was a funny juxtaposition for 6am and it was the first time I was on the arriving-to-the-start-line side not the leaving-the-club side of things.

So after the ING Miami Half, I took some time off from running.  I wasn't sure it was for me, actually.  But I kind of miss it, the way it makes me feel physically and the clarity of thinking it brings.  But I still run a couple miles several times a week and just this practice has changed my routine and made me feel stronger.

The Last 3 Years: A Brief Update

After Japan, I returned to Boston and found a job teaching Spanish.  It has been a fun job and I have learned a lot about secondary education and how to teach a foreign language in general.  My third school year here is almost over, I can hardly believe it!