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?
A Blog about Travel, Culture and Communication
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)