Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
D May16th,2013 Title:WhereIStand
WhereIStand Myfriendandclassmate,David,toldmerecentlyaboutarewardingexperience
teachingadultimmigrantsatthePeaceResourceCenterinSeaside,buthesitatedto describethestudentsasgratefulforhisvolunteerteaching.Wearebothcarefultonot essentializetheimmigrantexperienceasthatofadowntroddenindividual,butmust remainaware,however,thatasteachersofthelinguafrancaofglobalization,weareina sensegatekeeperstowhatBourdieu(1977)coinedassymboliccapital;i.e.iflearners investinEnglishtheywouldinturnacquireawiderangeofsymbolicandmaterial resources,whichwouldincreaselearnersculturalcapital.(CitedinNorton,B.p.353). Investmentinthetargetlanguage(TL)isaconceptintroducedbyNorton,(1995)andone, whichalongwithBourdieusrepresentationoflanguageassymbolicpower,should,I believe,informeveryESLteacherspedagogy.Forwhereasinvestmentconsidersthe complexrelationshipoflanguagelearnerstothetargetlanguageandtheirsometimes ambivalentdesiretospeakittheoriesofmotivationtendtoviewthelanguagelearneras ahistoricalandunidimensional.(Norton,2010,p.9) Drawingonmyownexperienceasasecondlanguagelearner,Iproposethat
humans,othersthatitisasocialpractice.Gee(2011)arguesthat,languageinuseisabout saying,doing,andbeingandthatthroughlanguagewesustainculturalpracticesand institutions.(p.16)ForPinker,(1994)languageisaninstincttoacquireanArt,andthat everyoneofuspossessesthisremarkableability.Indeed,hewrites,languageissotightly wovenintohumanexperiencethatitisscarcelypossibletoimaginelifewithoutit.(p.3) Languageisalsodeeplypoliticalusedinequalmeasureforartisticexpressionandfor dominancebyaprivilegedgroupoverotherslessfortunate.Norton(2010)writes, languageistheorizednotonlyasalinguisticsystem,butasasocialpracticeinwhich experiencesareorganizedandidentitiesnegotiated.(p.351)Inmynativelanguage,for example,myidentityisthatofasisterandadaughterbecausemyonlyinteractionsin Albanianarewithmyfamily.InEnglishIenactmultipleotheridentities:astudent,a woman,afriendandsoforth.Thus,wecanstatethatlanguageisidentityconstruction,a multiple,complexidentityembeddedinthelargersocialstructure.
WhereIStand Thefunctionsoflanguagearemany,andgivenitspoliticalandideologicalnature,
thereareinanygivensociety,legitimatespeakers;i.e.aspeakerwhohasthepowerto imposereceptionbecausehe/sheisinaprivilegedposition.(Bourdieu,P.1977.Citedin NortonPeirce,B.1995)Bourdieu,(1977)writesaboutthemayorofPau(towninFrance) addressingtheinhabitantsintheBearnaislocallanguage,asanexampleofstrategiesof condescension;i.e.onlyapersoninpower,suchasamayor,canusealanguageotherthan theofficialFrench,andbepraisedforit,insteadofderided.ThemayorofPauisthus,a legitimatespeakerbecauseofhisprivilegedpositioninsocietyandhasthepowerto imposereception.NortonPeirce,(1995)extendsBourdieuslabeloflegitimatespeakerto includenativespeakersofaTL.InherworkwithimmigrantwomeninCanada,Norton (2011)detailsanexchangebetweenEva,aPolishimmigrant,andhercoworker,Gail,who asanativespeakerofEnglishistheonewhocoulddeterminethegroundsonwhich interactioncouldproceedandwhohadthepowertobringclosuretotheconversation. (p.13)TheinteractionreferredtohereisGailsrhetoricalquestiontoEvadontyouknow whoBartSimpsonis?(p.13)andthereforebypointingoutEvasignoranceoverBart Simpsonsidentity,Gailisrobbinghertherighttoaddtotheconversation.CitingBourdieu, Norton(2010)writes,thevalueascribedtospeechcannotbeunderstoodapartfromthe personwhospeaks,andthepersonwhospeakscannotbeunderstoodapartfromlarger networksofsocialrelationships.(p.350)TheimplicationhereisthatGailwasclaiminga superiorpositiontoEva,simplybecausetheformerisanativespeakerwhoiswellversed inpopularculture,andthelatterisanimmigrant. PreviouslyImentionedthattheoriesoflanguageassymbolicpowerandinvestment
shouldinformanESLteacherspedagogy.IbelievethisbecausemanyofourESLstudents
WhereIStand areimmigrantsorchildrenofimmigrantsandwouldhavehadexperiencessimilartoEva; experiencesthatmayinhibittheirmotivationtoacquiretheTL.AccordingtoUshioda, (2003)motivationcomesnotonlyfromwithintheindividual,butisalsoasocially mediatedprocess.Astudentotherwisehighlymotivatedmayfeelambivalenttowardthe TLdependingonnumerousfactorsinsideandoutsidetheclassroom.Fornoclassroom standsapartfromsocietal/pressures/challengesthatinfluenceandshapeit,andeach studentandteacherispartofhis/hersocioculturalmilieu,andcannotbeunderstood outsidethatcontext.AsateacherIwouldpaycloseattentiontoclassroomdynamicsand createanatmospherethatisopenandencouraging.Ithinkitispossibletofosterpassion forlearninginourstudents,butforthattohappenitisessentialtofirstdeveloparapport
nativespeakerswhenIimmigratedtotheUS.IhaveyettodevelopaproficiencyinGerman becauseIrarelyseekinteractionsinGerman.Ihavehad5yearsofGermanclassroom instruction,butverylittleinteractioninthelanguage.Now,IamapassiveGerman languagelearner,andbythisImeanthatIunderstandmostofwhatissaidinGerman,but amunabletocarryacomplexconversation.SwainandSuzuki(2006)write,fewwould doubtthatparticipationincommunicativeinteractionisasourceofL2acquisition.(p. 576)Theauthorsclaimthatwhenlearnersparticipateincommunicativeinteractionthey engageinlanguagingdefinedastheuseoflanguagetomediatecognitively demanding/complexactivities,(p.565)i.e.,learnerstalkaboutlanguagethroughlanguage inordertotesthypotheses,solveproblemsandsoforth.Producinglanguageplaysarole instimulatinglearnersawarenessoflinguisticforms,encouraginglearnerstopay attentiontoL2grammar.(Swain&Suzuki,p.565)Theultimategoalinlearninganew languageistheabilitytoproducethatlanguage.Interactionandlanguagingarecentral processesinL2acquisition. Thenextsectionwilladdresshowinteractionandlanguagingwillbeusedinthe
acquisition,becauselearnerswilldeveloplinguisticknowledgeiftheyexperiencetryingto usethatknowledgeunderrealconditions.Andfurthermore,learnersinterlanguage
WhereIStand
studentsinproblemsolving,collaboration,andprovideascloseofanauthenticsituationas possible.Tasksenablestudentstodevelopcontrolovertheirlinguisticknowledgewhile theyuselanguageunderrealoperatingconditions.Furthermore,trueinterlanguage development(i.e.,theprocessofacquiringnewlinguisticknowledgeandrestructuring existingknowledge)canonlyhappenwhenacquisitionhappensincidentally,asaproduct oftheefforttocommunicate.(Ellis,2010.pp.3839)OnetypeoftaskthatIbelieve satisfiestheabovecriteriaisadictogloss.Dictoglossisakindofoutputtaskthat encouragesstudentstoworktogetherandproducelanguageformscollaborativelyby reconstructingatextpresentedtothemorally.(Ellis,R.CitedinNasaji&Fotos)During suchatasktheteacherwouldreadatextwhilestudentswrotedownkeyphrases.Oncethe teacherhasfinishedreading,studentswouldworkcollaborativelytoreconstructand reproducetheoriginaltext.Thistypeoftask: promotesverbalinteractioninarealisticcommunicativecontext.Tocompletethe dictoglos,learnersneedtocommunicateandhelpeachothertoreconstructthe passagethisrequiresthemtoengageinextensivediscussionabouttheappropriate lexicalandgrammaticalformsthetaskpusheslearnerstoreflectontheirown languageoutputortalkaboutlanguageitraiseslearnersconsciousnessof specificaspectsoflanguageuse.p.109
WhereIStand AnothertypeoftaskthatIwoulduseinmyclassroomisgrammarconsciousness
anauthenticsituation,theyraiselearnersawarenessofmeaningandform,promote collaborationandbecausemyownexperienceoflearningEnglishexemplifiessomeofthe featuresoftaskbasedinstruction.IhadlivedinSeattleforhardlyamonthwhenIbegan myjunioryearofhighschoolwithonlyanintermediateEnglishproficiency,butwasstill enrolledinclasseswithnativespeakers.Thefocusoftheseclasseswasonmeaning:the meaningofatext,ofaformulaandsoforth.SincethesewerenotESLclasses,students wereexpectedtochoosethelinguisticandnonlinguisticresourcestocompletean assignment.Mostofourassignmentsrequiredreallanguageuse.Ofcourse,emphasiswas onacademicgenrenonetheless,idiomsandculturalreferencesalwaystookpart.Andlastly, ourperformancewasmeasuredbywhateveritwasweproduced:apresentation,agroup project,orapaper.IamnotproposingthatwedoawaywithESLclasses,andcertainly, whatworkedforme,willnotworkforanother.ButIdobelievethattasksgivestudentsthe opportunitytoproducesomethingmeaningfulandtangible.
WhereIStand Inconclusion,Iwanttostate,thatnoamountoftaskbasedinstruction,languaging
andinteractionwillleadtoL2acquisition,unlesseducatorspaycloseattentiontostudents investment,individualdifferences,theirrelationshiptotheTLandwhattheyperceivetobe assymboliccapital.Theworstwecandoistodismissaseeminglydisinterestedstudentas unmotivatedbecauseitispossiblethatthisstudentisnotinvestedinacquiringtheTLfora varietyofreasons.Perhapshe/shelivesinacommunitywhereEnglishisneverused,or perhapshe/shehasnotbeenwelcomedbythenativeEnglishspeakingcommunitybecause ofthecolorofhis/herskin.AndthusIfirmlystate,thatbeforewearetodevelopa curriculum,whethertaskbasedorcontentbased,weoughttodeveloparapportwithour students.Understandwhotheyareashumanbeingsfirst,thenasstudents.Askyour studentstowriteanaccountoftheirlanguagelearninghistoriessothatyoumay understandwheretheycomefrom,whattheywantandexpect.Andmostofallhave empathyforeachone.Seetheworldfromtheireyes,andbekind,forthatisthebare minimumrequiredforabetterclassroom.
10
Gee,J.P.(2011)AnIntroductiontoDiscourseAnalysis:TheoryandMethod.NewYork,NY: Routledge.
NortonPeirce,B.(1995).Socialidentity,investment,andlanguagelearning.TESOL Quarterly,29,931
Norton,B.(2010)LanguageandIdentity.InV.Edwards(Ed.),NewPerspectiveson LanguageandEducation(pp.349369).MultilingualMatters.
WhereIStand
11
Pinker,S.(1994)TheLanguageInstinct:HowTheMindCreatesLanguage.NewYork,NY: HarperCollinsPublishers.