Select a quote from one of the essays in part 1 and discuss how it was personally meaningful to you.
"We listen to the way people talk, not to judge them, but to tell what part of the river they come
from. These other people are not like that. They think everybody needs to talk like them. Unlike us, they have a hard time hearing what people say if they don't talk exactly like them. Their way of talking and writing is called "Formal English."
Reading the section about Martha Demientieff and her students felt very personal to me. I was living and working in a different country for almost 3 years. Teaching English to Foreigners is not and easy task, but it is certainly a rewarding one. One of the hardest parts for me in Teaching English as a second Language, was to build the students confidence. My students were so terrified that they were going to make a mistake, so they were often frightened to try to start a conversation in English.This was very heartbreaking for me because i really tried to stress that it was not important that you spoke perfect English, but it was very important that you simply tried. We as people should not all have to speak the exact same language, and the exact same
dialect, but we do need to respect one another, and try to listen to one another. It seemed as though many of Martha's students were confused as to which was the correct way to speak. I
truly believe that as long as you try to communicate, and try to listen to one another, there is no
right or wrong way to speak.
What do you think the author wants us to think about?
In this situation i feel the author is trying to simply get us to think about language, and how it is thought of in our country, and even though we all don't speak the same language, we are all still people. language is a barrier that is sometimes difficult to break through, and the sad truth in this country is that rather than taking the time to truly stop and listen to one another, if you don't speak the same language, or you don't belong to the same kind of ethnic group, people just don't want to associate with one another. It is sad now that our young children are being able to
recognize this. If we want to successfully function together as a society, we must make some significant changes.
Would anything from what you've currently read influence your future teaching?
There are so many things i have read, not only in this class, but especially Zaher's class that
will definitely influence my future teachings. In Zaher's class the readings in segregated schools,
was very sadly shocking to many us, but our readings in this class are almost contradicting. the
information we read in this class gives us a sense of hope and inspiration. The problem for me is going to be trying to balance the sad truth of what i have learned about the downsides of the public school system, and the theories about how children truly develop, and what is actually
going through their minds as they grow. I just need to keep in mind that i will not be able to
change every single child that walks through my door, but i will be able to give them some guidance as to where they will go in life.
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Ryan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. I had a similar experience to you, as far as teaching people who were "terrified" of making mistakes. In fact, sometimes, especially when teaching children, I felt like the "bad guy" who was somehow forcing them to do something they didn't want to do. Also, I began to wonder why everybody needs to learn English. Of course, we need global communication, but in a way, by teaching English abroad, we are contributing to world Americanization. I even had Australian and British English teacher friends who were asked to speak with and "American" accent. Food for thought.