Over the last centuries, English has become a popular and widely used language all around the world as a lingua franca because of colonisation, intellectual activities like movies and international sport competitions and its easiness compared to other European languages. Because of the fact that there have been increasing number of people wanting to learn English in order not to feel ‘alienated’, the need for English language teachers has also increased dramatically. As a result of this need, the ‘native/non-native’ dichotomy has occurred. There are no clear and credible statistics about the number of native English speaking teachers (hereafter it will be abbreviated as NESTs), yet it is estimated that the number of non-native English speaking …show more content…
However, through the distinction between NESTs and NNESTs, teachers’ own language and identity is made superior or inferior either deliberately or in an unintentional way. First of all, just by identifying teachers as natives and non-natives, people perpetuate linguistic imperialism that eventually leads to spreading of English dialects all over the world by native speaking teachers and then decentralizing people’s own languages as Braine said in 1999. For instance, Ricento (2009) brought a new and sensible perspective to this issue. He proposes that the term ‘lingua franca’ is a blind belief. It naturally makes a language more privileged and teachers spread this mind-set through English. In addition to this linguistic imperialism issue, there is also a culture issue which should be noted. Some people may argue that NESTs more familiarity of their culture helps students to learn language in authentic context and interact with native speakers. They might be right to some extent but it shouldn’t be neglected that they also help spreading their culture, literature and traditions. Due to the fact that learners take their teachers as their role models, it isn’t hard to be exposed to foreign cultures. To illustrate, even the methods of ELT proposed by scholars are designed by ‘Westernized cultures’ and that’s why some of them do not meet the needs of other countries’ specific and different contexts in classroom. Kumaravadivelu (2006) maintains that cultural subjectivity is constructed through language and therefore language teachers’ role in education and cultural awareness is crucial. In the light of this information, it can be argued in closing that classrooms and teachers may be means of linguistic and cultural imperialism, which affect the students in the end without
As a baseline, teachers should be trained to acknowledge the resources and backgrounds all children so that they may be able to recognize the strengths of non-native English speakers. A wholistic evaluation of minority groups is necessary for their successful integration in to the education system, if traditional practices are to continue in society. Many children in poorer areas are forced to “code-switch” between their home dialect and the dialect spoken in school. Teaching one “correct” way to speak and write can have major implications for a young person’s confidence and
“Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez highlights the differences between public and private language use. Within paragraph five of his essay, Rodriguez claims, “[i]t is not possible for a child–any child–ever to use his family’s language in school. Not to understand this is to misunderstand the public uses of schooling and trivialize the nature of intimate life–a family’s ‘language.’” Rodriguez builds his claim through the use of amplification throughout. With attention to this, it can be shown that this is essential to his piece, with respect to this particular claim he is making.
As a former English Language Learner (ELL) student, I remember my ESOL teacher using direct instructions when I first came to the U.S. through middle school and high school. The teacher used modeling freely and placing me in groups with other students that were fluent in both languages that helped with tutoring when I had a difficult time understanding the teacher. Through this process of learning I began to communicate and slowly learned the English language. As a paraprofessional at Hillsborough High School, I use similar direct instructional strategies for my ELL students because it helps me plan in advance what lesson the teacher is going to teach and it allows me to clearly present the lesson in both the English and Spanish language.
Whatever the perspective, teachers can embrace different cultures in which children bring to the classroom their languages. Emmitt and colleagues articulate that children’s first language has differences in cultural context that can make meaning and reality. Thus, providing significant, authentic opportunities and a variety of goals into a diverse classroom can emulate real life literacy experiences. 2.1 Spoken English language variations Standard Australian English (SAE) is the variation of English amongst others recognized as the Australian official language, Fellowes and Oakley (2010). Subsequently, it is important that children develop competency in SAE.
About 400 unique non-English languages are spoken in the United States, making it one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. Even after almost 450 years since the colonization of America by the British, controversially, an official language has yet to be named. According to Martin Espada, writer of “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” the ability to speak native languages in America is a right that should be respected and not infringed upon by English-only policies. Conversely, Richard Rodriguez, author of “Hunger of Memory,” claims that English-only policies are precisely what non-native speakers need to be successful. As Espada and Rodriguez both offer valuable perspectives on the role of language, I believe
hang-rae Lee exposes the inner and outer conflicts the immigrants go through in the United States with his novels. Immigrants or first generation immigrants are under oppression to assimilate into American society and culture. Isolation follows to whom fails to participate in assimilation to the society due to the language barrier or cultural differences. Therefore, immigrants fall into confusion between their original culture and adapted culture that they suffer an identity crisis. In Chang-rae Lee’s first novel, Native Speaker, the protagonist, Henry Park, tells the story as a first-person narrator with flashbacks.
In her essay, Gloria Anzaldua claims that languages come with both personal identities and cultures. We are nothing whether we did not have our own languages. By telling the stories of her as a student such as when her teacher told her “if you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you do not like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.” (Anzaldua 206)
Throughout generations cultural traditions have been passed down, alongside these traditions came language. The language of ancestors, which soon began to be molded by the tongue of newer generations, was inherited. Though language is an everlasting changing part of the world, it is a representation of one’s identity, not only in a cultural way but from an environmental standpoint as well. One’s identity is revealed through language from an environmental point of view because the world that one is surrounded with can cause them to have their own definitions of words, an accent, etc. With newer generations, comes newer forms of languages.
Having the same language as others is something that brings people together-- whether it is around the dinner table, in an office, or in a grocery store. Language helps to bring people together and is a curator for community building. And in the eyes of many, this community that stems from a language is true, as long as the language being spoken is one that they prefer. For a long while there has been a “hierarchy” of language, and English sits a top of the food chain. When English is glorified, it is seen as the key to success and continuously other languages have been pushed out and looked down upon-- resulting in closed off cultures for others.
Of my point of view, I think it is important to fluency in the native language because it often helps to learn any other language. Parents must make an effort to make their children use to live with other nationalities, they must also have to be educated academically because they will understand what their children need better than parents do not have a good academic level. I read in some articles that there are some states in the US are making considerable efforts to help immigrant student families who do not speak English by translate the basic information that the family has to be knowing it. The goal of this is to educate the immigrant parents. I see this is only a preliminary solution, because it is very necessary to have parents or
A qualitative case study will be applied to my inquiry. Three participants from the Intensive English Program (IEP) of a southeastern university will be selected. These three participants are non-native speakers of English from various social, cultural and linguistic background, who come to the US to pursue their higher education degree (Bachelor’s Degree). They are placed in the IEP program to receive intensive training of English and prepare themselves to be qualified to move to the regular degree program offered in the university. There are three criteria for participant selection: first, they need to be non-native speakers of English and have been learning English as an additional language; second, they have never studied in a higher education
While I was growing up my parents wanted us to speak Spanish at the house or when we were around them; this taught me to be bilingual. Being bilingual is an amazing opportunity because you can connect with more than one culture. For my family it was allowing us to keep the culture we have from Mexico alive. Culture is dear to our hearts and we want to remember where we come from and never forget. Speaking another language is fun at some points because we go to the grocery store and the cashier would start having conversations with us in Spanish.
Literacy in America is like a bowl of different size buttons, if you pick one at random you never know what you will pick up. America is suppose to be a free form country that allows an individual or a community to broadcast their own language without judgment, this is not always the case. Amy Tran author of “mother tongue” suggests that English speaking individuals see foreigners language as “broken” just because they don 't speak fluently. Richard Rodriguez author of “Aria: a Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” suggest that being restricted from his native language discouraged him from entertaining the idea that he also could become fluent in “English”. Both of these “essays” are stressing the fact that foreign literacy is judged by fluency.
Questions of abandoning or maintaining one’s home language affects education policy in all immigrant receiving nations. Because of the consequences of colonisation, migration, nation-formation, traditions of exogamy, and modernisation, some degree of bilingualism is typical of most people in the world.” Today the most advanced nations realise that they can no longer be ignorant of the languages and cultures of other people on this planet. This is why bilingual-multicultural education was initiated. It was believed that this approach will build closer ties between the students’ community, their language background, and the educational plan of the school.
The Language Culture and Society programme provides us with strong theoretical and interdisciplinary foundation for the study of a range of educational practices across the human lifespan and in a range of theoretical and methodological perspective is brought to bear on studies that explore the nature of literate practices, democracy and civic engagement and participation in social life. The programme focuses on relationships between education school and the dynamics and changing structures of language, culture, and society. It examines connection between broader, social, cultural, linguistic, historical, aesthetic and political factors in education and the local context in which these issues take place. It has long been recognized that language is an essential and important part of a given culture and that the impact of culture upon a given language is something intrinsic and indispensible. Language is a social phenomenon.