McKay Chapter 4: Culture in Teaching English as an International Language.
This chapter explores the roles of culture in EIL teaching in terms of the cultural content of teaching materials and in reference to the use of EIL in specific discourse communities. When it comes to teaching materials, Mckay focuses on what cultural information is taught in EIL classrooms. In the case of discourse communities, the focus is on the way in which sociocultural practices influence how texts are developed and used.
In order to understand cultural content, the chapter argues that it is important to understand it in terms of the problematic assumptions that were made in Chapter 1. These assumptions are:
1) As it is an international language, the use of English is no longer connected to the culture of Inner Circle countries
2) One of the primary functions of English, as is the case with any international language, is to enable speakers to share their ideas and cultures.
McKay includes information on the role of culture in language teaching. Traditionally, this involves providing cultural information that includes things like literature, film, and music. One of the problems with this approach is that, if one of the goals of using culture in EIl teaching is to help individuals interact in cross-cultural encounters, then merely knowing about a culture will not be sufficient to gain insight into how to interact in these encounters.
According to Spradley, as cited in the chapter, culture involves what people do, what people know, and what things people make and use. Culture is ‘the knowledge that people have learned as members of a group.’ It is suggested that for a classroom to become culturally extensive, there are a few goals that should be considered:
1) Establishing a ‘sphere of interculturality’
2) Teaching culture as difference; within each culture exists a variety of national characteristics.
There is a question concerning whether to include the source culture, the target culture, or an international culture in EIL materials. It is argued that there are advantages to each of these, depending on how ‘the materials are approached.’ The materials should be used in a way that students are encouraged to reflect on their own culture in relation to others. Also, the diversity that exists in all cultures should be emphasized. I was especially drawn to the emphasis that was put on diversity in this chapter. I’m glad that she is suggesting that in EIL teaching it is important to show the students that there is diversity in every culture and that it is important to understand this when learning a second language.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
McKay Chapter 1
McKay Chapter 1: English as an International Language.
Ch1 is all about exactly what the title states. It explains the present use of the English language and the history while giving reasons why the English language is the way it is. According to McKay, defining a language as international relies on many factors. It could be a language that has a large number of speakers, but to be an international language as described in the book, it must be spoken by a large number of native speakers of other languages as well. A language achieves global status when it develops a “special role” that is recognized in every country. The special status can be achieved by making it an official language of the country or by requiring it as a foreign language.
This chapter contains a graph explaining the various roles that the English language takes. There are three circles, each containing information on the speakers of English. A) the inner circle-where English is the primary language. B) Outer circle- English serves as a second language in a multilingual community and C) the expanding circle-English serves as a foreign language. There are some drawbacks to this categorization, as McKay explains, but it is helpful to provide an estimate of current English speakers.
The author gives reasons for the spread of English; 19th and 20th century British and American colonialism and the migration of English speaking people to other areas were “of central importance.” Things like motion pictures, popular music, international travel, and publications in today’s world all contribute to the spread of the English language. The widespread use of English makes it important for countries wishing for economic development to have access to it.
Mckay also talks about things that might impede the spread of English. In the expanding circle countries, there is little need for people to learn English. This may be because they often have little need to use English in their daily life. I liked that McKay mentioned technology as a possible factor that could impede the spread of English. I’ve often thought that with so many translation methods available online, some people may be able to bypass learning a language. However, I believe that technology cannot completely replace the learning of a language in many contexts. I also liked that she mentioned the negative aspects of the spread of English, one of them being the rise of social inequalities based on a lack of access to instruction in the language.
Ch1 is all about exactly what the title states. It explains the present use of the English language and the history while giving reasons why the English language is the way it is. According to McKay, defining a language as international relies on many factors. It could be a language that has a large number of speakers, but to be an international language as described in the book, it must be spoken by a large number of native speakers of other languages as well. A language achieves global status when it develops a “special role” that is recognized in every country. The special status can be achieved by making it an official language of the country or by requiring it as a foreign language.
This chapter contains a graph explaining the various roles that the English language takes. There are three circles, each containing information on the speakers of English. A) the inner circle-where English is the primary language. B) Outer circle- English serves as a second language in a multilingual community and C) the expanding circle-English serves as a foreign language. There are some drawbacks to this categorization, as McKay explains, but it is helpful to provide an estimate of current English speakers.
The author gives reasons for the spread of English; 19th and 20th century British and American colonialism and the migration of English speaking people to other areas were “of central importance.” Things like motion pictures, popular music, international travel, and publications in today’s world all contribute to the spread of the English language. The widespread use of English makes it important for countries wishing for economic development to have access to it.
Mckay also talks about things that might impede the spread of English. In the expanding circle countries, there is little need for people to learn English. This may be because they often have little need to use English in their daily life. I liked that McKay mentioned technology as a possible factor that could impede the spread of English. I’ve often thought that with so many translation methods available online, some people may be able to bypass learning a language. However, I believe that technology cannot completely replace the learning of a language in many contexts. I also liked that she mentioned the negative aspects of the spread of English, one of them being the rise of social inequalities based on a lack of access to instruction in the language.
Friday, October 2, 2009
"Breaking Them Up, Taking Them Away"
In response to: “Breaking Them Up, Taking Them Away” by Kelleen Toohey;
The article describes a research project conducted by Kathleen Toohey in Grade 1 classroom filled with both L2 learners and Anglophones. In the study, the author examines some classroom practices that she argues contribute to the “construction of L2 as individuals and in doing so, reinforcing traditional perspectives.” The article argues that in this traditional perspective, some students become defined as deficient and are coincidentally excluded from practices in which they could have otherwise used to their advantage and grown in knowledge. The classroom that the author examined is described as being a particularly difficult classroom, meaning the children made visits to the guidance counselor often. She included information about the children borrowing and lending their materials, which she concluded was to maintain interaction with each other.
The practices that the author observes that contribute to the “breaking up of children” are a) location of the students. b) the management of the materials and c) the source of the intellectual resources needed to complete school tasks.
The author indicated from the research conducted that lending and borrowing among students was “reflective of the social relations of the children. Practices like copying and borrowing were frowned upon by the teacher. By the end of the year he children would physically protect their written works from other children in the class. The author argues that the practices she observed in the classroom (encouraging students to stay at their own desks, concentrating on their own work) establish each child as an individual. It is in these practices that the community learns to see children as “more or less adept.” In other words, it contributes to children being unfairly seen as more or less literate, intelligent, creative, etc.
When reading this I was reminded of my experiences in elementary school. Are there any of us out there who doesn’t remember how it felt at some point in their childhood not to have the “cool” lunchbox, backpack, or crayons? I feel like the author was illustrating what goes on all over the world in this article, and in doing so, connecting things like the seating position and the students’ materials to possible hindrances in the classroom. It’s important to learn all we can from studies like these in order to be more effective as teachers.
The article describes a research project conducted by Kathleen Toohey in Grade 1 classroom filled with both L2 learners and Anglophones. In the study, the author examines some classroom practices that she argues contribute to the “construction of L2 as individuals and in doing so, reinforcing traditional perspectives.” The article argues that in this traditional perspective, some students become defined as deficient and are coincidentally excluded from practices in which they could have otherwise used to their advantage and grown in knowledge. The classroom that the author examined is described as being a particularly difficult classroom, meaning the children made visits to the guidance counselor often. She included information about the children borrowing and lending their materials, which she concluded was to maintain interaction with each other.
The practices that the author observes that contribute to the “breaking up of children” are a) location of the students. b) the management of the materials and c) the source of the intellectual resources needed to complete school tasks.
The author indicated from the research conducted that lending and borrowing among students was “reflective of the social relations of the children. Practices like copying and borrowing were frowned upon by the teacher. By the end of the year he children would physically protect their written works from other children in the class. The author argues that the practices she observed in the classroom (encouraging students to stay at their own desks, concentrating on their own work) establish each child as an individual. It is in these practices that the community learns to see children as “more or less adept.” In other words, it contributes to children being unfairly seen as more or less literate, intelligent, creative, etc.
When reading this I was reminded of my experiences in elementary school. Are there any of us out there who doesn’t remember how it felt at some point in their childhood not to have the “cool” lunchbox, backpack, or crayons? I feel like the author was illustrating what goes on all over the world in this article, and in doing so, connecting things like the seating position and the students’ materials to possible hindrances in the classroom. It’s important to learn all we can from studies like these in order to be more effective as teachers.
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