Kubota

I thoroughly enjoyed today's presentations, in particular the one about Kubota. Nawwaf presented some interesting discussion questions, one of which made me think critically about my personal life.

Nawwaaf posed a question about whether or not we should implement activities to raise awareness about WE at an earlier age, such as elementary school. The class seemed to agree that yes, it would be a good idea. However, I am curious how it would play out in terms of explicit or implicit learning.

For example, my daughter (age 3) is currently in a school where most of her classmates (perhaps 50%) are Dutch. The language of instruction in the school is English - the curriculum is British, and her teacher is Jamaican. We live in Qatar, where the local languages are Arabic and English. As far as I know, there is no explicit instruction about World Englishes in her class, but it is incredibly pervasive as all these international children work together in the same classroom. I am curious to see how this plays out in the coming year(s) and how this might present a response to Kubota's research.

"Lost in translation or a threat of terror?"

A friend of mine, also in the TESOL profession and living in Bejing) just sent me this article. I found it interesting and relevant so I am posting here:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-05/28/content_9902790.htm

Draft proposal - feedback welcome!

HERE IS MY DRAFT PROPOSAL. I'D LOVE ANY FEEDBACK ABOUT HOW TO IMPROVE IT! THIS WOULD BE SUBMITTED FOR A 90-MINUTE WORKSHOP FOR A CONFERENCE.



This session will highlight the importance and relevance of World Englishes in the Middle East, in particular in Qatar. The impact of globalization has made the
growth of World Englishes a critical issue in the field of TESOL both within the classroom and in teacher education programs.

It is critical to incorporate an understanding and acceptance of the different varieties, dialects, and accents around the world. The presentation and discussion will aim to attract and educate teachers as to how they can incorporate some practical activities into the classroom (e.g. dissecting local newspapers through examination of different vocabulary, grammatical structures, etc. that may vary from standard native speaker usage) to raise awareness about the different varieties of English. The discussion will involve active participation from attendees.

The ideas presented have their genesis in a PhD-level course that I took on World Englishes during summer 2010. In addition to the presentation and discussion, I will provide a handout with the scholarly underpinnings of this field of study. I will also include information to attendees as to how they can get further information and become further involved in World Englishes scholarship.

Codes

Code mixing, code meshing, code switching - ahhhh!

I love the theoretical framework behind these ideas that promotes the incorporation of students' L1 and personal experiences. Canagarajah's writing and the other research we have read seem to start a great dialogue about how code meshing can be incorporated into the classroom. However, I also agree with Robin's skepticism surrounding the contributions of code meshing to the field. I think much more research needs to be done in this regard to help us, as scholars and teachers, understand these concepts, differentiate between them, and incorporate them successfully into the classroom.

Who Owns Language?

I really enjoyed the documentary about who owns language. I think Paule's segments were the most resonating for me because of the emotional appeal. However, I also appreciated the comment one of the students made about "Nobody owns language but people are very possessive of language." How true! It is quite shocking how some people, whether scholars or lay people, feel they "own" a language and can dictate how people use it.

More on hotlines...

I didn't do an extensive search but this was what my most basic research yielded. I'd love to know what happens if any of you try calling!

http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxwhat03.html

Hotlines??

I think my favorite part of class today was hearing about grammar hotlines in the U.S. What are these? Who uses them (besides the White House, as cited in the documentary)? Who monitors them and give the answers? I would love to know more about this resource.

I was also incredibly impressed with the "Academic English Mastery Program" implemented in California. I could not believe that the grade 5 students were using such advanced metalinguitic language to describe their classroom activities.

I look forward to viewing the rest of the documentary at some point.

Enhancing Global Awareness with Young Learners

Reading Matrix site

Go here to check out information about publishing your book review:

http://www.readingmatrix.com/submission.html

Fun regional language

We've had a lot of discussion about our own different varieties of English within the classroom (e.g. Appalachian English).

Is anyone familiar with the expression "jeesum crow"?

Threat to National Language & Identity

I enjoyed the class discussion about national languages and the threat to national identity. In particular, I am intrigued by the heated debate in the U.S. context regarding Spanish language and bilingual education. A number of classmates have referenced the possibility of economics playing a leading role. Personally, I tend to agree with this theory that as the economic state declines, xenophobia increases and we see a backlash in every way, including the realm of education. I would be interested to see some empirical research that proves this connection.

I was also particularly intrigued by Robin's commentary about her friends in San Antonio and how their living environment has changed so significantly. In my opinion, I think it would be such a valuable and enriching opportunity to be "forced" to learn a second language. However I can also appreciate that it is/was not their particular choice to be relocated to a new environment without actually moving.

I look forward to further discussions addressing this issue.

"Balancing the Debate on Mother Tongue"

I was on vacation in Singapore just before this pre-session started and I came across this article that some of you might find interesting:

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20100511-215479.html

Kachru Chapter 9

Of all the readings we completed for this first day of class, the chapters from the Kachru chapters were the most interesting for me. One section of the reading that caught my attention was chapter 9, page 129, that discussed how "lexical innovations are, says Baumgardner (1987:243), 'a matter of pride among Pakistani speakers of English'. The authors discuss the "defining character" of Pakistani English. Quite frankly, I re-read this passage a number of times because it is so contradictory to my own experience with Pakistanis. When I moved to Qatar, one of my first teaching contracts was to teach a group of 30 Pakistani English teachers. They all worked at the local Pakistani Education Center. The majority had a high educational level and many years of teaching experience. However, I was hired to teach them American English. They all had a great desire to sound like native, American English speakers.

I mentioned this to some of my classmates during our group discussions today and we came to the consensus that it was likely another case of "it all depends on the context". Taking that into consideration, it is still perplexing to me why Pakistanis living in Qatar would have goals of acquiring an American accent. None of them (to the best of my knowledge) had any ultimate goals of actually going to the United States. And although there are plenty of Americans in Qatar, they are certainly not the majority.

Due to time constraints I will stop this entry here - but I look forward to discussing this and issues similar to this throughout the rest of the week.

Welcome

Welcome to my World Englishes blog :) More soon!