Week 5 - Kuma and Hall

Kuma - Chapter 4 & 5:

After finally reading the right chapters (I had read chapters three and four instead), I came to the realization that I really like Kuma’s style of writing. His scenario in chapter four made me chuckle and see the absurdity of the investigator’s conclusion. Being Asian, I definitely have experienced some stereotyping. Many people think that because of my cultural background I am intelligent, quiet, and obedient. However, there have been instances in my life that I have proven the stereotype quite wrong. I am not saying that I am not any of these characteristics, but I do easily fall into them as well.

As a “foreigner,” or a non-native American, I am more sensitive to the needs of people who are of different nationalities. I am more conscious of the stereotypes and how that makes people feel. I think that being Asian has helped me to be able to connect well with other people who are a minority. Kuma’s readings has confirmed for me that I need to continue to be conscious of people’s differences. Every person is different, whether it is their nationality or their character, everyone is yearning to be accepted.

Hall - Chapter 4 & 5:

One point that really stuck out to me while reading chapter four was Hall’s point that “effective learning begins with making learning culturally relevant and meaningful to learners” (p. 75). I read that was like, “duh!” Of course students learn better when the material is made more relevant to them; any person will be able to remember information better if it is geared towards their learning style and made relevant to them.

I think that it is important to gear the material and lesson in a way that involves the students; gets them involved and active. For example, I learn best when I am doing something with my hands. I am more of a kinesthetic learner and learn best when I am actually doing the project or whatever the assignment is. I liked Hall’s idea of creating a school system that is geared more towards student’s needs and way of learning.

The only question I would have of this idea would be, what if the school system is focused so much on gearing the material towards the students that they loose focus of actual learning, of the standards that the school is required to teach?

Social Identity, Investment, and Language Learning

First of all, I really liked Bonny Norton's style of writing. She writes in a very easy and readable way that allows the reader to really grasp her meaning within her work. Secondly, I liked how Norton inserted the stories about the immigrant women because it made her theories and points become more alive and realistic. I always feel that I am able to understand a concept better if it has real-life examples.

I really liked Norton's idea about investment instead of motivation. When I did my student teaching this past spring, I was unsure of what to expect. I had never been in a classroom (I was homeschooled growing up) and was not sure how I would get my students to be motivated enough to do their work. As I went through the semester, I mostly modeled off of my co-operating teacher as far as what to do to get my students to do their assignments; I offered extra credit, verbal praise, and whatever else I could think of. Now, however, after reading Norton's article, I realize how much more my students would have responded to me if I had invested more of my time into them. To be sure, I did try to get to know my students and nerves had a lot to do with it, but after reading the article, I realize that I could have worked at it harder.

Every person, regardless of age, wants to know that someone believes in them. I want my students to know that I believe in the; that I care about who they are as a person. Sure, they might not always get the concept I am trying to teach, but I believe that as long as they know that I believe in them and care about them, that they will try their hardest to work and understand what I am teaching. Many students do not have a strong home life where they are encouraged by their parents, but as a teacher, I have the influence to help them know that they can achieve something, and Norton's article helped me to realize my fullest potential as a teacher.

What are some ways that we, as teachers, can help our students know that we are investing ourselves in them? So many times in our education classes, motivation is drilled into our heads, but how can we switch gears from motivation to investment?

Kuma: Chapter 2

One of the main things that really stuck out to me in this chapter was how Kuma describes what culture does to transform a society (pg. 10). He uses these wonderful words to describe: steers, offers, presents, shapes, equips, and nurtures. He concludes the paragraph with this sentence: "culture thus plays an overarching and overbearing role in the development of an individual" (p. 11). How true this is! Every person belongs to some type of culture, whether it is their family's culture or a culture that he has adopted.

For example, I was born in Korea, but was adopted to America. Although I am Korean, I am more a part of the American culture. It is all I have ever grown up with and it has definitely become "my culture." It has "done" all of these things that Kuma has described. This passage, and this chapter, has helped me to understand more about culture, and even though it is complex, it is a part of who I am as a person and who my students are.

Hall: Chapter 2 & 3

When Hall talked about social identity and how "our histories are defined in part by our membership in a range of social groups into which we are born such as gender, social class, religion and race," (p. 32), I couldn't help but be intrigued. As a history major in my undergrad, this sort of thing surrounded me. Everything I learned was about people coming from a certain social identity, whether the time period was the 1400s, 1800s, or present day. Every person has a social identity. You hear of the jocks, the nerds, the preps. Every person falls into a category.

However, I think that it is important to realize that no matter what social identity a person has, it can always change. Think about Abraham Lincoln. He was born a poor backwoods boy who had no real hope of doing anything grand, yet he ended up becoming president and being one of our most famous presidents! Just the same, each of our students will have their own social identity and I believe that it is important for us as teachers to not just lump our students into a category, but to really see them for who they are. Each student has something special to offer and it is our job to help that student feel important and like he can achieve anything.

Firth and Wagner: On Discourse, Communication, and (Some) Fundamental Concepts in SLA Research

I’m not sure if it was just me, or if this article seemed a little difficult to digest. If I understood correctly, the main point of this article was to re-evaluate research within SLA; mainly how a foreign language is taught to a NNS. Instead of gaining insight from just dialogue with a NNS and a NS, researchers need to use the surroundings and come from all angles in order to fully help a NNS learn the native language.

I fully support Firth and Wagner’s approach of using a holistic approach on language acquisition. I, personally, have seen this holistic approach used when teaching English. Four years ago my family adopted a nine year old girl from China who has a hearing impairment, and still has not fully learned English (of which laziness is a huge part of the issue). Instead of just using a cognitive approach, we also use a social approach. We try to take every opportunity to help her learn English. For example, we took her to the Indiana County Fair to help her know and recognize the various animals and farm vocabulary. By actually seeing and touching these things, she was able to gain a better knowledge of what they were. When I read the part where the authors described that some of the characteristics NS have when speaking with NNS are to slow the speech rate, use “shorter and simpler sentences…[and use] greater pronunciation articulation…” (291) I had to chuckle because this is exactly what we do with my sister in order for her to understand what we are saying. I was unsure if the authors condoned this or was merely explaining this common practice…does anyone have any insight to this?

However, as I read this article, a question came to me that I would be interested in knowing more about. Are there some things that would be better using the cognitive approach rather than the social approach? To those of you who have taught before, can you think of any areas where using the cognitive approach would be more beneficial? Or to those of you in the class who are NNS of English, are there any areas that would be more helpful learning cognitively rather than socially? Although I am a firm advocate of the social approach, I couldn’t help but wonder if there were some areas where a more cognitive approach would be more effective.

One last thought before I conclude… I was struck at how much the information and suggestions of the authors on redefining SLA research can also be applied to teaching in general. For example, when the authors wrote that communication is frequently viewed as a “process of information transfer[ed] from one individual’s head to another’s” and “prioritizes etic concerns and categories over emic ones…” (288), I thought that this is an area where teachers fail so often. When teaching, many teachers teach the information as something that the students must regurgitate and the focus is placed on memorization; the students do not walk away with a firm knowledge of the subject. My aim, as I hope many of the teachers in this class, is to teach (whatever subject/area) in a more emic, or participatory, way where the students will walk away saying, “I actually learned something and will remember that.” This article, as difficult as it was to read, helped encourage me in the way I want to teach (TESOL and Social Studies).