Blog 6 - McKay

The last chapter in McKay was very intriguing and kind of confirmed a lot of thoughts that I have had with teaching English in regards to method. In my methodology class, we are learning about so many different methods that it is causing my head to spin; trying to choose the "best one" and what will work for me. However, McKay has calmed my fears in saying that there is no "right method." As long as the students learn what they are supposed to learn, the teacher doesn't particularly have to follow a certain method.

In this last chapter, Teaching Methods and English as an International Language, McKay defines a culture of learning, the spread of English and communicative language learning, and outlines how to find an "appropriate methodology." With the culture of learning, McKay says that teachers need to be conscious of the culture in which they are teaching. Every culture is different, has different social/political rules and behaviors, and just the everyday activities are different in every culture. It reminded me of the time that my parents adopted my sister from China. She was older and had hearing problems, so my mother was trying to teach her some sign language to help with communication. She taught my sister the sign for "bathroom," since it is a sign that we use frequently in our family. My mother said that every time she would use the sign for "bathroom" in China, many Chinese people would look and stare at her. It wasn't until on the plane ride home that my mother found out that this sign means a bad word in Chinese. She was not conscious of this cultural difference. This being said, I think McKay makes it very clear that we need to be conscious of the culture's practices and beliefs so that we don't offend or misunderstand our students. I liked the comparison that McKay described with the differences in English learning and Asian learning. It helped to clarify that culture is very important to keep in mind.

McKay also wrote about CLT, or Communicative Language Teaching, which some educators have supported and others have rejected. CLT focuses on interaction with learning a language; interaction between students and students, students and teacher, and students with culture. I do believe that there is some truth in CLT. I believe that the more students can relate to the material, the more interest they will have. Many students like interacting with each other and often get in trouble for doing it when they should have been paying attention to the teacher lecture. With CLT, the students are able to interact with a specific purpose and goal. I also believe that interaction while learning a language is important. It is important to learn more about the students and about the culture.

All in all, I really liked McKay's book. It has helped confirm for me some beliefs and practices I have had with teaching English. Just as McKay writes, every student and every classroom will be different, and it is our job, as the teacher, to do make sure that the students learn what they are to learn. No one method will work for each student and each classroom. The trick is to take what will work from each method for a particular classroom/student. Of course, along the way, tweaking it to fit our classroom/student, but still have that foundation on which to base our practices in the classroom. I hope that I can take the valuable insight I have learned from McKay and apply it accordingly to my classroom.

Blog 5 - McKay

Chapter one of McKay was very interesting. The author talks about the basics of English as an International Language and some of the difficulties it presents. She starts off by describing the three "circles" of English users: the Inner Circle, where English is the primary language; the Outer Circle, where English is a secondary language in a mulitlingual country; and the Expanding Circle, where English is studied as a foreign language. McKay also includes a handy little chart showing the countries where the study of English is prevalent. I, for one, was very surprised at what countries show English as its primary, or secondary, language! Some of these places I had never even heard of, let alone known that English was spoken there.

McKay goes on to write about some of the feature of English, such as communication functions and spreading of cultures. I especially was interested in this idea of spreading culture through a language. It reminds me of when I learned about the Greeks and Romans in my European history class. My professor told us that when Alexander the Great conquered most of Europe, the Greek way of life began penetrating into other countries and influenced music, art, language, and just the everyday way of life. In the same way, English has greatly influenced other cultures through music, business, and even just the way people look at others.

I remember when I traveled to Germany a few years ago, I went to a club where most of the music was in English. All of the people in the club were singing and knew all the words to the songs, yet when I tried to talk to them, they said they did not know any English. It was just very interesting how these German kids knew the English words to the songs, yet did not know how to transfer those words to speaking English.

I thought the factors that may impede the spread of English were really interesting. The fact that it may lose its preferred status is something that I don't believe will ever happen. English has been a major component within the world for such a long time, that I don't think it will ever lose its status. I thought the technology aspect was especially interesting. Technology has helped and improved so much over the past few years. So many people have the world at their fingertips. Yet, I believe that because English has had such an impact on the world even without technology, that technology will only encourage the spread of English.

All in all, I thought McKay's chapter on EIL was very interesting. It really broke down all the aspects of EIL and her easy writing stlye makes the reader think about these important issues of Teaching English as an International Language.

Blog 4 - In Response to Hall

Chapter six in Hall was really interesting this week. Hall describes how language and culture are usually taught as separate entities within the classroom. This presents a problem because it almost erases the student's identity. The student came into the class holding a particular identity of which culture was a major part. Yet, usually what happens within the classroom, is the teacher becomes so focused on having the student learn English or following the standards, that the student's culture and identity are pushed back. Hall explains that this then creates a crisis; the student is no longer allowed to be himself. The student is forced to conform.

Hall produces an alternative to this crisis. Incorporating the student's culture and language within the classroom. Allow the student to have a more active role within the curriculum. Use the student's background and history to influence the atmosphere of the classroom. In this manner, the student is given the freedom to keep his identity. The student is allowed to use his new knolwedge to change and influence his identity, while not completely erasing it.

I conncected this article with Bonny Norton's piece that we read the other week about allowing the student's culture to become an important part within the classroom (and not just because Hall mentioned Norton in the chapter). I believe it is vitally important to connect language and culture within the classroom and curriculum. Make the information relevant to the student and the student will be able to connect more with the material and will want to learn. I believe this works with any classroom, not just a TESOL class. Any student will connect more with the material if it is made relatable to the student. Now, I understand that this is not always applicable, but any way that the teacher can draw the student in is helpful and imporatant. It gives the student more power and feel less like and "alien" within a different country.

I think of all the chapters we have read in Hall so far, I enjoyed this one the most. I felt like I was really able to connect with the information and feel that it will help me a lot within my own classroom, regardless of the content area.