I was thinking about my pupils and the linguistic diversity in my classroom this year. At the moment I have 25 pupils in my class. About half of them speak Arabic as fluently as English. Others come from mixed ethnic backgrounds: Britain, The Caribbean, Thailand, Holland, etc. One of my pupils was born in Amsterdam, grew up speaking Dutch, Arabic, English and understands a bit of German. Other two boys started last week and are at the early stages of second language learning acquisition, still developing their basic interpersonal communication skills in English. And we are just talking purely about language, not to mention the interactional, social, cultural, identity and religious aspects that come with the language. Now you can have an idea of what it is like to teach in a multilingual classroom – not an easy task, but certainly a fascinating one.
Today I received an email from Beatriz Fontana, my friend and former lecturer at Unisinos, telling me about a weblog project with her students. It’s interesting to notice how language learners interact through comments or hyperlinks, and the discourse used when talking about themselves or their own learning – lots of questions that would need a long post to write about – or a master’s dissertation, like I did. In the meantime, take a look at these weblogs published by some Brazilian language learners and leave a comment
It’s been 6 months since I last posted on this weblog but believe me, being a primary school teacher and a blogger is not as easy as it seems. I got swamped with work in order to maintain and improve the recently improved results of the last Ofsted inspection and had no energy (or time) to post.
I’ve recently arrived from Brazil where I spent all the summer holidays with my family and friends. I really needed to get away from this frantic routine. The school is still being refurbished and the last two days were a mix of dust, messy rooms and endless ICT jobs to be done. I will truly come back to real life tomorrow, when children restart school. Until the next summer holidays I will continue to dream with the blue skies of southern Brazil and the marvellous sunset of Guaiba river, in Porto Alegre.
Recent research in this area (Marshall, 1997; Robinson, 1997; Browne, 1999; Parker, 1999; Oldham, 1999; Sefton-Green & Parker, 2000) has suggested that moving image media may have an important role to play in augmenting existing literacy teaching programmes. Robinson has shown how the concept of narrative is a key bridge spanning cognitive processes associated with print and visual media. Her notion of language, culture and the mind coalescing around powerful visual narratives, in much the same way the mainstream policymakers have – perhaps erroneously – seen curriculum subject areas revolving around literacy, is an important contribution to the debate. Equally, Browne has shown how television and video are key components in the toolkit children use on their journey towards decoding the abstractedness of written language. Collaborative research from King’s College, London and the BFI (Parker, 1999; Oldham, 1999) has not only corroborated work such as Robinson’s and Browne’s, it has also suggested that a virtuous cycle of learning outcomes is possible when using moving image media whereby both print literacy and cineliteracy (FEWG, 1999) are fostered simultaneously. The dimension of ICT compounds these claims by showing how new child-centred software packages are attempting to locate editing within a language-based paradigm (Sefton-Green & Parker, 2000).
In other words, children benefit from a visual approach when working on their literacy skills. Not to mention that they love it. It’s also worth spending some time reading the section Reading Images, Writing Words. In our session at the BFI, we watched three very different short films and reflected on the importance of sound, camera angles and repetition as a technique to make a story more humorous. Below is two of the short films we watched. Have fun!
Since last week I’ve been using a new learner response system launched by Promethean called Active Expression. Used in conjunction with an interactive whiteboard, children can send their responses to the screen which can then be viewed and analyzed as soon as everyone has voted. Unlike the previous voting system, which children could only use to answer multiple questions, the innovation now is that users are able to choose text their answers, just like a mobile phone.
I’ve used it in a staff meeting where staff were able to carry out a self-assessment on the strengths and weaknesses in teaching Science. I’ve also used it several times during my Numeracy lessons – great for lesson starters and self-assessment at the end of it not to mention during the Spanish lessons. Children were very excited to used the voting devices to say what means of transportation they usually use to come to school.
The voting system has some technical hiccups that need to be sorted but nothing that discourage you to use it. The school where I work is part of a pilot project that should be finished by December.
First week back to school and I’m still going through that phase of getting to know the children in my class. Looking at some information about St Luke’s, I learned that about 33% of the children in the school speak English as an additional language, with 72% on the first three stages of fluency (according to Westminster’s guidelines). Not to mention those children who have already acquired oral fluency and native-like pronunciation / intonation but who give their linguistic background away when it comes down to writing.
These numbers reminded me of what Peter Trudgill wrote in one of his books. According to him, there are three different approaches to deal with children like the ones mentioned above or those who do not speak Standard English.
The first approach is the ‘elimination of nonstandard speech’. In this approach every attempt is made in the schools to prevent children from speaking their native nonstandard varieties. Standard English, on the other hand, is presented as ‘correct’ and ‘good’ – the model to be aimed at. Linguists believe this approach to be wrong for several reasons: 1. Firstly, it is wrong psychologically. Language is not simple a means of communicating messages but it is also very important as a symbol of identity and group membership. By infering that their language or nonstandard variety is inferior, we are saying that they are inferior. 2. Secondly, it is socially wrong. It may appear to imply that particular social groups are less valuable than others. This is particularly dangerous when the group stigmatized is that of lower-class black children and the one which is the model is that of white middle-class adult teachers. 3. Finally, this approach is practically wrong because it just does not work. The pressures of group identification and peer-group are very strong. Children do not grow up speaking like their parents, and they certainly will not grow up speaking like their teachers – their speech patterns are those of their friends.
The second approach is called ‘bidialectalism’ and has received intense support of linguists. This approach teaches that the individual has the right to continue using a nonstandard dialect at home, with friends and in certain circumstances at school. But it also advocates that children should be taught standard English as a school language, and as the language of reading and writing. By considering both varieties as different and distinct, children would hopefully develop the ability to switch from one variety to another when the situation demands.
The third and final approach suggested by Trudgill is called ‘appreciation of dialect differences’. This view states that if children suffer because of their nonstandard language, this is due to the attitudes that society, and perhaps teachers in particular, have towards language of this type. In this case, it is attitudes that should change and not the language. Children should be taught standard English but an effort should be made to change the society’s attitude, which in many cases, is utopian and unrealistic.
I personally believe that the bidialectalism approach is the most realistic and humane. Children not only need to have the structural knowledge of their language(s), but also the sociopragmatic skills necessary to use it (them) appropriately.
Today is the last day of the conference and many of the participants are already rushing to the airport to fly back home. I decided to stay and leave on Saturday. I had the chance to listen to the last keynote speaker, Rita Franceschini, from the Free University of Bozen, in Italy. She talked about future research opportunities on multilingualism.
According to Rita, areas that need further research include:
1. Historical aspects of multilingualism;
2. Multilingualism in business and the use of linguae francae;
3. Sociolinguistics dimensions, such as majority language speakers use (parts of) languages of minorities;
4. Multilingualism in the individual, especially how 4 to 14 year olds acquire two, three or more languages as well as learners in a more advanced age; continued studies on the acquisition of a third language (or fourth language) and the effects on those languages already mastered;
5. Computer mediated communication, investigating, for example, which methods non-native speakers of English, who dominate the internet, use to be understood worldwide, how problems in expressing oneself are overcome and which approach(es) is (are) taken towards cultural assumptions.
Well, I have to say that it was a very intense and tiring week but it was worth giving up my last week of holidays. Besides keeping up-to-date with the new findings in my area and making new contacts, it also motivated me to keep on reading and writing. It is quite easy to leave it for second plan once you’ve finished (part of) your postgraduate studies and have the hectic life of a primary school teacher (which, by the way, restarts next week.)
David Barton’s presentation on multilingual literacy practices on Flickr was very interesting and the crowded room was not disappointed. He showed how multimodal elements are an essential part of new literacy practices, especially by multilingual users of Web 2.0 and Flickr, an online photo (and now video) management and sharing application. David showed the case of a Spanish-speaker user of Flickr who uses both her first language and English to write the title and caption of the photos she publishes.He also analyzed her profile presentation, other users’ comments on her photos and how she responded to them. He pointed out that Flickr offers new opportunities for those interested in studying semantics in this digital context. Just search for family on the Flickr site, for example, and will you find unimaginable and diverse associations between photos and the concept of family. If you want to find out more about Web 2.0, I strongly recommend that you check out this video.
The symposium I attended in the afternoon was also related with language learning and technology. Teletandem Brazil is government-funded project from Sao Paulo State University (Unesp) which promotes collaborative language learning between students from Unesp interested in learning languages such as English, Italian, Spanish and German and native speakers of these languages who are interested in learning Portuguese. The difference between traditional tandem and this new concept of teletandem is the presence of a teacher mediator and obviously the digital context. It was very interesting to note how new language learning strategies are being used in this new digital context as well as the computer mediated communication that takes place in this conversation.
Wednesday is traditionally the “day off” of the AILA conferences but the morning was very well spent at the meeting of the research network on autonomy in language learning. The ReN, as it is called, focused on the links between identity, motivation and autonomy. There were a variety of papers, most of them focusing on the Asian context. It was a great opportunity to meet people from different parts of the world interested in the area.
Tuesday has been so far the greatest moment of this conference for me. The symposium on language learning strategies (LLS) I attended was mediated by Karen Schramm and Rebecca L. Oxford. Rebecca is one of the greatest authorities on LLS and I used mostly her work to support my undergraduate end-of-course dissertation, back in 2003 in Brazil. Her presentation on digital age learning strategies linked perfectly with my interest in both fields – computer assisted language learning (CALL) and language learning strategies (and autonomy language learning in a broader sense). Rebecca used Prensky’s terminology (2005) to point out that digital natives use different learning strategies when compared to digital immigrants. Digital natives here being the generation who was born with access to ICT from a very early age, as opposed to digital immigrants who witnessed the implementation and use of technology in people’s everyday life. Rebecca highlighted the ability of multitasking, seeking multisensory learning and social networking with people from around the world. Finally, she claimed that “young learners are not only able to describe their learning strategies but can (and should) actively learn new ones” and encouraged the participants to be involved in more research on technology-enhanced L2 learning strategies.
The day ended with the Beijing night at the University of Essen, where AILA presented the next conference venue in 2011. The most applauded part was certainly the host’s statement that buildings will be within 5-minute walking distance from one to the other, unlike Essen’s two different venues located in opposite sides of the city.
Second day in Essen and Monday was a very busy day with too many presentations to choose from. Sometimes you just wished you could be in more than one place at the same time.
One of the presentations I found very interesting was the one presented by Ariovaldo Pereira, a lecturer at the Universidade Estadual de Goias, in central Brasil. He showed how conservative and prejudicial Brazilian EFL textbooks are. They very often present families that are ideal and unrealistic (conventional mother-father-children constitution vs single-parents or alternative models), stereotyped image of the woman as uneducated, and issues that are not relevant to the books’ audience – teenagers and pre-teenagers.
Another highlight of the day was the keynote of Jim Cummins, from the University of Toronto, where he addressed the importance of valuing multilingualism and diverse backgrounds in the classroom rather than pathologizing immigrant students’ home language as a cause of underachievement. He also pointed out the importance of language policy in respecting and promoting these community languages.
First day in Essen for the AILA 2008 conference and couldn’t hide the excitement of taking part in such a big event. After feeling a complete idiot with my total lack of knowledge of the German language, despite my great-great-grandparents’ Deutsch blood running in my veins and clearly displayed on my face, I managed to find my hotel, grab something to eat and head to the conference’s opening. No language barriers are difficult enough for a willing linguist!
The opening keynote was led by Neville Alexander who talked about the current linguistic situation of Africa and the African Academy of Languages‘ realization in 2004 that colonial language should not replace the local languages. According to him, language policy is no longer seen as some irrelevant neutral feature of state administration but as an integral aspect of social policy in general. He also claimed that applied linguists should research and gather evidence of the impact of language policy on the economy and vice-versa.
The day couldn’t have ended in a better way: plenty of canapés, wine, good conversation and a comfortable bed after today’s ordeal of travelling from Stansted Airport to Düsseldorf Weeze.
The Chinese obsession for English will be finallly revealed to the world in this long-awaited documentary. I don’t know exactly when it will be launched but I will certainly be checking the Internet to find out when it will happen.
What really catches my attention is not the maddness of a country in teaching a foreign language to millions of people in months or years, but some people’s belief that they will be happier just because they know English. Of course I can understand (and applaud!) the sense of achievement and the enthusiasm of these people in being able to communicate in a different language. I’ve experienced it myself. I’m also aware of all the political and economics aspects of this rush to become fluent. What worries me though is how English has become such a valuable commodity, especially in China. I have to confess that watching a crowded stadium with people shouting “I can’t stand my poor English! I want to change my life!” not only scared me out but also made me laugh.
Ps. You can watch another part of the documentary here.
It’s been a while since I closed down my previous personal blog and got rid of my domain. I got fed up of writing about my life and decided to use other more private online tools to keep in touch with friends and family. But I still think that having a weblog is a great thing, especially when you have the time and really want to maintain it.
I decided to create this weblog for professional reasons only and nowadays I do not feel obliged to update it on a regular basis (though it might be a good idea to check it from time to time). I will post issues concerning my teaching practice, research interests and update the other pages on the top menu.
PS. I’m currently on holidays, but getting ready to fly to Germany soon and attend AILA 2008.
