McKay Chapter 1

“English in an era of globalization” explores the dimensions and implications carried when one considers English as an international language. Some of the dimensions that are considered include incentives for learning English in the globalized market, and the situation of English in the current era. This chapter also explores how the spread of EIL affects local languages.

            McKay offered that one of the reasons why English has earned such an economic status and prestige is the proliferation of narratives that insists learning English carries with it the influence and power the language entails. She said that “in reference to English learning there are powerful narratives of English acquisition that lead learners to believe that if they ‘invest’ in English learning, they will reap the benefits of social and intellectual mobility” (9). I would have questioned this claim if I didn’t experience first hand how powerful narratives can be, especially when one considers whose narratives they are—either when they are expressed by people I know or when they are expressed as propaganda by education systems and governments. One of the things that I remember clearly when we were interviewing ELL students from class was their answer when we asked them why they were learning English. Although their wordings varied, their message was clear—they learned English because it was a tool that they could use in being seen as a prospective employee in their chosen fields.

Moreover, McKay also offers three major incentives that facilitate the continuing rise of English as an international language. These incentives include economic incentives, educational incentives and mass media incentives. Two main factors that are to be considered in economic incentives include the use of English in transnational corporations (i.e. Ford in Germany requiring its employers to speak English but not German), and outsourcing (i.e. the “brain mining” in India as economically rewarding when the workforce knows English). McKay offers that educational incentives occur through the mechanisms in policies in educational institutions and government policies. These two mechanisms enforce the English learning in school systems. However, McKay problematizes this phenomenon by illustrating the economical divide created when government institutions decide who are “worthy” and who should have the benefits of learning English. The mass media also plays a role in making English a global language. Through movies, music and the Internet, more and more people especially the younger generation, find reasons to learn English separate from knowing it as an advancement of their economic status. One of the more enjoyable reasons I had for learning English was the movies. Movies are such a fascinating medium for entertainment not only because of the moving pictures but also because of the hidden messages and sentiments that they entailed. I wanted to know what my current version of Prince Charming was talking about and to do that, I had to pay attention in class while my English teacher was talking.

Canagarajah Reading

The quote that really encompassed one of the views that this class has taught me was this: “We now recognize that (a) because English is nativized in many communities (featuring diverse norms), we cannot treat these speakers as less legitimate “nonnative” English speakers; (b) because identities are hybrid and multiple, and most of the world is multilingual, we must conceive of learners as having identities that often accommodate English seamlessly with other languages… Suffice it to say that we are now compelled to orient ourselves to our learners in more specific ways, taking into account their diverse learning contexts and needs.” This quote is important because it speaks of how we really can’t even presume that there’s one methodology that will cater to all of our students. Like our previous readings have told us, we might encounter students who’ve been taught English in their home country or students who’ve been barely exposed to English. It wouldn’t help the student who learned English in his home country if the teacher was to start at the basic—teaching him grammar without considering the different contexts that he might find himself in. We’ll have to incorporate the English he’s learned in his home country into the methodology we use. The same could be said to the student who has to start from scratch. And yes, that’s easier said than done and I can’t even presume to guess that I’ll have an answer to that, years from now—but Troike has said that, “there can be no one ‘best’ method is undoubtedly the wisest approach.” And I think that’s what my ESL teacher did when she was teaching me in middle school here in the US. The government in the Philippines require schools as early as kindergarten to teach English, so coming to middle school, I already possessed knowledge in English—you know, I had all the components, all the bits and pieces that would have made me into this walking, talking-English machine. What I lacked was the finishing touch, the interaction/discourse—something that you can’t really experience outside of the classroom in the Philippines—that would have assembled all the pieces together. My ESL teacher provided that, she mostly gave me a place where I could display what I already know without fear of embarrassment. But with her other two students, she was more concerned with instructing them with grammar, vocabulary etc.

Lingua Franca English

I don’t know how to articulate what’s currently inside my head but when I read this article, I was taken aback at how simply Canagarajah blurred the dichotomy between native speakers and non-native speakers when he questioned whether there’s really a separation between grammar and pragmatics (do you have to be proficient in a language’s grammar if you could still communicate your message in the context you’re in) or can’t NNS “shape language to suit their purposes” just as easily as any NS can? I really don’t know if there’s a barrier that prevents a NNS from being NS-like. If there is, where does that begin? As a NNS of English, I consider myself to be proficient enough. Sometimes I forget that I’m not a NS especially when I’ve immersed myself enough in English that I think in English, that I dream in English. To me, English no longer is just a language that I use when I communicate with others, it’s a language that I use when I’m debating with myself, when I’m trying to unravel new notions. There’s no longer a bridge between Tagalog or Ilocano and English—I don’t have think first in Ilocano before I talk in English. Does that make me as competent as a native speaker? Or a LFE speaker?

            One of the things I liked about this article was how wholly Canagarajah described LFE. He said “the speakers of LFE are not located in one geographical boundary. They inhabit and practice other languages and cultures in their own immediate localities…they recognize LFE as a shared resource…” To me, it just boggles the mind. English, the way I imagined it to be, was a monolithic language, impervious to any change or influence. But it’s not. That’s not really how languages go, do they? They evolve to reflect the needs of the communicator.

Chapter 5

In Branch 5-1, Wong talked about Vygotsky's ideas in TESOL and the minority. He said that all children, whether they are "normal" or children with disabilities or from a minority, have the same capabilities of learning and should have the opportunities to participate in the educational discourse. According to Wong, Vygotsky "understood education as a tool for social transformation--for social emancipation and freedom from want." I think it's easy for us to take the easy way out--to keep the status quo and not transform our methodology to include all students, thereby preventing access to knowledge for all students. But Vygotsky said that it shouldn't be the case, we need to use education so that it is accessible to all students, whether they have disabilities or are in the minority. If given access to education, all students can use education to transform their lifestyle. The previous quote just reminds me of that saying, give a man a fish and he'll have food for the day; teach him how to fish and he'll have food for a lifetime.

Later in Branch 5-2, I heartily agree with Wong when she said we should "honor home languages and cultures, we need to bring bilingual and bicultural models into our classrooms and we need to change the climate--the culture of our classrooms, to foster respect for all languages." This reminds me of Jim Cummin's framework of language minority students in the way that he said that we should take an additive view toward the home language and cultures. We shouldn't expect our students to only speak English in the classroom because we're just merely denying them their identity. Instead, we should work so that our curriculum reflects respect for all languages.

Annotated Bibliography

Davidson, Keith. "The Nature and Significance of English as a Global Language." English Today 23.01 (2007): 48-51. Print.

In this article, Davidson states that although the use of English threatens almost 90% of the world’s many languages, people are still definitely multilingual in the way that we choose to speak English as well as our “native” languages. Davidson also points out that although English is a global language, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a standardized English out there that is accessible to all speakers. He lists the main varieties of English as: British and Irish, American and Canadian, Australian and New Zealand, African, Caribbean, South Asian, and East Asian. With so many different varieties, Davidson acknowledges that there is a certain kind of “dysfunction in international English that can arise” especially when English speakers don’t understand other speaker’s use of English from different regions. This article is helpful because it adds a certain dimension to my paper. Countries who use English don’t just accept the kind of English being given to them by foreigners. They find ways in order to make English their own.

Bobda, Augustin Simo. "Linguistic Apartheid: English Language Policy in Africa." English Today 20.1 (1999): 19-26. Print.

Bobda states that there are differences between British English and Pidgin English in Africa and this created a “British linguistic apartheid.” For example, Bobda postulates that the native English speakers didn’t want Africans and Asians to attain native-like competence and proficiency. Bobda argued that this apartheid is encouraged through “falling standards” of teaching English in the school curricula (19). This means that there’s lesser funding for schools to teach the standard British English. He argues that because of this Pidgin Englishes are developed more and more—to the point in which it becomes incomprehensible as a means of inter-communication. This will be helpful to my article because it will show an impact in which “standard” English is not being taught and how negatively it might be viewed as by other people.

Song, Jae Jung. "The Juche Ideology: English in North Korea." English Today 18.01 (2002): 47-52. Print.

This article talks about how English is taught in North Korea—one of the most reclusive countries in the known world. It states that unlike other non-English speaking countries, North Korea uses English as a means of venerating Kim Il Sung and its other leaders. This will help my paper because it shows another aspect of how English is transformed in other countries.

Qian, Niu and Wolff, Martin. "The Chinglish Syndrome: Do recent developments endanger the language policy of China?." English Today 19.4 (2003): 30-35. Print.

According to Qiang and Wolff, there are six assumptions that accompany the ESL teaching methodology in China. The first assumption is that “everyone in China needs to learn ESL” (31). For example, Beijing wants all of its residents to learn and be able to speak English so that its representation as international city will be strengthened. The second assumption is that there is only one teaching method suitable for ESOL. Qiang argues that this is simply impossible with the sheer number of population of Chinese wanting to learn the language and that one methodology will not be suitable for everybody. The third assumption is that Chinese ESL speakers can teach English even if they don’t have any cultural background. Qiang also disagrees with this assumption because teachers may not go beyond teaching the grammatical rules of English will certainly not help the students learn how to communicate in different settings. The teachers may not be able to correct students on proper pronunciation. This article will be helpful because it gives a snippet on how countries are handling their language policy to reflect their need to teach English.

#7

One of the things that were discussed from Chapter 3 was how similar the ginkgo nut was to learning. Wong said that both could be displeasing and sometimes be irksome. When someone steps on the ginkgo nut, it will release an odor so foul that someone wouldn’t be able to stand. The same thing could be said of learning. It is understandable that learning can be considered as an acquired taste. There are so many things that can be unpleasing and discouraging to a student especially when he or she is just beginning to explore the realm of learning—it make take years and hard work before the student develop the “taste” for learning.

            Learning could be an acquired taste because there are so many things that blocks a student from finding pleasure on the act. For example, the material may be too hard for the student to comprehend. Instead of trying to work on the solutions to a problem that’s too hard for him or her, the student may choose to give up entirely. He or she might not have teachers who encourage their efforts and instead highlight their mistakes, as well as understate their efforts. This environment fosters a state in which the student may not be as agreeable to learning. However, Wong also describes something called “problem posing” in order to help the students learn a new language in ways that wouldn’t leave a bad taste/experience for all involved.

            According to Wong, “students learn the new language through dialogue and meaningful activity.” It is not enough for teachers to give students the rules of the grammar and memorize thousands of vocabulary then expecting these methods to be enough so that the student could learn a new language. A more substantial help is needed. For example, Vygotsky claimed, “An activity that is generative of higher mental processes is a socially meaningful mediated activity. The source of mediation is either in a material tool, in a system of symbols, or in the behavior of another human being.” When I was first learning English, one of the activities that my teacher gave us was encouraging the students to read one after the other. When we didn’t know how to pronounce a word, our other classmates could help us. Sometimes, groups would enact a passage that we read in class. This only helped us volunteer more often and made English into our own language.

#6

This chapter really made me realize how many aspects of TESOL there are to consider. For example, the size of classroom affects how teachers should approach their teaching methods. They need to make sure that not only are they covering the agenda promptly, they also need to make sure that they are connecting with their students and making sure that the students are all on the same page. However, students in a language-learning class might be more difficult to handle than any regular classes because are there not only different levels of knowledge among students, there are also different beliefs and assumptions that may be conflicting with Western values.

Going from my experiences, I'm really grateful for the school I went to during middle school. In the Philippines, learning English was just another class for me. There was a barrier between myself and the language. Speaking it didn't nearly matter as much as passing the class because all my other classmates felt that way. When I came here as a teenager, I became that girl who simply watched from the window. Most of the time, it was hard to connect with other students; there was always that doubt that I would be able to communicate what I wanted to say. But when I was in the ESL class, that barrier was gone. I was with a teacher who had a tremendous amount of patience, someone who encouraged me to find the right words. It also helped that she only had two other students along with me who occupied her attention. She was able to dedicate her time and made sure that all of us understood the language and the culture that came along with it. I know that if I was in a ESL class with twenty other students, I wouldn't have felt as comfortably as I did then.