But the most practical information in the chapter (for me) was when Brown highlights the difference between ESL and EFL settings and what needs to be focused on in these different settings. It was practical for me because even though my degree will be in TESL I will most likely be teaching EFL in another country besides the US. That's not to say that I will never come back to teach in the US, but my primary reason for entering this program at MSU is to use my degree to travel and to gain teaching experience in other countries so the difference in approach will be critical when I begin to teach. Possibly the most interesting part of the chapter though was the section discussing English as an international language. This particular piece of information isn't anything new to me, but the second bullet point on page 136 about how English is used as "a tool for international communication" instead of a way to teach "U.S. or British cultural values" was interesting to think about because it stresses that there are many ways and situations that English is actually used in across the globe that don't require perfect native-like proficiency. Of course if someone was using English as their L2 for scientific purposes they may want to be more proficient than someone using it for tourism, but the idea that English is becoming an international or global language is just plain interesting to think about and I can't wait until I can actually view this phenomena in a realistic context outside of the US.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Ch. 8: Just Plain Interesting
Chapter eight of our HDB text was very short, but it was very enjoyable because it helped me to realize how many unique opportunities are out there for us as ESL/EFL teachers. I mean, coming into this field of study I already knew that there were a lot of opportunities worldwide for teaching English and that is the main reason why I decided to go to school for an extra couple years, but this chapter highlights many more unique situations that I wasn't really aware of. For example in the post-secondary/Adult Education section Brown talks about VESL (Vocational ESL), survival/social curricula, and at the beginning of the institutional context section he mentions courses offered in areas as specific as conversational English.
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I think that completely excluding teaching cultural values while teaching English, is impossible. Language is tied to culture. These two concepts are inseparable. To understand idioms, slang words, usage of certain words, we usually need to know the cultural background for it. For example, in American movies one would usually hear the phrase "He saved my ass!" or something similar to it. For Ukrainians this phrase sounds very awkward and stupid, as it makes us think, that the most important part of the body, that needs to be saved first, is the "ass." I am sure that there is different explanation to it!
Good point. There is obviously some culture that has to be taught with a language because after all it doesn't come out of a vacuum in space, but I think all the text was saying was that language teaching shouldn't be used to spread a culture (it can be used to inform the students about another culture though when needed), but that's just my interpretation.
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