Coming back to the issue of standards the upholding of Eurocentric pedagogical practices in TESOL/ESL in many multilingual contexts might be justified by the fact that governments and private agencies from the Inner Circle countries invest money and allocate considerable resources for English teacher training programs and professional development. The situation of Angola is the case in point. English has been gaining terrain in domains such as employment (private and public jobs) and training. These are areas in which Portuguese used to be the dominant language. Of course,this occurs not only due to the global hegemony of English, but also as a result of meager resources that governments allocate for language education development. In Angola, for example, English language teacher development is normally supported by foreign institutions such as the British Council, the American embassy, and the British Department for International Development (DFID). The latter also provides schools materials such as books and equipment (Vueba, 2001). English language teacher development programs coordinated by the American embassy are organized through seminars, workshops and online webinars. In all cases above, the programs are confined to conscious or unconscious legitimation of Anglo-American English language standards and pedagogical practices. In other words, whether the focus is on vocabulary teaching or other language skills, English second language teaching pedagogy privileges Standard English; that is, the focus on the rule governed systematic nature of language. These are just few examples of why the ideology of standard English is enshrined and legitimized in multilingual contexts, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (Rea-Dickins, Khamis... ... middle of paper ... ...s a process of cultural translation, or a sociocultural phenomenon with psychological and cognitive implications. From a critical hermeneutical point of view (Ricoeur, 1981) to appropriate a language is to engage in two important sociocultural processes, that is, the process of critical understanding and interpretation. According to Ricoeur (1981) to interpret is to engage in the process of double hermeneutics. Double hermeneutics subsumes understanding of what is to be appropriated; that is, a moment of self-reflection in which the understanding of oneself is critical. Ricoeur is suggesting that through appropriation of language and discourse opens up a new world that needs to be critically understood and explained. Sociocultural perspectives state that appropriation is a very complex phenomenon for one can only appropriate that which one has full understanding.
This marginalization is still prevalent today, as Black English is still overwhelmingly stigmatized and discredited in nearly all academic settings, particularly within American culture. Jordan’s demonstration that Black English is not given respect or afforded validity in academic and social settings still rings true today. Black English-speaking students see little to no representation of their language in the classroom, and are often actively discouraged from speaking the language of their community and of their upbringing. This suppression and delegitimization of a valid method of communication represents colonialist and white supremacist notions of language, social homogeneity, and latent institutional racism, and has negative, even dire, consequences for the students
Our world is full of different cultures and languages. Many of these different languages are mainly used in schools. Most of the time none english speaking students have a hard time transitioning between english and their native language. This could be a reason why school boards have provided programs like ESL, to help students adapt and learn american standard english. Recently one of the main languages that have been giving students problem to succeed in their education is African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Recent studies have been conducted to bring AAVE in schools which will result in higher test score, however people are disagreeing with the idea because they don't want their children to learn “slags”, but AAVE is not a slang, just like standard english AAVE is a language.
Throughout the span of the past few weeks I have traversed the globe, visiting several countries and regions, only to realize that although new methods develop, language as a way of expressing ones self has remained the most effective. Despite this fact, language still has its pitfalls. Neil Postman, in his essay “Defending Against the Indefensible,'; outlines seven concepts that can be used to aid a student in better understanding the language as a means of communication. He describes how modern teaching methods leave a student vulnerable to the “prejudices of their elders';, further stating that a good teacher must always be skeptical. He urges teachers of all subjects to break free from traditional teachings as well as “linguistical tyranny';
Daniels, Harvey A., and Urbana, IL. National Council of Teachers of English. Not Only English: Affirming America's Multilingual Heritage. 1990. ERIC. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
In December of 1996, the Oakland school board recognized Ebonics or African American Vernacular English (AAVE) to be a legitimate language. Furthermore, Oakland proposed that students should be instructed in Ebonics in order to help transition into speaking and writing in Standard English. This resolution was met with controversy as the opposition views the language as “slang” or “broken English”. Although linguists disagree whether or not Ebonics is its own language or if it is a dialect of English, “All linguists, however, agree that Ebonics cannot correctly be called 'bad English ', 'slang ', 'street talk ', or any of the other labels that suggest that it is deficient or not a full-fledged linguistic system.” (Rubba, 1997) It is incredibly important for these students to become fluent in standard english as lack of fluency makes it incredibly difficult to succeed in modern American society. Without implementing an education program stressing transition from AAVE, these students will continue to achieve below average, and will never truly become comfortable using Standard English.
Howard, Elizabeth R., and Kathryn J. Lindholm-Leary. Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education. Washington, D.C.: Center for Applied Linguistics, 2007. Print.
Laturnau, J. (2001). Standards-Based Instruction for English Language Learners. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. Retrieved on March 18, 2012 from: http://www.prel.org/products/pc_/standards-based.htm
TESOL International Association. (2013a). Implementing the Common Core State Standards for ELS: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher. Alexandria, VA: Author
The use of two languages, one of which is English, as mediums of instruction for the same pupil population in a well-organized program, which encompasses all, or part of the curriculum and includes the study of the history and culture associated with the mother tongue. A complete program develops and maintains the children’s self-esteem and a legitimate pride in both cultures. (Blanco 1977, p.123).
There are many things wrong with the world right now and that does not exclude the US, while there are many issues with dealing with an increasingly global society but none of them are as easy to fix and as urgent reforming language education. Although it is important for language to be standardized so that we can all understand each other, the state of language education is holding back non-native and native speakers alike.
O’Neill,S., Gish, A. (2008). Teaching English as a second language. South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.
“I feel that English language will be able to carry the weight of my African experience. But it will have to be a new English, still in full communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit its new African surroundings.” Languages are of a fluid and static nature. They draw from various origins, and grow constantly, changing with trends and tongues. A world language must
Many researchers like Krashen (1985), Harmer (2007), and Turnbull (2001) emphasise that in most EFL (English as a foreign language) environment, a teacher’s English proficiency ...
A decree issued by the Bantu Education in 1976 caused major upset amongst black South African students, leading to their opposition and ultimate protest of marching against this decree which imposed Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in half the subjects in both primary and middle schools. Not only that, but members at the time of the ruling National Party spoke Afrikaans which angered the students further as they saw it as the “language of the oppressor”. Both African teachers and students experienced the negative implications of this decree as neither had a grasp of the language. The frustration felt among students (and teachers) can be seen based on this example from an article from ‘The World’ newspaper, 18th May 1976 which basically reported students who “threatened to beat up their headmaster” because of the alleged sacking of the school board’s head for protesting against Afrikaans. Although other factors are considered, it was ultimately the introduction of Afrikaans as well as English by the Bantu Education system that was the im...
Over the years English inarguably has reached a status of a global language and commonly is characterized as a lingua franca. It has become the language that is spoken by millions of people all over the world; as the mother tongue, as the language used for international communication and as the language learned in the millions of schools.