SUMMARY
There were two readings for this week's assignment. I unfortunately did not read the first required reading, but instead read the optional reading written by Ryuko Kubota and Sandra McKay. It was titled "Gobalization and Language Learning in Rural Japan: The Role of English in the Local Linguistic Ecology". In the article the authors re-examine the role of English in a local context in a midsized city in Japan with a population of about 160,000 people. The city had an increasing ethnic population, with foreign residents from Brazil, China, Peru, Korea, and Thailand. The authors then examine a few different individuals who have differing language attitudes about the role of English, Japanese, and other foreign languages in their city. The authors then discuss the issues raised by these individuals' attitudes. An interesting point: "attachment to English observed among the learners seems to be influenced by social, cultural, and historical backdrops that reflect symbolic colonialism involving the superiority of English, American culture, and Whiteness."
"It is clear that the spread of
English in Japan in the form of increased emphasis on teaching and
learning English does not threaten Japanese langauge. Instead, Japanese
threatens the maintenance of the heritage language of migrant workers in
places like 'Hasu' because of the monolingual/assimilation orientation
for newcomers... What is also threatened or undermined seems to be
mainstream people's willingness to learn other languages and embrace
linguistic and cultural heritage of minorities." - Ryuko Kubota, Sandra McKay
The second reading was by Aya Matsuda and Paul Kei Matsuda and was titled "World Englishes and the Teaching of Writing". In this short article the authors discuss the complexity of the term "English language" and its relation to "World Englishes" or WE. They argue that the pedagogical implications of WE are complex. They state that determining an appropriate target variety of English in expanding circle contexts is difficult. There is a wide variety of contexts in which English will be used for any particular English speaker when you take into account the intranational and international contexts that occur in expanding circle countries. The authors then go on to argue that while these issues apply to speaking, they can also apply to writing, but with different expected norms.
"The
impact of the traditional focus on normative features is particularly
serious for English, which is one of the most extensively described
languages. Although the textbook industry is becoming increasingly aware
of issues surrounding WE, the development of specific strategies for
addressing language differences is only beginning to happen. The
dominance of codified varieties of English is constantly being reified
by well--intended teachers and editors who try to help students and
authors learn features of standardized written English." - Matsuda and Matsuda, Arizona State University
The authors then end their article with some "principles that can guide teachers who wish to help students negotiate the complex push-pull relationship between standardization and diversification."
They are:
- Teach the Dominant Language Forms and Functions
- Teach the Nondominant Language Forms and Functions
- Teach the Boundary Between What Works and What Does Not
- Teach the Principles and Strategies of Discourse Negotiation
- Teach the Risks Involved in Using Deviational Features
RESPONSE
It was interesting to read the Kubota/McKay article and see that the relative prestige of English and Japanese in Japan was influencing the maintenance of immigrants' first language. It reminds me of attitudes of assimilation in the United States. I suppose this could just be what happens when two languages are used in proximity with one another. One language will take the dominant role. I wonder if this is a colonial or post-colonial notion. But I am also sure that there are situations where two or more languages exist in proximity to each other that hold equal status. Really though, it just seemed to me kind of silly to type that sentence out. I realize that that idea is probably and idealization, and probably won't occur frequently, if at all.
And with the other reading, the Matsuda Matsuda article, it was fascinating to see that all the issues we talked about with teaching the speaking of English also apply to the writing of English. I suppose it is easy for me to forget how critical literacy and the ability to write are, since they have been part of my life since I became a conscious human being. But then also the standards I have been taught and reinforced to abide by, I took all these for granted too. I can't just go around the world being an English teacher teaching these proscriptions all willy-nilly. I gotta stop and think about what I am teaching, to who am I teaching it to, and how are they going to use it. Will I be equipping them with the tools necessary to achieve the tasks they wish to complete? Or at the very least, equip them with the tools to discover ways in which to complete a task?
I never though ESL would be this complicated. It's good though, because I like a challenge.
Regards,
TfM
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