Last Week 4/29

In Wendy’s story, she talks about codeswitching and using two languages in the classroom.  She said it made her feel a sense of belonging.  I couldn’t help but think of bilingual education just then and how much I love the dual-language program and think that it is the best program when implanted effectively.

It was interesting to read the narratives.  Wendy’s talked a lot about how much the English language was looked up to.  Phrases like “Language of freedom” and “language of dream” were used.  This makes me think back to how we discussed English as a language of power.  These people felt like if they knew English then that meant that they had a leg up on everyone else.  English represented “who they wanted to be”.  It was just so interesting to hear how much these people wanted to learn English and how much it meant to them.

I really like how this article talks about the successes in these people’s journey but also talks about how it wasn’t so successful.  Because of this “Standard English” idea people have, and because many people in America are so close minded and quick to judge, people who are not native speakers of English feel inferior and suddenly self-conscious.  I am not a native speaker of Spanish but my family is native speakers and I talk with them frequently.  I have found that when I was in Mexico, native speakers would obviously know you were from somewhere else but they never once judged me or made fun of me.  They were so excited that we were all learning Spanish.  If only people in the U.S. had a similar attitude.

Sandra McKay talks about the practice of “Othering” in chapter seven and how it is evident in discussions of native and non-native English-speaking.   Non native speakers are seen as lacking skills.  I couldn’t believe what I read about educators saying that in some countries they have different attitudes toward education and its function in society.  I think that a serious problem is that some native speakers think that they are superior and that non-native speakers should look up to them.  I think that is a huge problem in our society.  Just because we are speakers of the “language of power”, doesn’t mean that we are high and mighty and that we know everything or that our beliefs are more correct or better than other peoples.