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.