Reflective Essay 1
January 16, 2011
English as a second language
The need for and the importance of English as a language, is felt by the government of Bhutan ever since the inception of modern education system, in early sixties. “We remain grateful for the wise policy of his majesty the late king Jigme Dorji Wangchuck to take full advantage of English language which is in fact the language- the language of the sciences, technologies, trade and international relations.” said Thienley, J.Y (as cited in introduction to English curriculum, 2007,
p .ix). Therefore the popularity and status of the language is perceived to be growing every day basically due to its versatility, flexibility and also the richness of the language.
However, teaching English as an international language is difficult in outer circle and ever expanding circle as the language becomes third or fourth language for instance. Yet, as a non- native speaker teacher, I think it is my responsibility to make a difference in making children understand certain abstract concepts like beauty, bravery, courage by giving those clues and hints in our own language. This can at least help elicit responses in learning the language from the learners.
But teaching English as a non- native speaker is experiencing, rewarding, satisfying and at the same time, studies conducted by Kramsch, 1997 (as cited in Llurda, 2004) reveal that the “Non-native speaker teachers are endowed with the privilege of being bilingualism, as their experience of switching from their own language to the target one enhances their understanding of the demands of the learning situation.”
Mackay’s (2002) found the following:
It cannot be assumed that the culture of any particular country, especially an inner circle country, should provide the basis for cultural content when teaching EIL. Second, if one of the goals of using culture in EIL teaching is to help individuals to interact in cross-cultural encounters, then merely knowing about a culture will not be sufficient to gain insight into how to interact in these encounters.”(p.82)
The knowledge of target culture therefore is paramount and required in order to teach English language.
While learning and teaching English as an International language, I prefer to relate ideas from my own (source) culture. For instance, while teaching grammar in the fifth grade, I can connect and share to the children on the difference the sentence pattern; English having Subject-verb-object (SVO) where as in source culture (Dzongkha) the sentence pattern is subject- object -verb (SOV). Another example I can draw is, a phrase ;a councilor wears a blue scarf ,the underlined word has a varying meaning in my context but to understand the exact meaning of the word used in context, explicitly, I need to rely to my own culture in order to settle to a desired meaning or an explanation. Hence, knowledge of a target culture is required but not necessary to “Have similar meanings for everyone. In line with this assumption, one goal should be encouraged when asking students to reflect on another culture is for them to consider what meaning particular behavior might have for members of the culture, and not assume that it is the same as the one they have.” as (Mackay, 2002) argued.
In ever expanding circle, as in my case, a teacher being the only sole provider of the information, is sometimes encountered with problems where he will not be able to elaborate for example in history lesson on “how and why was Pearl Harbour was attacked by Japanese forces” a teacher can explain what is has learnt from the text but certain parts will be missing and under such circumstances, teaching and learning becomes uninteresting and consequently hinders learning. Similarly, in Bhutanese culture, most of the homes carry pictures of phallus but to this cultural difference, others probably will consider it to be rude and obscene. And men going for ‘Night Hunting’- literally going to women at night asking for a date by consent or coercion, for instance will be observed as quite scary in western culture.
And to look at Gross National happiness (GNH), the concept certainly will paint a vague picture or perhaps not be of any interest to the readers at the other part of the world as it is a Bhutanese coined philosophy. And in some countries talking about happiness could also result in cultural conflict.
Therefore culture content ‘sphere of interculturality’ as Kramsch, 1997 (as cited in Mckay, 2002) had put it, is required to be practiced, in teaching English as an International language in order to best learn about one’s own culture and it is a step toward motivating your students. Tavares and Cavalvanti (1996, p19), (as cited in Idress) shared “The aim of teaching culture is to increase students awareness and to develop their interest towards the target culture and their own, helping them to make comparisons among cultures.”
References
Curriculum and Professional Support Division. (2008). Reading and Literature, Introduction to New English Curriculum; class XII; Bhutan, Thimphu.
Idress, A. (2007). Teaching and learning Culture of a Second language. Retrieved from:
http://www.deta.up.ac.za/archive2007/presentations/word/Teaching%20and%20Learning%20Culture%20of%20a%20Second%20Language%20Abdulmahmoud%20Idrees.pdf
Llurda, E. (2004). Non- native- speaker teachers and English as an international language. In international Journal of Applied Linguistics,14(3), 314-323.
Retrieved from Lecture notes, ELC 688 Blackboard course:
http://blackboard.umbc.edu
Mckay, S.L. (2002a). Teaching English as an international language. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from Lecture notes, ELC 688 Blackboard course:
http://blackboard.umbc.edu
Mckay,S.L.(2002b). Teaching English as an international language: Implications for cultural materials in the class room, TESOL journal, 9(4), 7-11.
Retrieved from Lecture notes; ELC 688 Blackboard course:
http://blackboard.umbc.edu
January 16, 2011
English as a second language
The need for and the importance of English as a language, is felt by the government of Bhutan ever since the inception of modern education system, in early sixties. “We remain grateful for the wise policy of his majesty the late king Jigme Dorji Wangchuck to take full advantage of English language which is in fact the language- the language of the sciences, technologies, trade and international relations.” said Thienley, J.Y (as cited in introduction to English curriculum, 2007,
p .ix). Therefore the popularity and status of the language is perceived to be growing every day basically due to its versatility, flexibility and also the richness of the language.
However, teaching English as an international language is difficult in outer circle and ever expanding circle as the language becomes third or fourth language for instance. Yet, as a non- native speaker teacher, I think it is my responsibility to make a difference in making children understand certain abstract concepts like beauty, bravery, courage by giving those clues and hints in our own language. This can at least help elicit responses in learning the language from the learners.
But teaching English as a non- native speaker is experiencing, rewarding, satisfying and at the same time, studies conducted by Kramsch, 1997 (as cited in Llurda, 2004) reveal that the “Non-native speaker teachers are endowed with the privilege of being bilingualism, as their experience of switching from their own language to the target one enhances their understanding of the demands of the learning situation.”
Mackay’s (2002) found the following:
It cannot be assumed that the culture of any particular country, especially an inner circle country, should provide the basis for cultural content when teaching EIL. Second, if one of the goals of using culture in EIL teaching is to help individuals to interact in cross-cultural encounters, then merely knowing about a culture will not be sufficient to gain insight into how to interact in these encounters.”(p.82)
The knowledge of target culture therefore is paramount and required in order to teach English language.
While learning and teaching English as an International language, I prefer to relate ideas from my own (source) culture. For instance, while teaching grammar in the fifth grade, I can connect and share to the children on the difference the sentence pattern; English having Subject-verb-object (SVO) where as in source culture (Dzongkha) the sentence pattern is subject- object -verb (SOV). Another example I can draw is, a phrase ;a councilor wears a blue scarf ,the underlined word has a varying meaning in my context but to understand the exact meaning of the word used in context, explicitly, I need to rely to my own culture in order to settle to a desired meaning or an explanation. Hence, knowledge of a target culture is required but not necessary to “Have similar meanings for everyone. In line with this assumption, one goal should be encouraged when asking students to reflect on another culture is for them to consider what meaning particular behavior might have for members of the culture, and not assume that it is the same as the one they have.” as (Mackay, 2002) argued.
In ever expanding circle, as in my case, a teacher being the only sole provider of the information, is sometimes encountered with problems where he will not be able to elaborate for example in history lesson on “how and why was Pearl Harbour was attacked by Japanese forces” a teacher can explain what is has learnt from the text but certain parts will be missing and under such circumstances, teaching and learning becomes uninteresting and consequently hinders learning. Similarly, in Bhutanese culture, most of the homes carry pictures of phallus but to this cultural difference, others probably will consider it to be rude and obscene. And men going for ‘Night Hunting’- literally going to women at night asking for a date by consent or coercion, for instance will be observed as quite scary in western culture.
And to look at Gross National happiness (GNH), the concept certainly will paint a vague picture or perhaps not be of any interest to the readers at the other part of the world as it is a Bhutanese coined philosophy. And in some countries talking about happiness could also result in cultural conflict.
Therefore culture content ‘sphere of interculturality’ as Kramsch, 1997 (as cited in Mckay, 2002) had put it, is required to be practiced, in teaching English as an International language in order to best learn about one’s own culture and it is a step toward motivating your students. Tavares and Cavalvanti (1996, p19), (as cited in Idress) shared “The aim of teaching culture is to increase students awareness and to develop their interest towards the target culture and their own, helping them to make comparisons among cultures.”
References
Curriculum and Professional Support Division. (2008). Reading and Literature, Introduction to New English Curriculum; class XII; Bhutan, Thimphu.
Idress, A. (2007). Teaching and learning Culture of a Second language. Retrieved from:
http://www.deta.up.ac.za/archive2007/presentations/word/Teaching%20and%20Learning%20Culture%20of%20a%20Second%20Language%20Abdulmahmoud%20Idrees.pdf
Llurda, E. (2004). Non- native- speaker teachers and English as an international language. In international Journal of Applied Linguistics,14(3), 314-323.
Retrieved from Lecture notes, ELC 688 Blackboard course:
http://blackboard.umbc.edu
Mckay, S.L. (2002a). Teaching English as an international language. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from Lecture notes, ELC 688 Blackboard course:
http://blackboard.umbc.edu
Mckay,S.L.(2002b). Teaching English as an international language: Implications for cultural materials in the class room, TESOL journal, 9(4), 7-11.
Retrieved from Lecture notes; ELC 688 Blackboard course:
http://blackboard.umbc.edu
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