Revisiting Canargarajah TESOL at Forty

In the beginning of the semester being a monolingual English speaker participating with many bilingual ESOL students and many who have taught English in other countries other than the United States of America, I truly did not know many of the issues that ESOL students and teachers faced during their everyday lives in the classroom. The only issue that I was faced with was the racism of Americans judging L2 on how they should already know English if they are going to live and have citizenship here etc. It was great to read about the importance of empowerment as many students and teachers can feel disempowered due to the lack of support needed by many branches of the ESL field. Empowerment, to all students, not just ESL can motivate students to become critical thinkers and problem solvers while learning the strategies behind them to better help them participate in the learning communities and society. It is important that all ESOL educators and professionals seek to raise awareness of empowerment for the students of ESOL so they may feel not only better with themselves as language learners but also feel comfortable with first language speakers of English. Educators also need to put a valiant effort into learner’s motivational experiences in coexistence with self empowerment. These two qualities can and will change the flow of the classroom towards a progressive educational experience while promoting the fact to the world that second language learners are not deficient and they are as equal to any learner. After all of the articles this semester and while revisiting this one in particular, I feel more comfortable as an educator knowing the issues that are still being contested with that I may be able to make life changing decisions for my ESOL students so they may feel an equal part of the academic community while living in a foreign country or in a country that speaks primarily English.

Nelson, C.: Sexual Identities in ESL: Queer Theory and Classroom Inquiry

Cynthia Nelson writes about gay (all types) rights in affiliation with teaching. Many issues are addressed that she feels that needed to be publicly addressed as our society grows with more people affiliated with this profession. Cynthia discusses the mindset of homosexual teachers should have and it should be a “queer” one which would allow more open-minded opportunities with teachers, staff, students, administration, families, etc instead of the negative stigma of sexual discrimination. The focus on gay teachers is an important issue that needed to be addressed and Cynthia did at the 26th Annual TESOL Convention by talking about the firing of gay teachers, hate crimes, and little/no civil rights. She acknowledges that gay/lesbian teachers should not hide their true identity as this can affect their overall outcome with peer professionals and personally themselves. Cynthia acknowledges that the sexual preference of a gay/lesbian teacher should not be anyone’s business and should not be up for discussion if the person chooses not to. The author also talks about the realities of teaching students from other countries who do not allow public homosexuality let alone hiring homosexuals for prominent jobs. The fact that these students come from countries where homosexuals have little/no civil rights and quite possibly death is another topic discussed in the article. Regardless she makes it aware that homosexuals live in every country and how students in the past have openly written about them. Rights need to be discussed, Cynthia says, and should not be hidden especially in the professional/college field. As not only gay/lesbian teachers exist but as do the students and their safety and equal education is at stake.

Over the years I have had only 2 educators that were openly gay with their students- 1 in high school and the other in college. The main characteristics that both teachers exuded were their open comfort about who they truly were and regardless of what lifestyle they chose should never conflict with their teaching and overall goal of learning from them. It is nobody’s business, especially a student, to ask me what sexual preference I am let alone is it mine to ask what preference my professor’s is. Nevertheless, I have grown up in a more open society than many students affiliated with this program and I acknowledge this will be an uphill battle for homosexual teachers when dealing with international students. As years pass as the author had written, all gay/lesbian people need more heterosexuals standing up with authority for homosexual rights.

TQ Dialogues The Hidden Curriculum CH1

Survival speech is very apparent in many classrooms around the United States where students depend on these skills to allow them to comfortably get through each day as smooth as possible. Whether it is conversing about what they want for lunch, how they plan on getting home, discussing their emotions about the people they interact with (friends, teachers, strangers, etc), and more. It is a technique that I feel needs to be introduced to an E.S.L. learner from the beginning and then expanded while incorporating more comprehensive and communicative language skills for the future. It is important overall that the student acquires the ability to think critically and to problem solve. As for myself using survival speech while visiting in Mexico, I can relate to students who are permanently living in an English speaking world where bi-lingual settings are few and far between. It is encouraging that we are seeing more bilingual signs in high traffic foreign foot traffic areas: airports, bus and train stations, and directions on food, appliances, etc. Life is very unexpected and you can only prepare as much as you are willing to study. Just like being on stage giving a performance- you can rehearse and rehearse and speak the script to a tee but anything in the environment can change the whole perspective where you need to be ready for plan B.

Chapter 3 Learning to Write Academic Prose in a Second Language: A Literacy Autobiography

I enjoyed Connor's advice for ESL writers. I have always struggled with number 4: learn to share your writing with others. It is something that I have always struggled with due to lack of confidence in my work. Doesn't matter if it is a teacher, friend, family member, etc. When I put all of this time and effort in writing what ever it is that needs extra attention, my biggest fear is does it sound right, do I sound like I know what I'm talking about, is there too much/not enough information, relevance, etc. I feel this is something that many students, both L1 and L2, deal with all of the time and it starts at a young age no matter what language you first learned. The fear of messing up and possibly the harsh reactions of past educators that have haunted you to this present day. This aspect is something I hope to foster in my classrooms as a TESOL. Students can hold back their true potential due to this lack of confidence/fear etc and we should help one another for the better- not just pointing out the worst. No matter what age you are or what level of proficiency you're currently at. We're all learners- yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Chapter 2 From the Periphery to the Center: One Teacher's Journey

I thought it was sad to read about how finding English teaching positions for ESOL students was quite difficult for NNEST. As mentioned on page 22 about how NNEST can contribute their rich multicultural, multilingual experiences to ELT are often barred from ESL classrooms. And then working with mainstream teachers, specialists, and heads of ENG depts with no awareness of ESL politics, are generous and tolerant of our differences and judge NNS's on their merits during the award of financial aid, hiring, and promotion. But the overall goal for any N/NEST is their recognition of their teaching ability and respect for their scholarship, taking active roles and assuming leadership in teacher organizations, initiating research, sharing their ideas through publications, and learning to network with NNS colleagues. I feel bad for these periphery countries who are losing English teachers due to poor salaries, working conditions, etc. It reminds me of some instances here in the US with the N.C.L.B.Act and how students, schools, staff, administrators, etc are suffering due to funding issues (which of course is caused by underlying preexisting issues- low test scores, inadequate materials, etc). Overall it seems no matter who you are, NEST/NNEST there are going to be prejudices against you. But it is up to you to show what you're capable of towards positive ESOL learning and achievement.

A Sociolinguistically Based, Empirically Researched Pronunciation Syllabus for English as an International Language

When speaking with ESOL, the #1 issue I have while listening to what they are saying is their pronunciation of the words. I feel it is very important to keep your own dialect, accent/etc but the clarity of sounds one speaks constitutes comprehensive communication from one to another. I understand from friends of mine who are ESOL say they feel discouraged when others cannot understand them due to their accent. It is not the words and how they use them- it all makes sense. But when words cannot be understood due to the improper pronunciation, it creates negative barriers where people listening will just nod to agree just to hope whatever they hear next will be understood, people may not want to speak to ESOL due to their difficulty to understand what is spoken, and I have even heard people say, just text me instead. I hope that "Americanisation" becomes dimminshed so that ESOL can be more comfortable in their own learning journies and not conform to the disintegration of their own language and accent. This reminds me of the ESL program I worked in Ajo (that I speak so much about) that also focuses on the international phonological intelligibility through the practice of listening to standard spoken English text. It was hoped that the program would help students speak more understandably with the pronunciation dialect, enunciation, pronunciation, etc skills taught within the curriculum. This is why it was very important for students to interact with others after reading the story by retellings, communicating, etc so the practice of social and informational exchange could occur with as few errors as possible. The students could guide eachother towards a more successful manor during the whole process.

Native or Non-native: Who's Worth More?

I liked reading that "foreign language teachers are international-minded people" because not only is it true but anymore, this concept needs to be "pushed" towards traditional (K-12 regular classroom) educators to help them better connect with multiculturalism. Efficient communicators, as Edge points out, is the more nationalistic view that should be used more often regardless as to where you grew up, how long, what was spoken at home, etc. As myself, a "native" speaker, I am always, daily, learning how to speak more correctly as I learn other ways to efficiently communicate. I feel that all learners of English are copying other speakers all of the time. I'm not sure if that's a "native/nn" thing but its understandable why its included. I feel its what examples you use that you want to personally incorporate what will help guide your proficiency, etc. The NEST vs. NNEST in schools should focus on can/do you know how to teach students that are ESOL whether or not you are a N/NNS. It's your competence and teaching skills that will be valued. How hard you have worked to get where you are today. I do agree that ESOL students would connect more with NNEST for obvious reasons that a monolingual NEST. But if the education is acknowledged during the training of the NEST on understanding and connecting with language barriers, difficulties, etc while learning, then this subject would be such an issue.

Proud to be a Nonnative English Speaker

While reading this article, I cannot personally identify what it is like to be a NNS but I do feel it is important to embrace who you are and all of the challenges that have placed you where you are today. I hope in the future as I study other languages that someone would "accidentally" consider me a "native" speaker. But for now my main priority are for others to look towards my prospective students as becoming more fluent and comprehensive English language speakers and in hopes that they are "mistaken" as being "native" speakers of English.

TEIL McKay CH1-4

Ch1: English as an International Language

While reading the statistics of countries that give special status to English opened my eyes to the reality of how many people per country use English for those purposes. It made me feel a little better choosing this as my next career path in hopes of having a job :) The fact of economic means, at least in my life & others expanding their educational background, are affected tremendously if you cannot live up to economic expectations that higher educational facilities demand. I have been fortunate enough to live a life of privilege when it comes to receiving higher education (and travel). Those students (and countries) that cannot receive higher education due to economic issues pose restriction in many areas of their personal and professional lives. Though the realities of competition is quite relevant- as they mentioned how the international languages of the Internet are slowly translating to their first language since more than 80% of the text found online is English based. This can give individuals who want to learn English (or any other language) more opportunities to do so by cheaper means. But unfortunately for all of us, those days will not be seen for many years still down the road.

As an elementary/early childhood teacher, I have been quite aware of the negative view of western-culture due to colonialism- especially in history books. As they mentioned that English teaching itself promoting negative view of non-westerners was hard to read but sadly is true as they disseminate books and ideas that portray these such images of stereotyping etc. I hope by that as more and more of TESOL educators graduate and conduct in the field of teaching English and culture that it will begin to change for the more positive.

Ch2: Bilingual Users of English

I have been reading many articles now about the negative usage of "native speaker" and how it is looked at as a metaphor than a relative term of language speakers and I agree that "multi-competence" and "English-knowing bilinguals" are better terms explaining persons seeking proficiency of another language (2nd, 3rd, etc). Also the multiple confusing definitions of "mother-tongue"- I always thought this term was irrelevant because what if you were adopted from another country while an infant? This wouldn't apply to you then; would you be considered an "adopted-tongue"? Regardless, it is comforting to read that "...we can change identities...we can join new groups" in the sense of acquiring new languages and obtaining levels of fluency and competency. I hope that teachers always remember that when teaching language that it is not reflected with the words of succeed and fail- "failure to achieve native-speaker competence" because I've not only experienced that with myself, but I have seen it in classrooms in elementary schools and with some of the students here in this program who feel that they are not confident to even speak at all in a classroom because of the feeling of incompetence or whatever mental attitude they have that holds them back. I hope that we as teachers can foster these perceptions in a positive light for all ages that are acquiring a new language. It was interesting to read about the levels of "circles", especially Outer Circle countries and the acknowledgment of code-choices- "an index of the rights and obligations that exist among participants in a given interaction". This I found helpful when reading later in the chapters about "standard" English and its relevance to specific "circle" countries.

Ch3: Standards for English as an International Language

I was glad to read the acknowledgment of "accent association" with "standard" in a positive sense because I feel that many students are holding themselves back in their language learning due to the difficulties of acquiring a "standard-sounding" English accent. Accent allows all of us to have our individuality but the most important feature, no matter what, is the clarity of the language being spoken. I personally feel bad having to ask my friends that are L2 speakers of English to repeat themselves because of their accent, but I know that this is something that I need to train myself to learn so I may better understand what they are saying. I know even living and growing up in USA that I have visited other areas in the SAME country and having people tell me that I have a funny accent/ asking me to repeat myself due to this. I believe this is what Kachru referred to as cline of bilingualism to describe the range of varieties of English used by individuals within one country. Having noted this, I cannot fathom what, let alone where, at least in USA, linguists would consider having the most "standard" accent/dialect to teach "standard" English due to the wide variety of immigrants from all over the world who have settled here creating many generations of inter-mixing cultural families across this country.

Ch4: Culture in Teaching English as an International Language

While teaching my Pennsylvanian/ Pittsburgh and even North Eastern cultures to my students in the South West was an aesthetic adventure in a half when trying to teach cross culturally both with literature and figuratively. For example- teaching "Groundhog Day" was completely new for them having no real reason to learn it since their seasons are not in any extreme comparison to the North East's. Prior to teaching them this tradition, there were extensive lesson plans about why we celebrate it, what it means, when it was started, who the groundhog is, relevance, etc. Being that I was teaching 1st graders, there were many books, pictures, story-boards, vocabulary, and television footage used in order to effectively teach this lesson. Needless to say it involved many aspects of aesthetics but also it involved the personal relationships they had about the lesson- change and awareness of the seasons and weather. Even though the chances of snowfall in their town was once every 20 years (which is the truth), there were other aspects of weather change they could attribute as we do in the North East. Never-the-less, it can be difficult to teach any form of culture if the student cannot devote any type of personal background to the information given or reflect on how their own culture contrasts with it.

Kumar Stereotyping & Cultural Assimulation

While reading this week in Kumar’s book, I was completely visual the whole time on many topics he had written about during chapter 4’s stereotyping and also the delusions of cultural assimilation in chapter 5. The story about the Korean pilots “purposely” killing almost their entire flight was mind boggling to me that someone would allow their beliefs to override their common sense features. I do understand the notion of not commanding authority, but out of life and death- let alone other’s lives and your purpose of being a pilot, I can only imagine the disbelief the families felt when they found out that their love one could have been alive today if that person’s personal beliefs did not override his decision making. I hope that these pilots did not learn this behavior in flight school.

The whole rest of the chapter about stereotyping caught my attention immediately since it made me reflect as an educator and a person- this is one of the main reasons why I chose to enter the program of TESOL aside from many other reasons and opportunities. My background as an individual is quite eclectic. Living and growing up in a Pittsburgh, where many years ago was the epicenter of immigration close to the standards of New York City, has allowed my lifestyle and personality to be multi-ethnic on a daily basis. Whether it’s whichever town I drive through, the churches and social clubs I pass, what stores or restaurants I stop at, etc really embark as to what it is like to live in a city enriched with culture at your fingertips…literally. Having said that, even in 2009, Pittsburgh and the areas surrounding it, are still segregated communities that focus on a particular culture- Squirrel Hill, mostly Jewish community, Polish Hill- need I say more, North Side, Germany, Greenfield, Scotch & Irish…People of their “people” still protect themselves in a way that other’s would not in cities that are not as “tight knit”. I personally know people who have grown up in many of these areas listed above who still speak in the frame of mind of the “old country” with not wanting to have anything to do with anyone that is not of their culture. Anyone that is a “threat” to them, as in someone that is outside of their ethnicity, poses neglect, stereotyping, racism, etc. When I chose to take the position out in Ajo, AZ, someone close to me asked what would I want to do working with a bunch of illegal aliens trying to take our jobs and crowd our classrooms? Later on another infuriating question arose as to: “Do you really want to work with ‘those kind of people’ for the rest of your life?” Obviously I was flabbergasted by the negativity and hostility these people had about working with individuals that are “immigrants or L2”- but only one question came out of my mouth after being drilled: “Isn’t your family from ‘off the boat’ and had to go through the same processes “these people” are going through…if not worse?” This is the frame of mind that I hope to help educate years down the road during my career as a TESOL educator (aside from many others) because I truly believe that civilization (school, professional, community, governmental, etc) can be accepting of EVERYONE’S cultural background but it’s their personal beliefs that have to be respected.

The delusions mentioned about cultural assimilation are quite clear that personal regards to their ethnicity has been uprooted and forgotten as so many immigrants (including my own family) as they tried to fit into American standard of living. Few things come to mind. 1, I dated a guy in college whose mother’s parents had immigrated here right before she was born. When they settled here, they changed their last name from Petrillo to Petril so they would not be judged for being Italian. That always struck me in disbelief since I obviously did not grow up in the age of extreme immigration and racism in America but having all of this time go by and knowing that your family members did this to “survive”, wouldn’t you consider having your last name changed back to its original form? Yes I know that’s a pain due to documents sake etc, but for the sense of who you are and where you (or your family) came from- something to think about I guess. 2, my mother’s side of the family celebrated their culture more than my father’s side- which I think has influenced me to behave in a more ethnic way due to this. Now we don’t go “all out” and celebrate any other holidays than the ‘norm’ here in the USA but we do the food, church, and ceremonies before meals that I know not many families participate if you’re from Slovak/Russian decent. While cleaning out my parent’s house I had run across my deceased grandfather’s photo album that his wife, my grandmother who I never met, continuously made from the time they were married until her death. What interested me was the ‘look alikes’ of all their other friends and relatives and the socials they participated in. My mother informed me that they would go to the Slovak club every Saturday night with their friends and do what they did…as you can imagine. Slovaks associated with other Slovaks and that’s just the way it was back then. You wouldn’t dare walking into any other ethnic club (Italian, German, etc…) unless you were invited by a guest. Even so, my mom said, you stood out. Having thought about this, if you drive around the Pittsburgh area, and I am originally from West Mifflin/Duquesne area, many of these ethnic social clubs have since closed and moved on one way shape of form. There are a few still surviving but it’s mostly fire halls, VFW’s, Knights of Columbus’s. Yes many have probably closed due to the shut down of the mill, people then venturing off into other parts of the country for professional, educational, or personal reasons, etc. What makes me think is this- there has never been a time in my life where I thought, ‘gee, I should join a club just for my ethnicity’. But then realism comes into play- my cultural background has about 4 ethnicities…which one would I choose anyways if any one of them where even open? My point is that as generations have evolved in this country specifically, it is easier for us to forget about where we came from if our ancestors didn’t want to involve us in the first place. My mother used to be able to speak fluently in Slovak and her father could still speak Russian but it has since vanished from her cognition due to her relatives dying off and others not having a need for it. Same for the little cultural things we used to do during Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter- it’s not the same anymore when someone dies (like the ones that hold the family together) and no one wants to keep the traditions going. I feel that holidays and family gatherings anymore (not just with my family but with other families that I have been invited to) are nothing more than sitting in front of the TV watching something sports related or reality trash, kids constantly on their cell phones, and the wives upstairs chatting as they do. In my own family, my brother and I became quite aggravated during a holiday watching our younger cousins wanting nothing to do with anyone except who was on the other end of their phone. So we’ve slowly tried to incorporate the events that we used to participate in when our families parents/aunts/uncles/ etc were alive to encourage a sense of appreciation for not only their family, but where they came from. 3, and lastly- another reason why I feel that even today, many Americans want to look, speak, and act like one another because society and entertainment tells us to. I could go on about that but that’s a real obvious one. In my personal life, I wish my family would have been more promising to their cultural roots while also opening up to the ‘norms’ of being an American citizen because I feel that my life and my immediate family’s lives would have had a different frame of mind let alone connection.

Chapter 2- Culture and its Complexities: Kumar & Chapter 2 & 3- Language and Identity & Language and Culture Learning: Hall

Chapter 2- Culture and its Complexities: Kumar

Culture seems to possess an extraordinary power to sow the seeds of dissension between members of a family, between communities in a nation, and between nations in this world. The three cultural dimensions, archaic, residual, and the emergent, interact between old and the new in cultural patterns of individuals as well as communities. Here is where they dive into civilization and its interconnectedness that forge with one another. Culture and community presents a shared sense of individualized identity while society presents a general notion of institutionalized collectivity. Society gives a sense of belonging normally associated with the nation-state. I found this quote interesting because I can see it eventually happening when you are the outsider, aka non-native to the area, but when I lived in rural southwestern Arizona, I found it took at least 6 months for me to feel some how accommodated to the area since my ethnicity was the minority status along with beliefs, practices, and my native language is considered the foreign language. I dove into the “cultural capital” as they call it to become acquainted with a collective society. I didn’t feel as if I belonged to a cultural otherization.

The “definition” of culture seems to be a complex and contentious nature that’s vague, yet shapes the lives of individuals, communities, and nations alike. All the different varieties of culture have distinctive features that carries itself into the realm of hybrid culture. As cultural language goes hand in hand with individual development of learners cultural identity (interculturality), its challenges hold true to the everyday changes that becomes unequipped to the teacher. Language is a powerful tool that is the shaper of ideas and a guide for all thought. Hence how the internet and the many blogs that “run” our global informational highway can cause global upset from one spectrum to another. Language determines thought; the weak version suggests that language influences thought. Since the World War and the 1990’s the forces of globalization have been shaping the interests of all nations as a cultural capital. The impact it has had on all communities and nations, even technological, had allowed others to exchange cultural knowledge aside from political issues and general information. The difference between C (formal institutions) and c (daily life) and the standards: Communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities all tie together to help educators, sociologists, anthropologists, researchers, etc can help decipher and develop an awareness of other people’s world views, unique way of life, pattern of behavior, learned contributions, while offering contribution to solutions to common problems: ethnocentrism that dominates the thinking of young people.

Chapter 2 & 3- Language and Identity & Language and Culture Learning: Hall

Language is viewed as a universal nature of self-contained, independent entities, extractable from individual existence that eventually makes autonomous decision makers. Language users are social actors whose identities are multiple, varied and emergent from their everyday experiences- locally stimulated and at the same time historically constituted and thus are precarious, contradictory and in process constantly being reconstituted in discourse each time we think or speak. Culture is assumed to be in individuals but not of them. They can display their cultural norms and realize their personal intentions that are not necessarily related to their culture group. People become socially constituted- a reflexive product of the social, historical and political contexts of an individual’s lived experiences. Individuals mediate their involvement and the involvement of the others in their practices. We take up a position in a social field in which all positions are moving and defined relative to one another: social action becomes a site of dialogue- authors of those moments. Culture is seen as a reflexive, made and remade in our language games, our lived experiences, and exist through routinized action that includes the material (and physical conditions) as well as the social actors’ experience in using their bodies while moving through a familiar space. We are not culture-free; we are every communicative encounter as we are at the same time carriers and agents of culture.

Lev Vygotsky is mentioned a lot throughout this chapter in his focus on being a cultural psychologist discussing sociocultural theory of development being first proposed over 50 years ago and while in more recent formations that have been built on has been modified and extended. ZPD (zone of proximal development) includes scaffolding, modeling, and training which assists different modes and to the role and relationships made available to us. Research development on language includes linguistic anthropology, developmental psychology, and psycholinguistics. Mediational means are the carriers of sociocultural patterns and knowledge where the tools and resources with which more expert members assist less competent participants in noticing, ordering, representing and remembering their involvement in their communicative activities: visual, physical,verbal, and computational. Linguistic applied approach views language learning as an innate process of linguistic system-building, a sociocultural perspective views as the jointly constructed process of transforming socially formed knowledge and skills into individual abilities. Socioculturally constructed process of changing patterns of participation in specific social practices within communities of practice. Language is considered both evolutionary and a historical process. To earn language, a sociocultural perspectice argues that what we actually learn is shaped by our history of lived experiences in our communicative environments and the particular opportunities provided to and created by us to use the means associated with these contexts: cultural learning. The processes and products of language learning, for it is in and through the processes of teaching, and more specifically the processes of approaching learners into the communicative activities of their learning environments where the conditions for and substance of learning are given shape.

Firth, Wagner: On Discourse, Communication, and (Some) Fundamental Concepts in SLA Research

While focusing on the discourse and other concepts on how to successfully improve how professionals teach and analyze non-native speakers (Second Language learners), such as having non-native speakers evaluated during open naturalistic physical conversations with native speakers, I highly agree on adding this critical assessment for Second Language Acquisition towards successful research linguistics. It is highly functional and personally, successful, along with analytic research in accordance with reading, writing, etc categories. Each have its research achievements as well as negatives that pose the delay of fully being comprehensible with a second language… “normal science”.

As a north-eastern US citizen participating in the out-of-state student teaching experiences in Ajo, Arizona- typical dessert towns populated with the majority of Mexicans, Tohono Native American Indians, “snow birds”, and military families- I was given the opportunity to be fully emerged with a ESL/EFL students, families, community members, etc where I first handedly witnessed and participated in Second Language Acquisition. As a well rounded educated young woman breaking out of her undergrad university to show them what she has learned- I was completely naïve and astonished by the lack of money or even vocal standpoint on helping these students (or adults in anyway you look at it) so they may be efficient in society, education, professionally, etc. I was fortunate to be placed with a Title I Reading Specialist who was also a Caucasian resident from the town who knew no other language but English (she only knew the occasional phrase and words). She was sent to a Marie Carbo Reading Curriculum conference held in the area where this particular program was focused for ESL students and/or moderate-severe native English language issues. Due to the funds to buy such a program (which is an incomprehensive issue that I hope changes in the near future as we as educators speak for the children and adults for these needs) only one set was bought for the school to be used. None of the K-6 regular classroom teachers were dispersed this reading curriculum let alone knew much about the benefits or how it works etc. The goals were to focus on the improvements of literacy and language through fluency and comprehension in short periods of time using synchronized audio and interesting literature for the students to readily follow along with. The program focuses on three main enhancements- memory: which is enhanced through interest of literature; synchronization: where the student uses visual and audio senses to accomplish these tasks; and chunking: groups of words together. The students and teachers have opportunities to practice out loud together reading, reciting, and also thinking critically about whatever story or topic is addressed. While gaining these successful experiences and now reading this article, On Discourse, Communication, and (Some) Fundamental Concepts in SLA Research by Firth & Wagner, I wish I would have thought to create more realistic and “natural” conversational experiences to expand their language growth in so many different social experiential genres.

While being face to face or even audio experiences for an ESL/EFL person, they are able to see expression, hear intonation to give context clues towards a comprehensive conversation/experience. Also how social interaction is important to show private emotions that can change any conversation from one direction to the next. The example in this article- when the two individuals were talking about what the genre of material the ESL person reads. Native speakers, who are willing and patient to guide a successful comprehensive conversation, can become teachers without even knowing it to help non-native speakers successfully engage in the art of another language. As an educator this can be a great strategy that can be analyzed more thoroughly during any genre of communication. I feel that it should be respected on the same critical learning level of analyzing a second language, such as English-with writing, reading, reciting, acting, etc. Sociologically, citizens of their ancestor countries are still deciding to leave or travel to English speaking countries where in many cases becomes a critical need for communicating on many different levels all for one goal- to get what they need to survive and/or achieve a purpose. While focusing on the United States in America, I have seen and read about teachers trying to promote this genre of linguistics where it can be a losing battle when it comes to economic support from government officials who do not believe in any other language being spoken in society, schools, entertainment, etc except for English due to their own personal racisms or whatever their gripe is about it.

I would like to see sociolinguistic-curriculums added to help all speakers of English, both non-native and native, become a “normal science” or shall I say apart of an educational curriculum in all schools to benefit all while expanding on many other topics such as culture, beliefs, etc. Being anESL individual does not mean you have a handicap against conversations native English speaking people- you’re a LEARNER…and as educators we need to foster that mentality to everyone- including the learners themselves. I loved the line that Language involves more than one person- and I feel that it is not something that many people think of- in other words I think it’s perceived as more of an art and not as a communicative interactive tool with the world. It’s nice to read about NNS having the capabilities of becoming a “superior and controller” of conversations rather than only being viewed as an info gatherer with a NS.