“Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.”
Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), Nobel Prize winner for Literature
Holidays and anniversaries often prompt personal reflections. As 2010 ends and a new year beckons, millions of English language learners and thousands of English teachers reflect on their lives and make new year resolutions.
· What did you find satisfying in 2010?
· What were some magic days and memorable moments?
· What English words will you choose to remember?
· What English lessons would you prefer to forget?
Sometimes we look back with satisfaction on our classroom achievements, and sometimes we look back in regret. A USA Today article proclaimed “2010: The Year Technology Replaced Talking. Yet here we are facing 2011.. Almost everyone hopes for a happy, healthy, and more prosperous and productive new year. The challenge remains how we can move forward, and talking about change and hopes for change seems like a natural place.
Often, we openly declare our hopes and goals for the New Year with bold resolutions that require serious change in our habits. We also know that change can be hard, surprising, and sometimes liberating in our classrooms and in our personal lives.
· What do you hope for in 2011?
· What changes would you like to make? Why?
· How do you plan to realize your goals in the next year?
· How will you measure personal success in 2011?
· How will you measure your academic success in 2011?
· Are you ready to keep your New Year resolutions?
Given the rate of exceptional technological and social change in the 21st century, I find that discussing the topic of Change a perennial winner in my advanced English classes. I often open the Spring semester with this popular conversation activity in the first two weeks. Although public opinion surveys show that only a small percentage of Americans keep their New Year resolutions to change after a month, I suspect we can increase those odds of our English students by candidly discussing our hopes and plans to change.
“A word is dead when it is said, some say.
I say it just begins to live that day.”
Emily Dickinson
Cheap pleasures can sometime be the most satisfying.
Reading, an activity that often costs nothing, falls into that category. Reading provides many pleasures and many insights. So does talking about reading.
Following a December ritual, I’ve been reviewing the year and find many reasons for satisfaction. Co-writing a monthly column called “Instant Conversation Activity” in the newspaper Easy English Times makes the list for the third straight year. Each monthly newspaper column in the Easy English Times, modifies and expands a thematic chapter from Compelling Conversations, an advanced ESL textbook, for lower level English language learners. The August issue, for example, talked about watching television and favorite programs; the November 2010 issue celebrated the American tradition of choosing leaders in elections. (Immigrants, refugees, new citizens, and potential citizens often appreciate voting while too many American citizens fall into apathy.) It’s an honor to have the lessons used in ESL, EL/Civics, and literacy classes.
In reviewing the 2010 clips, however, my favorite column this year remains “Reading Pleasures and Tastes.”
Reading can be a great – and overlooked – pleasure. Reading allows us to imagine life in distant lands and times – and better understand our own lives and climates. It broadens our imagination, highlights absurd situations, shows new possibilities, and can deepen our sympathy. Since urban Californian classrooms often resemble a mini-United Nations, reading provides a passport to better understand our classmates and our ever-changing world. .
Yet too few American adults – including adult education students – allow themselves the pleasure of reading books and newspapers in English. We can see and hear on adult school campuses how the inability to read causes real problems. We know the many studies that document the links between illiteracy, poverty, and criminal activity. One reason might be that reading builds empathy and instills information. Reading can also provide solace, inspiration, and perspective. Celebrating the pleasure and power of reading to the Easy English Times column audience, including adult immigrants, GED students and some prisoners, seems appropriate. Perhaps it could have been called “Three Cheers for Reading – Even if Life is Hard.”
Yet I also like the Reading Pleasures column because discussing books has created some of my most poignant classroom moments. During a decade of teaching advanced adult ESL, we often read short stories, memorized proverbs, and wrote about living in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Many ESL students also demonstrated their passion for literature. A Polish student sought help translating romantic poems, a Mexican immigrant constantly recited lines from Cervantes, and an Iranian woman journalist discussed her fear of reading banned books – even while in the United States.. Reading matters and transcends borders.
Let me give another example from a global classroom with a dozen or so different best languages. Each evening we would have a “brave volunteer” give a short oral presentation at 8:30 as a closing activity. I wanted everyone to be a volunteer, but I left the choice of presenting to students. Some students introduced their hometowns, a few gave product reviews, and many recommended movies. Topics and styles varied.
One night an older Korean woman gave an eloquent, moving book review of To Kill A Mockingbird that combined personal biography and literary criticism. Chloe, not her real name, began smiling because she had just finished rereading her favorite book in its original language – English. She joked about how long it took, but she had patience. Chloe went on to confess that she often had racist feelings like some ugly characters in the novel. “But I learned from the noble character too”. Chloe stated that living in Santa Monica and studying English she had learned to overcome racism. Her daughter was going to marry a non-Korean – something once unthinkable. Then, returning to the novel, she concluded by quoting her favorite character. “I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks. ” Her daughter visited our class that night, and cried. She was not alone. Powerful. Poignant. Unforgettable.
Reading remains a great pleasure and a helpful guide. Literature can also enliven our ESL classrooms, and discussing our favorite books opens up new possibilities. The humanities should be for everyone – including English language learners. Let us, as Emily Dickinson advised, “dwell in possibility” and bring more literature into our English classrooms.
Have you heard about the international bestseller How English Became Globish“>Globish by Robert McCrum? Suddenly the term Globish seems everywhere.
McCrum, who wrote the influential book “The Story of English”, argues that English has become Globish because it is the world’s international language. Partly descriptive and partly prescriptive, the author reviews the astonishing spread of English, its many changes over time and space, and points out the many advantages of English as a global tongue. McCrum also suggests that English, as a language, carries cultural values such as individualism, greater sexual equality, a democratic sensibility, and empiricism.
Other linguists, including many working for international software firms, have recently adopted the word Globish too. The term, it seems, has escaped the narrow confines of linguistic jargon to become a mainstream term. Yet linguists and other folks strongly disagree about the meaning of Globish. Few doubt, however, that a majority of English speakers are actually speaking English as an additional language.
Here is a group of video clips supporting the idea that communication matters most as a majority of English speakers use the language as a second tongue. Precise grammar and pronunciation rules become less important in a global context. If all the English speakers in the room are really English language learners, unconventional English grammar and heavy accents become more acceptable. Globish, so the argument goes, provides more freedom for more varieties of English.
Provocative, if not completely persuasive, some of these linguists favor reducing the cultural roots of English and emphasizing a simpler, smaller, and more universal form of essential Globish. (This movement, also known as English as a Global Language, focuses on the business advantages of a shared language.) Other linguists both predict and favor a flourishing of local languages linked to British English, American English, or Australian English. These linguists, such as Andy Kirkpatrick, see the emergence of “World Englishes“.
All these competing arguments emphasize, for me, the importance of context. As American writer teaching international graduate students at an elite American university in the American Language Institute, I emphasize the importance of professional and academic success. Accuracy, clarity, and detail still matter so we maintain high standards, traditional grammar, and mainstream spelling matter.
A hotel clerk working with European tourists vacationing in Mexico, however, might find a more casual Globish works just fine. Academic English and workplace English often have quite different definitions of success. Context, as ever, matters. Why do our students want to learn English? How will they use English? Can we both teach specific language skills and humanistic values in our English classrooms? As English teachers, it also behooves us teach the English that our students need and want.
Anyway, here are some informative and some funny video clips mocking the notion that a small island nation should be the standard for how people speak across the globe. I’m including links to the NPR feature on Globish, the video collection, and Amazon.
“To know and not do is to not know.” – ancient Jewish proverb
Directing a private international high school in Vietnam last year provided many lessons. English might be the subject, but the context, as so often, became paramount.
As English teachers, we often begin by asking simple questions as we prepare our classes. Who are our students? What do they expect from their English teacher? What are their motives, goals, and fantasies? What barriers do they face to improve their English? How will their lives change if they speak fluent English? Do they really need to speak fluent English or just get a high TOEFL or TOEIC score? Context, as so often, determines the most appropriate approach.
Yet the most important question, especially while teaching abroad, might be overlooked. Where are you teaching? Local culture and laws can determine both the substance and style of teaching English. Censorship often exists. Location often matters most in teaching English abroad.
This truism has become exceptionally clear to me during the last few weeks. I’ve been revising an ESL conversation textbook originally developed for international graduate students and adult American immigrants for advanced adult Vietnamese English language learners. Vietnam, which has one of the fastest growth rates in the world, has embraced the study of English with a surprising fervor. The quality of EFL and ELT materials, however, remains rather low, and seldom includes authentic materials for both professional and social conversation. Grammar and listening skills receive far more focus than active language skills like writing and speaking.
This book project, which started over a year ago, has also kept expanding. Writing any book, of course, remains a tricky task in a still opening country ruled by communist dictators. On the other hand, many of the obvious revisions and taboo topics apply to many still opening societies from UAE and Saudi Arabia to China and Russia. You can’t talk about “choosing leaders” and “corruption” in socieities where politics are verboten. While you might be able to discuss personal lifestyle choices in Russia or mention a required holy book in Pakistan, commonsense indicates a similar list of “don’t ask” subjects ranging from almost any activity that is a social taboo, controversial, or illegal in many societies. You might be surprised how long those taboo lists remain.
Perhaps out of both professional judgment and personal aesthetics, I always try to tailor materials to meet the individual needs of my actual students. Given the strong nationalist flavor inside the country, it’s striking how few pedagogical English materials used in Vietnam even mention the country’s existence. That seems disappointing and a missed opportunity.
We can at least include local cultural and national references as we continue to open doors and minds by teaching English to students around the world. When I teach students from eight countries in a university class in Los Angeles, I give a nod to those eight cultures in my course materials while emphasizing American culture. Likewise, tailoring course material to meet the actual adult English language learners in our classrooms while teaching English abroad seems natural. Whether discussing national holidays, geography, or cultural traditions, adding local references can only empower English language learners to share their life experiences more effectively in English.
Teaching students to ask questions – in English -remains a vital critical linguistic skill. Many students find the grammar of asking questions in English quite difficult and hard to master. Let’s remember, however, that some questions, risk opening minds and shutting school doors. Modifying English materials, therefore, poses some significant challenges, and creates many possibilities for developing greater rapport with students. Balance, as ever, remains key.
And location, as most real estate agents and EFL teachers know, often matters most.
Where can immigrants go to practice their English speaking skills in a relaxed, non-judgmental atmosphere? How can American libraries introduce their wonderful resources to new users and provide a vital need? Where can volunteers, librarians, and both novice and experienced English teachers enjoy leading small groups of English language learners in engaging, reflective conversations?
American public libraries are increasingly hosting ESL conversation clubs. Filling a clear unmet need for thousands of American immigrants, libraries can often provide a smaller, less stressful environment than crowded adult ESL classes. Some ESL conversation clubs regularly meet twice a week for two hours, and other clubs less frequently for shorter periods. Members get a chance to share experiences, expand their vocabulary, and actually practice speaking.
I became aware of this growing trend in the Spring of 2010 when an influential blog for librarians mentioned Compelling Conversations as a recommended resource.
Under the title “Great Tips”, a small, but influential American librarian’s blog called eslconversationclubs.blogspot.com shared some ideas from Compelling Conversations. Naturally, I am quite pleased to both be recommended – and to discover an entire community of like-minded educators.
After reading this short post that made me smile, I spent a satisfying hour exploring the deep resources on the blog that dates back several years. Among the excellent resources is a short two-page document called ESL Conversation Clubs Best Practices by Jean Kaleda of webjunction.com that deserves a wider audience. Check it out here: http://eslconversationclubs.blogspot.com/search/label/bestpractices
I’m glad to discover that so many American public libraries already offer ESL conversation clubs. Their apparent growth is even better news, especially as immigration debate heats up. These friendly, informal gatherings fill a vital, often overlooked, need for many American immigrants, adult ESL students, and other English language learners. “Speech is civilization itself,” as Thomas Mann wrote. “It is silence which isolates.” ESL conversation clubs at libraries allow many quiet, hardworking, and often silent immigrants to find their voices and share their experiences in English. These conversations can be simple, moving, and significant.
Naturally, I’m also glad that my little niche, self-published book is considered a valuable, accessible resource.
This question often causes people to pause, reflect, and change their dialogue. It gives us a chance to remember some moments of satisfaction, and reminds us that almost every day provides some unexpected moments. “What surprised you today” works too.
But I prefer adding the “pleasantly” to counter dialogues that can run to the negative. This positive question opens up room in a conversation for people to express gratitude for what has gone right – even in a difficult day. We bump into friends while shopping, see a new plant or flower in the yard, read something odd on the internet, or receive an unexpected call. As the ancient Latin proverb goes, “expect the unexpected.” Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.
What has pleasantly surprised you today? English teachers can use this question as a writing cue, during student-teacher conferences, or with co-workers. Students, especially at more competitive schools, can often feel great stress. Asking students about what is going right in their lives can help them focusing only on the negative. In fact, almost every one can use a gentle nudge toward away from stress and toward gratitude.
So what pleasantly surprised me today? I noticed a new review for Compelling Conversations on Amazon written from Europe. A satisfied customer in Milan, Italy – Siano Luigi “EMY” called Compelling Conversations “a great help!”. This English teacher and private tutor wrote, “I find this book to be a great help for conversation lessons. It’s full of questions/tips/quotes that help students to discuss together, in group or individually on all kinds of different topics.” Given my limited distribution globally, this warm review from far away counts as a pleasant surprise!
Gratitude, as ever, seems appropriate. Finding ways to increase our gratitude for our 21st lives makes emotional sense. Asking this simple question is my fifth conversation tip. Help build gratitude, and create better conversations.
