Topsy Turvies

 

It is imperative that teachers are aware of how their student’s hear them. Teachers need to be aware of the words they select, and their tone of voice.  It may not be the teachers intention to come off as insincere or condescending, but this is frequently the case. This can cause major trust issues with the students. Herb Kohl has come up with a term called ‘topsy-turvy’ to help teachers avoid this issue. “Teachers must analyze how they are presenting themselves and then make a 180-degree shift and construct how their students hear them. Teachers must listen to their students, and they must also listen to themselves being listened to.” It is vital for a teacher to self-reflect so they are aware of how there language use because language is ‘an everyday, every minute matter and nuances of inflection, tone modulation, and vocabulary are constantly at play in the interaction of students and teachers.”

It would be beneficial if teacher’s video taped themselves or used a tape recorder. In one of my education classes my teacher taped us doing a lesson plan and it was a great tool to see how I could improve. I realized that I had been talking quite quickly probably because I was nervous.  This would be evident to the students which could make them uncomfortable and they may not perceive me as a knowledgeable teacher.  Students will notice an insecure teacher. If I show nerves they may become anxious as well, and participation and involvement in the classroom may be hindered due to this anxiety.  I didn’t notice any condescending tones during my lesson plan, but I’m sure it is a frequent occurrence for teachers to show their frustration through condescending tones. It’s also beneficial to have another professional observe your classroom. They may be able to give you helpful insights and give suggestions to increase achievement.

Besides reflecting on your own personal language it’s also important to reflect and try to interpret the student’s language as well. This is a huge task for teachers to accomplish since language is a “social phenomenon that has complex personal implications relating to how the more formal aspects of reading, writing, and talking are interpreted on an everyday basis.”  It is vital for teachers to listen as best as possible and to noticed body languages and how things are said and asked.  If teachers fail to pay attention to these important cues it can lead to miscommunication.  

(The quotes and inspiration for this post was due to the article “Topsy-Turvies: Teacher Talk and Student Talk”, by Herbert Kohl

You say “tomayto”, I say “tomahto”

The Spanish language is spoken by 400 million people stretching from Spain to South America. Since Spanish is spoken in so many countries and by so many people the language drastically varies between cultures. There are so many different dialects that the Spanish Royal Academy and 21 sister organizations in Latin America over the last 11 years compiled a book of linguistic maps to the Spanish language.  The Spanish language is very complex and there are many differences in vocabulary, sentence structure, and pronunciation and accents.

 Before this compilation of the linguistic map people in South America were told that they spoke Spanish poorly. Now there is acknowledgement that it’s only a different way of speaking and that the grammar/vocabulary is just diverse in the Spanish language. For example there are over 20 ways to say the word ballpoint pen.

 The diversity of the Spanish language is unique, but at the same time quite confusing.  I have been lucky to have been exposed to the different grammar rules and vocabulary because I have had teachers from Latin America and Spain, but it is hard to keep track of it all.  I have a lot of Spanish speaking friends; a lot of them are from Peru and Mexico. Even though we all speak Spanish we still have comprehension issues amongst ourselves. Certain words have different meanings in different countries; for example one day I was trying to tell my friend to move over by saying ‘mueve tu culo”(move your butt). My friend from Ecuador had taught me this saying, but when I said it to my friend from Mexico he laughed and told me to never say that again. I guess in Mexico it means move your big a$$ and it’s very derogatory compare to when you say it in Ecuador. Also some words don’t exist in certain countries; for example ‘el coche’ is car in Spain and ‘el carro’ is car in Mexico.  

 In college I had a teacher from Argentina. The first few classes I had difficulty understanding her. I remember she asked me “come te llamas” but in Argentina they pronounce the ll as a ‘cha’.  I had no idea what she was asking me. She then realized that she needed to explain that in Argentina where she learned Spanish that is how ll is pronounced.

 (On Friday December 11^th the Star Tribune published an article called “Spanish redefined with international flair” by Daniel Woolls which was the inspiration for this post)

Christian Culture

This post seems appropriate at this time since the holidays are approaching. It still amazes me that schools cancel class for Christmas and all major Christian holidays, but don’t do that for other religious groups. Hanukkah this year starts on December 11^th. Of course the jewish kids are expected to be at school and are not exempted from class. Then when Christmas rolls around on the 25^th the children are given their “Christmas” or ‘Winter” break. What about the students that celebrate Ramadan in the month of December? They are expected to go to school while they are fasting and to be around other student’s eating food.  The day after Easter is also a day off of school since it is a Christian holiday. I can’t believe that this still hasn’t changed since our culture is becoming more religiously diverse. Of course if we considered every religious holiday there would be too many days off of school, but why is it that Christian holidays are the ones that get priority? Will this ever change?

Word Choice

Good Vs. Well

I have always been an advocate for using proper grammar. Whenever someone asks me how I am I always say ‘well’. Most people when asked this question answer good even though it is considered grammatically incorrect. Every time I respond to this question I am always inclined to say good just like everyone else, but I can’t. Both responses are used all the time so why is ‘good’ still considered grammatically incorrect. Both responses have the same meaning so I don’t understand why good is considered ‘wrong’. All of my family corrects each other when someone makes a grammatical error. What is the point of this? I do it too but I am just confused why grammar is so important. Why do we need to spend time and energy on this when we know what the other person is trying to say. Who makes the decision of changing the rules of grammar? How long does it take to change these rules? Clearly we don’t speak like Shakespeare used to speak so how come ‘good’ hasn’t been classified as an accurate response to the question how are you?

Linguistic Diversity

Many people in the United States are capable of speaking only one language. These people are still successful unlike many people from other countries that are monolinguals. In many other countries it is necessary for people to be bilingual or even trilingual for them to achieve success.  In the United States bilingualism is not always considered an accomplishment. Many immigrants feel pressure to lose their native language and to only speak English. In china the Chinese government puts a lot of pressure on individuals to become fluent in the English language, but to also retain their native language.

I believe that there should be even more immersion schools offered in the U.S. I went to a French Immersion school and thought it was the greatest experience ever. This immersion school is the reason for my passion of languages. In the Minneapolis area there are only 5 immersion schools that I am aware of. I know of two Spanish immersion and 2 french immersion and then an immersion school for the Dakota language. Why aren’t there any immersion schools for our Somalis population? People need to start realizing the benefits of knowing a second or even third language.

 Why is it that the United States is not as open about language diversity? This may relate back to my post about language policy and how people feel threatened that English will not be the dominant language in the United States.

Can labeling not be hurtful?

I wrote a recent post on the negative aspects of labeling. I received a comment from someone stating that labeling can be positive as well. I thought what a great point, so I’m trying to write a post about labeling and how it can be positive. I didn’t realize how hard this was going to be. In my opinion there are definitely more negative aspects of labeling than positive. The few positive aspects of labeling I came up with are as follows:

Labeling can be beneficial because it helps make sense of things.  The world is complex and it helps people separate people into categories that are more understandable. It’s important when labeling someone that you realize there is a lot more to that person than that one label.

For example if you call someone a jock some people would consider that a positive label and others would consider that a negative label. Since every label means something different to everyone it is hard to say if this is negative or positive. If I was personally labeled a jock I might be offended. I know that some people view jocks as pig headed and all they are interested in are sports.

 I was thinking what if someone labeled themselves as a jock…then is it okay to label them as a jock?

 Overall after thinking about this I believe that labeling most of the time is unnecessary. It really doesn’t help define who the person is. It would be beneficial to just say that this person is involved with sports rather then calling them a jock. There are many other ways to describe someone rather then using a label. A personality is what defines someone it’s not as simple as a label.  There are just too many stereotypes that go along with labeling.

Define Culture

The word culture is such a hard word to define. I remember when I was asked to define culture. I sat there for a few seconds thinking ‘wow how do you even define this word,’ it is so complex and means something different to everyone. After this class the definition of culture became clearer, but it also became so much more complex. I of course love that it has become more confusing because it means that my brain is challenged to keep thinking about culture and language. As of right now my definition of culture is: language, tradition, spirituality, religion, race, ethnicity, heritage, socioeconomic status, technology, family, food, holidays, fashion/clothes, music, dance, etc. I wonder when I look back at this post in a few months or maybe even a few years and see how much my definition has changed after I’ve seen even more of the world and experienced so many new things.

I am sort of embarrassed to admit this but I will anyways. I remember in high school when I was asked to share ‘my culture’ with the class. I was one of those naïve people that believed “Culture is thought to be held exclusively by those different from them” (Nieto, 135) and I was confused why we had to do this project.  I didn’t find the value in it since all of my classmates were white middle to upper class students. Once I started to think about it I realized how much culture I have and that everyone is different from everyone. Culture is unique to each individual and it’s ever-changing.

I love how Steven Arvizu (1994) looks at the word culture as a verb rather than a noun. That’s a great way to look at it.

Culture is dynamic, multifaceted, embedded in context, and influenced by social, economic, and political factors, created and socially constructed, and it’s learned. It’s so COMPLEX!

 I would love to be enlightened by everyone else’s definition of culture and what it means to them……….

Labeling: The Power of 1 Word

 Labels are frequently used as a shortcut to define people. In the process, they also limit how we perceive people. Labeling can have negative affects on people and have negative connotations that go along with them.  It’s amazing how a simple word can be so offensive and insulting. Some people don’t even realize how offensive certain words they use really are. For example when people label someone as ‘retarded’ instead of using the word cognitively delayed it makes it seem like the only attribute this person has is being retarded.  It’s important to identify all of the tasks these individuals and do and that they have so much more to offer. Another label that really bothers me is ‘gay’. So many people say ‘oh that’s so gay’. What does sexual orientation have to do with what you just said? That is something I always ask people when they use the word gay. They say oh okay whatever I mean stupid. So then my next question is oh so you think gay people are stupid then. They say they don’t mean it in a mean way, but this is rude and other words should be used. It is one of my biggest pet-peeves when people use these terms in general or incorrectly.

In terms of the education field many people use the label parents, mom or dad. This can have a significant impact on individuals. Some may not have a mom or dad. It’s important to use the term guardians since you never know the situation of the individual.

 The author Sonia Nieto in the book Language, Culture, and Teaching asks her audience the way whichs we can accept and welcome multicultural differences in the classroom. I think it is important to discuss the affect of labeling and how one word can mean so much.  It would be beneficial to make a list of offensive terms and labels with the students and come up with alternative ways of expressing themselves.  For example instead of using the word retarded the proper way to say it is cognitively delayed. When someone calls someone a midget it would be more important to call someone a person of short stature.

I am a pretty small person and sometimes I refer to myself as a midget. I am aware of this and I am trying to stop it. It still happens every once in awhile that I refer to myself as a midget, but I try to say that I am short instead.  I can’t even imagine how horrible I would feel if a person of short stature heard me saying that I was a midget. I would feel so horrible so I am going to continue being aware of this and not using this term.

Language Revitilization

Podcast: Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett and David Treuer

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/language-and-meaning/

  This podcast on October 1st 2010 was an interview with novelist and translator David Treuer.  David Treuer’s native language is English, but as an adult he decided to learn the Ojibwe language.  He is compiling the first practicial grammar of the Ojibwe language and is dedicated to keeping the language alive.  He is devoted to the Ojibwe language because he feels that it’s the way the Ojibwe understand and express their very sense of self. In this podcast he expresses  how language forms what makes us human. Some memories and realities, he has found, can only be carried forward in time by Ojibwe.  Part of this reasoning is because ceremonies cannot be performed unless they are in the Ojibwe language.  David is very passionate about revitalizing the Ojibwe language because if it dies their culture and spirituality would be lost with it.  Many people don’t understand the effect it would have on cultures if languages start to diminish.  I believe when a language dies parts of the heritage and culture dies with it.  I think that is devastating.  

David quotes a man in the interview that said “If there was only one language there would be no miscommunication.”  David and I deeply disagree with this comment. All of my family and friends are all English native speakers and we definitely have issues with communication. People can still interpret conversations in different ways. Body language can be read incorrectly even if people grew up in the same household. Miscommunication will happen no matter how many or how few languages are spoken. Of course when there is a language interpreted or translated that can cause more miscommunication. The person that is translating or interpreting could do so incorrectly or they could put in their own bias.

Language Policy

  

The U.S. Senate passed a national language amendment in 2006. This amendment makes English the official language of the U.S.  There are many contrasting opinions on this amendment. I find it pointless that the U.S. needs to declare an official language. We have endured without an official language for years. Why do we need it now? What is the point? Our country is becoming more diverse with many Hmong immigrants and a lot of immigrants from South and Latin America, but there is no hindrance of teaching and learning English. This amendment shuts out diversity and shows coldness towards these minorities. Are people scared that Hmong or Spanish are going to become the official language? What really is happening is that all of these immigrants are losing their native languages and assimilating to the U.S. culture.