This chapter by McKay and Bokhorst-Heng deals with English and its role in a globalized society. English originally spread as a result of colonialism and is now the most common second language in the world. McKay and Bokhorst-Heng emphasize the power of English, mentioning that it is the “most valuable linguistic capital” (8). People can choose to learn English for a variety of reasons, including economic and educational advancement, as well as mass media reasons (music, advertising, movies, etc.).
As I read about this phenomenon, I was struck by the fact that English holds such a powerful and dominant status among other world languages. Many English language learners believe that no matter which other languages they speak, fluency in English is necessary to be successful. I experienced this attitude first-hand when I lived in South Korea and taught conversational English for adults. Some of my students worked for international companies, others were university students hoping to study abroad, and still others were recent graduates who desperately hoped to improve their English (and their TOEIC scores!) in order to gain an edge in an extremely competitive job market. Few, if any, studied English for fun. My students told me that English skills are necessary for them to advance in society. People with fluent English are admired, and more and more English words are being adopted into Korean, particularly in relationship to pop culture (for example, “sexy,” “star,” and “coffee”). English immersion preschools and kindergartens are gaining in popularity, and students feel a lot of pressure to develop English fluency at an early age.
As an English teacher, I am excited about the opportunity to provide students with linguistic capital that will help them succeed; however, teaching English (particularly EFL) seems more complicated when I consider the potential societal ramifications. In many places, including South Korea, effective English language instruction may be limited to the socially elite or those with money. As McKay and Bokhorst-Heng explain, “participation in this English-education market is not within the reach of those with fewer economic assets” (24). Could my teaching simply reinforce the class barriers and economic divides caused by English education? Or could my teaching challenge these issues by making students aware of how privilege and language can shape society? Hopefully, my teaching will tend toward the latter. I truly believe that my goal in teaching English is to help students develop as not only successful users of language, but also as socially and culturally aware human beings.
I think it’s also interesting and important to note that individuals may choose to accept or reject English for political or cultural reasons. For example, people in previously colonized countries may try to actively eliminate linguistic imperialism by promoting local languages rather than English. McKay and Bokhorst-Heng consider this phenomenon to be due to the “agency of individuals” (7). As an English teacher, I obviously recognize the value in learning English; however, I hope that I can also respect the choices and autonomy of those who choose not to promote English education. I believe that linguistic diversity is a beautiful thing, so I want to support people who try to preserve their native languages in order to reject the linguistic influences that threaten their ways of life. However, on the other hand, I also recognize that globalization does not give advantage to remote or unpopular languages. So English language development (or development in other popular world languages) may be necessary for these individuals to participate on the world stage. As with any other aspect of life, balance is crucial, and there must be some way for societies to balance the local language(s) with English as a lingua franca.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Blog Post #7: The Power of Images
As I completed the readings for this week, one important concept stood out to me: the power of visual text and imagery. Some people say a picture’s worth a thousand words, and given the evidence provided by Taylor-Mendes and Holliday et al., I think I agree with that saying. Taylor-Mendes’s article shed light on the use of images in EFL textbooks to perpetuate racial and cultural stereotypes. She claims that these images show race as divided by continent, often offering favorable portrayals of wealthy white people and displaying black people as poor and powerless. These images help comprise the dominant discourse of power that Holliday et al. define as “ways of talking and thinking about something which have become naturalized to the extent that people conform to them without thinking” (46). Holliday et al. provide multiple examples of how the media promotes essentializing and othering through their use of language and images in news reports, cartoons, etc. So, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for EFL students to develop accurate impressions of English-speaking countries. As educators, I think we have to do our best to help students become critical consumers of information. We can provide counter discourse to challenge the cultural and racial misconceptions that get passed on through our textbooks and media resources.
After doing the readings this week, I decided to test Taylor-Mendes’s claims about images in textbooks, by examining a variety of English textbooks that I currently use as resources for my teaching. Even though I don’t teach in an EFL context, I was curious to find out if the books I have reflect Taylor-Mendes’s findings. Approximately half of the books did indeed match what she had described. I saw pictures of African Americans standing outside of a homeless shelter, Asians walking through a crowded subway station, and white men involved in an official business meeting. Some of these textbooks even showed pictures of people in segregated settings (for example, African Americans interacting with each other instead of with a mixed racial group). However, I was happy to find that the other half of my books seemed to portray a wide variety of races interacting with each other in a wide variety of settings. For example, I noticed pictures of African Americans graduating from college and Southeast Asians enjoying fine dining in a fancy restaurant.
Later, after looking at my textbooks, I thought about all the video clips that I use to teach. (I often show students short clips from TV sitcoms, movie trailers, and/or news programs.) Even though I consciously try to choose clips that portray racial groups and cultures in an equitable way, I realize that I am also a victim of naturalized discourse. For example, I recently taught a lesson on fashion and showed my students a short clip from a Project Runway fashion show. I paused the clip frequently, and students practiced using new vocabulary to describe what the models were wearing. All in all, it was a successful lesson; however, I realized later that all of the models were white—and I didn’t even think about their race as I chose to use the video in class! I wonder what kind of message that sent my students (none of whom are white) about beauty in the United States.
As a teacher, I want to follow Holliday et al.’s advice to “take a critical stance towards our taken-for-granted ways of understanding the world (including ourselves)” (191), and I think carefully choosing images for students to see is a good place to start. I may not be able to replace all the textbooks I use, but I can make students aware of what the images portray and how those portrayals may or may not be accurate.
After doing the readings this week, I decided to test Taylor-Mendes’s claims about images in textbooks, by examining a variety of English textbooks that I currently use as resources for my teaching. Even though I don’t teach in an EFL context, I was curious to find out if the books I have reflect Taylor-Mendes’s findings. Approximately half of the books did indeed match what she had described. I saw pictures of African Americans standing outside of a homeless shelter, Asians walking through a crowded subway station, and white men involved in an official business meeting. Some of these textbooks even showed pictures of people in segregated settings (for example, African Americans interacting with each other instead of with a mixed racial group). However, I was happy to find that the other half of my books seemed to portray a wide variety of races interacting with each other in a wide variety of settings. For example, I noticed pictures of African Americans graduating from college and Southeast Asians enjoying fine dining in a fancy restaurant.
Later, after looking at my textbooks, I thought about all the video clips that I use to teach. (I often show students short clips from TV sitcoms, movie trailers, and/or news programs.) Even though I consciously try to choose clips that portray racial groups and cultures in an equitable way, I realize that I am also a victim of naturalized discourse. For example, I recently taught a lesson on fashion and showed my students a short clip from a Project Runway fashion show. I paused the clip frequently, and students practiced using new vocabulary to describe what the models were wearing. All in all, it was a successful lesson; however, I realized later that all of the models were white—and I didn’t even think about their race as I chose to use the video in class! I wonder what kind of message that sent my students (none of whom are white) about beauty in the United States.
As a teacher, I want to follow Holliday et al.’s advice to “take a critical stance towards our taken-for-granted ways of understanding the world (including ourselves)” (191), and I think carefully choosing images for students to see is a good place to start. I may not be able to replace all the textbooks I use, but I can make students aware of what the images portray and how those portrayals may or may not be accurate.
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