Lunch with the World- Day 1

I recently accepted a position to teach a class of low-beginning refugees for a refugee resettlement agency in partnership with a local community college in suburban Maryland. The class is held in a library not far from the complex where most, (if not all) the refugees live. The class meets Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 10am to 1pm.

The meeting room where the class takes place is a public space in a library. The library maintains that the room must be left essentially untouched or empty; save tables, chairs, and trash can. This means teachers and students can not leave anything on the walls. The room is therefore quite sterile. There is, however, a sizable window which provides the room with sufficient natural light, off-setting the cold institutional atmosphere.

Resources and materials may be kept in a side closet which is full of roll-y carts, a desk podium, stacks of paper, fans, and other discarded library items. The teacher(s) may use two of the shelves closest to the door, next to a lumpy cardboard box full of ratty and love-stained toys. On the shelf, there are piles of books and workbooks for in-class use, although I'm doubtful that all my students can use them. There is a large tupperware bin full of paper and flashcards that needs to be organized. There is an old plastic pen box labeled, “dry erase” that is empty and the hinges have come undone. There are some dull number twos, smudged gray. And there is a CD-radio. This looks fine.

I scrounge for some paper and uncover a packet of construction paper. Some of it has clearly been used to occupy children of the students; there are thick marker lines written with an unsteady hand littering the back sides of several of the papers. I have the students fold the paper to make name tags that can be propped up on the conference- style table we are sitting around . On one side they write their names. On the other side they draw or write three things they enjoy. Then the students share the information with the class:

Student: My name is Tim*. I like to read. I like English. I like to cook

Teacher: What's his name?

Students: His name is Tim.

Teacher: What does he like?

Students: He likes to read. He likes English. He likes to cook

This activity takes up a rather long time with several errors, indicating the students' low proficiency.

We go over the date and the confusing order of things in the US (month, day, year - april 30^th 2012- 4/30/2012, instead of day, month, year 30/4/12). The student laugh as if to agree that America is indeed a strange, strange place.

Then we move on to another speaking activity. As a primer, we review the vocabulary, which are verbs, that have explanatory pictures. “sell” is one of the words. The students explain the difference between, “buy” and “sell”. I role-play selling a pen to one student. I joke by pretending to bargain with him. The students laugh. I ask them if it is ok to bargain in the US. Some think about it. Some students add that it's not ok at the grocery store. Another student remembers the phrase, “fixed price.”

The students practice a dialogue on the next page.

Now it's break time, I'm informed by a student. This was the time the other teacher always did it. Then, two students have to leave for work. Another student has forgotten her glasses so maybe she should go home now. Another student would like to go home with her preschooler, who has been incredibly patient, silently drawing as his mother sits in class. Also, a couple in the class has an appointment with a case manager. Then, a man comes in. He rather urgently shows me a government notification. It says that failure to come to such and such appointment (that happened two weeks ago) would result in a termination some kind of temporary financial assistance. He shows me the envelop that has a yellow label on it that indicates that it was initially sent to the wrong address. He just received it last week. He leaves with his wife, who is in the class. The lady without the glasses (although she may not be able to read with them) tells me that she was essentially orphaned or abandoned as a child with “no one to take care of me” so she didn't go to school, but she wants to learn now.

An hour left of class, I sit down with the two students left. It is apparent that one has trouble writing full sentences but he can still communicate the time of day and basic vocabulary for routine ( wake up, eat breakfast, etc). The other student has trouble reading the time and copying basic words.

One thing becomes apparent: These students, especially unemployed and stuck in Maryland suburbia, spend a lot of time watching TV.

We end early. They are tired from all that English work. There is so much more to come, so much more to come.

*pseudonym

Materials Share: Comparatives with "AS...AS" & Comparing Quantities

Linguistics in the News- Why Learn Another Language?

The reasons are numerous and backed by scads of research. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages highlights several of these reasons and studies.  In summary, students of foreign or additional languages perform better in school, have increased cognitive abilities, and develop positive attitudes towards others.

There has long been a senseless debate in the Unites States about bilingual versus English-only policies*. From a linguistic, educational, and developmental standpoint, monolingualism only shortchanges students.

The public media seem to be recognizing this fact.

Last month, the New York Times published an article about The Benefits of Bilingualism. The article details the cognitive advantages of speaking another language listing improved problem-solving skills,  increased ability to manage multiple tasks, heightened spatial awareness, and delayed onset of dementia.

Today, http://arstechnica.com/ published an article about how Thinking in foreign language makes decisions more rational. The article explains how several studies demonstrate that when choices were presented in a foreign language, participants were less likely to let irrational emotions interfere. Those observed ended up deliberating more with an outcome of overall better decisions.  To sum, "The researchers believe a second language provides a useful cognitive distance from automatic processes, promoting analytical thought and reducing unthinking, emotional reaction."

The data assures it: go ahead and start learning today.

                                                                View larger image here

*I'd like to note that English-only policies outside of the educational context a) violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (according to the Supreme Court, language-based discrimination equates with national origin discrimination) and b) erroneously assumes that immigrants are unwilling to learn English. According to this policy brief, only 5% of adult immigrants in the US do not speak English or do not speak English well meaning that over 95% of adult immigrants in the US speak English to some degree ranging from some to very well.

Linguistics In The News- What Makes A Movie Quote Memorable?

"The memorable lines use a combination of the present tense, general syntax, and indefinite articles"

You can hear about or read about the whole story here on NPR's show, All Things Considered.

Student Perspectives- That's not an emergency.

In my evening class, we have begun to discuss tenants' right and responsibilities. The students read a letter  supposedly written to tenants from an imaginary apartment complex. The exercise was from Side by Side Plus Book 3. In the letter, management requests that tenants fill out a maintenance request form for "routine maintenance" and only call the maintenance number for urgent situations.  One of the comprehension questions read as follows:

4. Which of the following situations should a tenant NOT call (310) 555-2135?

a) There are cockroaches in the apartment.
b) The garbage disposal is broken.
c) There is no hot water.
d) The faucet is leaky.

There was some confusion and disagreement about this.  First of all, a colorful discussion about pest control issues arose. Everyone seemed to be able to commiserate, some incredulously; "This is the city life in America". The most interesting hypothesis offered was a conspiracy theory regarding exterminators. Several students agreed that cockroaches' ability to survive and return was suspicious and a few offered that pest control companies kill most but not all in order to stay in business. After all, what would happen if they really did exterminate all the roaches? They wouldn't have a job, that's what! Students reasoned that exterminators knowingly spare a few critters in order that their services will be needed and therefore called upon in the future. It's a delicate balance. On the one hand, this produced a fair amount of hilarity in my classroom. On the other hand, it shows a deep-seated mistrust towards others that was most likely fostered by their past experiences living in a society with rampant corruption.

 Later, it was reasoned that cockroaches in the apartment do not constitute an emergency- something some people I know might disagree with. "I suppose it depends on how many. What is you have an infestation?" I suggested. The student leading this discussion shrugged. Clearly, this was a first world comfort. In the context of the letter and comprehension question, it was true. One should not call the emergency maintenance number for pest control; one should call the pest control company. However, I thought that perhaps some students could have interpreted this as an urgent matter leading to the confusion. This was not the case.

The correct answer was c) there is no hot water . This was again met with some disagreement. "What about a leaky faucet?" Some students seemed to be more concerned with waste of water (aka money) or out-of-control water leakage than having hot water. Again, this question perhaps reflects a first world perspective on comfort but it is also the landlord's responsibility to provide hot water to the tenant. In the District of Columbia it is in the housing code, so "it's actually the law", I explained.

As an aside, it's interesting to note that the garbage disposal was immediately dismissed as a superfluous modern convenience.

Students acquiesced to my explanations but I'm glad they were able to express their perspectives. This discussion sheds light not only on cultural biases in comprehension questions, but also why immigrants sometimes run into disagreements with landlords.