11/1 Readings

References: Kuma, Chap. 9 and 10

In Chapter 9, "Contextualizing Linguistic Input", Kuma describes 4 realities or contexts; "linguistic, extralinguistic, situational, and extrasituational" (pg. 205). Linguistic context is the "immediate linguistic environment that contains formal aspects of language required for the process of meaning-making" (pg. 205). He goes to use the word 'table' in 5 different contextualized sentences, in which table has a specific meaning each time. He starts with the most common use, as in the four-legged object that usually has chairs with it, but then goes on to make it slightly more difficult each time, ending with 'tabling' a motion in Congress, which has more of a specified meaning within the linguistic environment. I think that this method of describing a word in all of these sentences is a great activity for L2 learners; I wish that I had more of these types of linguistic activities when I was learning Spanish. I still struggle trying to find more than the most common use of a word in Spanish, like when it is used in phrasal verbs or something along those lines. I will definitely note that activity to use in my future classroom.
The second, extralinguistic context, refers to "the immediate environment that contains prosodic signals such as stress and intonation" (pg. 207). I feel like this would be extremely difficult to teach, since stress and intonation are what can distinguish a native speaker from an L2 speaker of any language. I know that I have had some teachers that were not from the United States and whose native language was not English, and while most of the time their syllabic stress was correct, they would falter and it was very noticeable. When learning Spanish, since it is "syllable timed, with each syllable receiving equal length, pitch, and volume", I actually found that easier than English, since every syllable is pronounced in the word, unlike English which has words like "through" where some letters are unnecessary (pg. 207). It is amazing how much intonation can matter in the English language, because if something is said with the wrong intonation (rising/falling), the whole sentence can be interpreted differently. However, this is something that is pretty similar in almost every language. People do not know if you are asking a question without the rising intonation on the last word. When you are a native speaker, you already know if you are going to ask a question so you already have the intonation in your head. That is difficult to teach! I think the best way to approach it would be to have sentences where the word is bolded or italicized for the student so that they know when to stress. I think that a fair amount of listening to English speakers in a TV show or movie would really help them understand intonation, as well.
Situational context is basically "context of culture", or "words and utterances can have different meanings and functions in different contexts" (pg. 209-210). Situational context is hard to learn in a classroom; this can really only be achieved by putting the students in different situations so that they know when to say (a) specific phrase(s). In the classroom, this works with role-play, like having students pretend they are in a restaurant and need to order food (this would be at the basic level), and then the teacher could gradually make it more difficult so that they have to use strategic competence, like if the waiter gave them the wrong food and they had to ask for it to be changed, etc. This is something that can easily be scaffolded through the learning experience. Finally, extrasituational context is "the problem of what is and what is not appropriate" (pg. 212). This should be taught in the classroom first because then they will know before doing it and risking being embarrassed at an inappropriate exchange. Kuma uses the example of a student from Zambia telling an American friend that she had put on weight, and the girl was very offended. The Zambian student was very confused at why the girl took offense to their statement, because according to Kuma, it was "linguistically well formed and situationally well framed" (pg. 212). Another friend told them that the cultural ideal in America is to thin but the student explained that in Zambia the cultural ideal is to be robust, because it means you are healthy and have had a good year. Obviously, students in ESL classes should be cultural norms and standards as well the situational context. They have to understand that what may be considered appropriate or a normal greeting in their country may not be the same here. I know that some students from Asian countries preface conversation with "Have you eaten yet?" and this can be very confusing to Americans. I have a friend from Malaysia who told me that he learned pretty quickly that this kind of greeting disarmed people and he observed what people were doing in the hallway, and just imitated their greetings. So, I think as an ESL teacher it would be beneficial to have students observe regular interactions in their high school or college setting, and report back what they see to their teacher.

As an ESL teacher, we have to consider what types of methods we would like to use to teach these communicative strategies. To me, it seems intuitive to use more CLT-type methods instead of grammar-oriented approaches, but there is a place for grammar. Students do need to know what grammar structures are in the utterance, but the instruction of that part of it should be minimal; the students just need to practice speaking and using it in the most practical context as possible. I think microstrategy 9.1 (Travel Matters, pg. 216) had a lot of good aspects to it; the scenario included describing unanticipated situations in their own travel experiences. The teacher then has them form groups and walk around, observing what the other students are saying and noting which structures they are having difficulty with; to me, this is an excellent way to encourage metalinguistic awareness in your students. It's a win-win situation. The students learn what they can or cannot do, and the teacher then knows what to focus on in the upcoming weeks. Project 9.2 (pg. 221) was a little disturbing to me; I really hope that an activity that includes such sensitive subject matter as sex and birth control is meant for a college audience and not for high school, because that would never pass any administrative personnel in the school. With college, that is perfectly fine, but the teacher must be aware that some students will feel extremely uncomfortable talking about that in front of peers and a teacher; in some cultures, sex is very private and is not discussed, so I would not suggest using that as an activity, honestly.

Chapter 10, "Integrating Language Skills" focuses on the integration of basic skills like listening, reading, speaking and writing in the classroom. One quote stuck out to me: "we rarely see teachers and learners in a reading class only read, or in a writing class only write, or in a speaking class only speak" (pg. 226). In my opinion, teachers should not have to stick to a certain subject matter like just reading or just writing. Teaching English is teaching all of the modes of communication in the classroom setting. All four of these skills are intertwined and it is extremely difficult to separate them and make any activity just about one of them. I would venture to say that it is probably impossible. Kuma states that in the past, we have tried to separate these and it was yielding less than satisfactory results, so the shift toward "productive (speaking and writing) and receptive (listening and reading)" occurred (pg. 227). It is also difficult on teachers to implement this integration of all four skills because textbooks do not allow it. I honestly do not think textbook creators have any idea what is actually happening in the classroom, and they create these textbooks thinking that they are innovative and current, and they are not. We reviewed French textbooks in my foreign language methods class, and for me, the activities were boring and cliche. I think as teachers, a textbook is a great resource for activities, but we should not adhere to it. We should alter the activities to make them more engaging and active for students, because that is the style of teaching they are accustomed to nowadays. I know I sound old when I say that, but things have changed since I was in high school; I learn that from my sister every day. There is just this need to be entertained, and this is basically a result of all the interactive media and technology we have. We should not be fighting this movement; we should follow it and adapt to students' needs. Also, the integration of all four skills into each lesson gives each student a chance to shine; if they prefer to read, there is a reading activity and if they prefer to present something, there can be a presentational aspect.

Kuma makes a great suggestion in that we should use other resources in our teaching, such as "newspapers, news magazines, and the Internet [because] they provide excellent materials" (pg. 230). Yes, we do need to be cautious with the Internet as we all know, but I do not think a teacher can wrong with newspaper articles or magazines because they are always appropriate and objective, and it would be helpful for students to see how they can present an effective argument or write an article. It is definitely a way to help them learn academic writing in the classroom, and having them write an article on something that interests them will at least capture their attention and they can get something out of it! In microstrategy 10.2 (A Matter of Reality and Falsehood, pg. 233), the students are discussing and researching reality TV. One part of the lesson is for them to Google search 'reality TV'. This made me cringe a little. Students are generally not going to find appropriate materials on a topic like that on Google, and I am sure the school will have a block on bad websites, but you never know what could happen. Students stumble on inappropriate or explicit websites all the time. I think that this activity, though, has a sufficient amount of speaking activities in groups or in pairs, and does include a presentational aspect to it. It fulfills the integration of all four modes of communication. I would definitely think about adapting it to my classroom needs, but I would probably be more likely to use a film or a specific TV show that on which I know they can find good materials.