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The Politics of TESOL. Robb Kvasnak, M.Ed. Dr. M. Bendixen, Dr. P. Fritzer, Dr. A. Rhone, Dr. H. Zainuddin. Heidegger (1958). Die Sprache ist das Haus des Seins Language is the house of being. ESOL students are not maintaining their mother tongue in a meaningful and useful way
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The Politics of TESOL Robb Kvasnak, M.Ed. Dr. M. Bendixen, Dr. P. Fritzer, Dr. A. Rhone, Dr. H. Zainuddin
Heidegger (1958) • Die Sprache ist das Haus des Seins • Language is the house of being
ESOL students are not maintaining their mother tongue in a meaningful and useful way ESOL students are not connecting with their mother culture Espánglish con Alevosía
Popkewitz and Curriculum • Curriculum consists of two main parts What is in it, and, more importantly: What isn’t in it
Prestige Languages • Standard American English • Spanish in the US • Spanish in Southeastern Florida
Nynorsk • Først har vi den dialekten vi lærer heime, i bygda eller gata der vi veks opp som barn. Siden møter vi andre dialetar (språksystem), meir eller mindre ulike vår eigen. Og så endeleg kjem vi til skriftspråket, og i Norge vert vi også der stilt overfor valget mellom to ulike alternativ: bokmål eller nynorsk.
How Bush won (J. Skelton, 2005) • used a Southern variant, more precisely a Texan variant, of American English to impress and attract voters • Reagan • Nixon • Clinton • Gore
Which English? • Who decides which English to teach in ESOL? • Immigrants speaking Ebonics • Who decides the content? • Why do Casin’s US Spanish speakers use Hispanicized terms from English when speaking Spanish?
Dörnyei (2005) • Posits that Second Language Learners develop a second language self • This second language self is constructed on attitudes toward the second language • What are the images that TESOL projects of American English and its speakers?
Dörnyei (2005) • English as a foreign language abroad – stresses variant used in Great Britain • ESOL – English for everyday use in the US – school, work, society
English is not a monolithic construct There are many variants of English Usage in GB and USA are very different English, in its local variety, is the official language of many countries Pronunciation, semantics, syntax, discourse, pragmatics vary from place to place Englishes of the World
Regional variants Northeast Midwest Southern Texan West Non-continental Socio-economic variants Corporate English Academic English Political English Working Class English Rural English English in the US
Dr. Rickford (1998) • Using Ebonics for comparative analysis • Uproar in Oakland • Proof of how emotional the debate about which English to teach is
This raises the questions • How do we acquaint ESOL students with American English? • How do we acquaint ESOL students with the native speakers of American English? • How do we help ESOL students develop a positive L2 self?
Conclusion • TESOL is subject to political decisions in the narrow and in the broader sense • Who should be making those decisions? • Should the ESOL students be aware of what decisions are being made? • How can ESOL students actively construct their own curriculum?