Five Alive

[Unkotare]

Yesterday I had an interesting experience in my last class of the day. I try to include my students in the logistics, content and conduct of a class. It makes them feel more fully involved and valued. It also shows them that their L1 and family heritage are included and respected, which can be highly motivating.

So, yesterday I had planned an activity that required some extensive instructions (not really, but try it in your second language and you'll know what I mean). I stood at the front of the class and explained the activity to the students. I also had four students "help" me ensure everyone understood what to do. This particular group could have understood me well enough in English only, and I could have translated it myself, but including the students on various levels keeps them engaged. Anyway, as I gave directions in English, I had four student standing with me at the front of the class translating in turn what I was saying. The first student in Spanish, next in French, next in Portugese, and finally in Arabic. The Arabic speaking student was the only Arabic speaker in the class, but I wanted her to feel included.

The class seemed to understand and appreciate what I was doing. We will complete the assignment today.

 

[DGS49]

"Diversity" is not a strength. Historically, foreign language students were pretty much left to sink or swim on their own in English, and guess what happened? They almost invariably were functionally fluent within a school year. Catering to their different linguistic background holds them back, and teaches the insidious message that they don't have to assimilate.

Unity is strength. You are doing these kids no favors by catering to their diverse linguistic backgrounds. And I hope you are inculcating the message that they should be proud to be Americans.

Adults learn the language more slowly as a general rule but kids brains are much more receptive, and that should be exploited.

 

[Unkotare]

"Diversity" is not a strength. Historically, foreign language students were pretty much left to sink or swim on their own in English, and guess what happened? They almost invariably were functionally fluent within a school year. Catering to their different linguistic background holds them back, and teaches the insidious message that they don't have to assimilate.

Unity is strength. You are doing these kids no favors by catering to their diverse linguistic backgrounds. And I hope you are inculcating the message that they should be proud to be Americans.

Adults learn the language more slowly as a general rule but kids brains are much more receptive, and that should be exploited.

Wow. Everything in that post ^^^ is wrong.

 

[Unkotare]

"Diversity" is not a strength. Historically, foreign language students were pretty much left to sink or swim on their own in English, and guess what happened? They almost invariably were functionally fluent within a school year. ...

100% wrong. Most of those with no language support "sunk." First generation Italian immigrants usually dropped out to pursue manual labor or work in a family business. The second generation developed language skills applicable to academic work.

 

[Unkotare]

... Catering to their different linguistic background holds them back, and teaches the insidious message that they don't have to assimilate.
...

100% wrong. Targeted reference to a student's L1 enhances their acquisition of English, which in turn hastens their assimilation.

 

[Unkotare]

...You are doing these kids no favors by catering to their diverse linguistic backgrounds. ...

Using a valuable tool for language acquisition is not "catering," and it DOES do them a favor.

 

[Unkotare]

...

Adults learn the language more slowly as a general rule but kids brains are much more receptive, and that should be exploited.

Also wrong. Adults learn languages much more quickly than children (aside from certain aspects of phonetics), but children tend to be more successful in reaching real fluency because they have far few demands on their time and attention and are much less self conscious about trial and error in language use. Their affective filter is much thinner than an adult's.

 

[Unkotare]

The students came to class today and jumped right in on the project we began yesterday. I didn't need to explain the directions again to anyone. A few finished earlier than others, but almost everyone did a great job.

 

[DGS49]

Also wrong. Adults learn languages much more quickly than children (aside from certain aspects of phonetics), but children tend to be more successful in reaching real fluency because they have far few demands on their time and attention and are much less self conscious about trial and error in language use. Their affective filter is much thinner than an adult's.

Do you always just make shit up as "proof" of your points?

It is quite tiresome.

 

[Unkotare]

Do you always just make shit up as "proof" of your points?

...

No, I refer to what I learned earning my masters degree in Linguistics and over 30 years experience teaching languages as "proof" of my points. YOU just sit on your ass and indulge your imagination.

 

[AZrailwhale]

Wow. Everything in that post ^^^ is wrong.

It agrees with my experience in a school full of immigrants from nearly every nation on earth. Most were reasonably fluent within a semester and fully fluent within a year. That was before ESL programs existed.

 

[AZrailwhale]

100% wrong. Most of those with no language support "sunk." First generation Italian immigrants usually dropped out to pursue manual labor or work in a family business. The second generation developed language skills applicable to academic work.

In those days immigrants had to sink or swim. There were no social programs to keep them from starving. First generation immigrants had to work at any available job while encouraging their children to learn English and get educated.

 

[Eman623]

Yesterday I had an interesting experience in my last class of the day. I try to include my students in the logistics, content and conduct of a class. It makes them feel more fully involved and valued. It also shows them that their L1 and family heritage are included and respected, which can be highly motivating.

So, yesterday I had planned an activity that required some extensive instructions (not really, but try it in your second language and you'll know what I mean). I stood at the front of the class and explained the activity to the students. I also had four students "help" me ensure everyone understood what to do. This particular group could have understood me well enough in English only, and I could have translated it myself, but including the students on various levels keeps them engaged. Anyway, as I gave directions in English, I had four student standing with me at the front of the class translating in turn what I was saying. The first student in Spanish, next in French, next in Portugese, and finally in Arabic. The Arabic speaking student was the only Arabic speaker in the class, but I wanted her to feel included.

The class seemed to understand and appreciate what I was doing. We will complete the assignment today.

And the assignment takes four times as long to complete. Which is why it's taking 2 days.

 

[Unkotare]

It agrees with my experience in a school full of immigrants from nearly every nation on earth. Most were reasonably fluent within a semester and fully fluent within a year. That was before ESL programs existed.

Nope. Doesn't work that way.

 

[Unkotare]

... First generation immigrants had to work at any available job while encouraging their children to learn English and get educated.

Right, and that first generation did not become "fluent" in a semester, a year, or two years.

 

[AZrailwhale]

Right, and that first generation did not become "fluent" in a semester, a year, or two years.

The first generation adults didn’t attend school. They worked to keep from starving to death. In my time (late fifties/early to mid sixties) the first generation children DID come to school and generally became fluent within a year of entering school. I saw it every year from second to twelfth grades.

 

[AZrailwhale]

Nope. Doesn't work that way.

That is what actually happened. I was there and lived it, I had friends who went through it.

 

[Unkotare]

That is what actually happened. I was there and lived it, I had friends who went through it.

Sometimes people don't understand what they think they are seeing. Trust me.

 

[Monk-Eye]

" Theistic Communists Promoting Salvation Of Belief From Attrition Through Over Population "

* Citizenship Dependent On Whether Edicts Or Tenets Of Creed By Doctrine Are Proposing Illegitimate Aggression Against Independence Of The Individual *

Yesterday I had an interesting experience in my last class of the day. I try to include my students in the logistics, content and conduct of a class. It makes them feel more fully involved and valued. It also shows them that their L1 and family heritage are included and respected, which can be highly motivating.

So, yesterday I had planned an activity that required some extensive instructions (not really, but try it in your second language and you'll know what I mean). I stood at the front of the class and explained the activity to the students. I also had four students "help" me ensure everyone understood what to do. This particular group could have understood me well enough in English only, and I could have translated it myself, but including the students on various levels keeps them engaged. Anyway, as I gave directions in English, I had four student standing with me at the front of the class translating in turn what I was saying. The first student in Spanish, next in French, next in Portugese, and finally in Arabic. The Arabic speaking student was the only Arabic speaker in the class, but I wanted her to feel included.

The class seemed to understand and appreciate what I was doing. We will complete the assignment today.

Would a translation application set unique for each student relieve yearn politically correct anxiety ?

Additionally , a presence of independent translators includes uniqueness and diversity of perspectives on a hue mammon exposition , with which theistic , or atheistic , or apatheistic humanists sentimentally implore .

 

[Unkotare]

" Theistic Communists Promoting Salvation Of Belief From Attrition Through Over Population "

* Citizenship Dependent On Whether Edicts Or Tenets Of Creed By Doctrine Are Proposing Illegitimate Aggression Against Independence Of The Individual *

Would a translation application set unique for each student relieve yearn politically correct anxiety ?

Additionally , a presence of independent translators includes uniqueness and diversity of perspectives on a hue mammon exposition , with which theistic , or atheistic , or apatheistic humanists sentimentally implore .

YOU need an English class.