‘Learning/teaching cultures’

[Admin]

Not sure if this goes against plurilithic approaches directly, but one educational philosophy that comes to mind regarding teaching English in the US in the "English only" policy that many (if not all?) language schools have. Students must abide by this rule when inside the classroom and are encouraged to use it around the school during their free time as well. While I understand the good intentions behind this policy, it does feel a bit like a coercive measure. Perhaps advanced speakers have no issues with this but what about the beginner level learners who need to use all their linguistic resources to express a thought? It also feels like their own languages are somehow kicked to the curb and seen as inferior and must not be used or else. I don't feel like this is sending a positive message or creating an inclusive environment for the learner, yet we constantly hear teachers complain about the use of L1 in class. I agree that if a group of students in constantly talking about their weekend plans in their L1 during class that can be disrespectful and can disturb the class, but if they are trying to create/negotiate meaning, this should not be penalized. Does any one have experience with this policy, and what do you think of it?
(I read an article once about an issue at a university in the US where a director had sent an email to the Chinese student population asking them to refrain from speaking Chinese in the cafeteria (!) This was after professors had complained about this to the head. I couldn't believe it and it goes against human rights at that point, in my view. Thoughts?)

[sameerco1971]

I agree with you that learners who use their L1 in class should not be penalized. Sometimes it is helpful to both the learners and the teacher.

[sameerco1971]

My students sometimes are encouraged to use their L1 in class during the lesson. They need to make sure that they understand the lesson in their own language. It can be used to get feedback and translate ambiguous words.

[Kunlong Jin]

I am a native Chinese speaker. I came from a learning context where teacher-centred learning is dominated across the country. With more than 5000 history of Confucius philosophy of teaching and learning, teachers are superior to students and it is almost no chance for students to challenge them. Simply speaking, learners are more often to accept and follow what the teacher said. This kind of teaching philosophy is rooted in the mind of each one for ages. However, it is one fo the obstacles, I think, to hinder the learners to acquire new knowledge, especially a new language like English. What the teacher said is not always correct, it might have errors themselves. One way of imparting knowledge is really not a good method to instruct. In this regard, one won't see plurilithic approaches in China's educational contexts. This is really a bad idea of moving on though.

[andrea scabbia]

L1 use can be useful during the lessons.

[Tom Le Seelleur Lisburn, NI]

When I teach presessional to Chinese students in Sheffield I first ask them to discuss the issues in Chinese so that everyone is on the same page in terms of concept, ideals, values, and then i ask them to discuss again in English - This leads to better understanding and development of their English because i ask them to trust each other and that together they vcan learn from each others experiences, knowledge and constructions of language. L1 is important and though i don't know Chinese i respect their need to use L1 when appropriate and L2 as often as possible.

[evarojo]

Incredible! Once I taught in a secondary school where I was encouranged to talk to students in English at all times and places as they were students from the British Council Programme. Well, I taught my lessons in English and out of the lesson time if they initiated a conversation with me in Spanish, I would answer in Spanish. Are we not forgetting the pastoral side of teaching?

[marian]

I agree with the limited use of L1 by students in class only when this helps towards the purpose of the task/activity being done. Sometimes translating some words is essential to make the meaning of a word absolutely clear.

[tony]

My experience is related to learning the Chinese language. The students in classrooms were from all over the world with different cultural backgrounds, and the Chinese language served as lingua franca there. Those students who came to learn Chinese in China and who could not speak English had no other choice than to communicate their meaning in the target language (Chinese). So, what I noticed was that such learners ended up becoming much more fluent in Chinese in a very short time as opposed to those who could go the easy way and use English in their outside-the-classroom conversations instead. That is the reason why I think that ‘English only’ policy is conducive to speedy language acquirement.

[Ulla]

One factor in my country that contributes to an emphasis on standard English in teaching is our standardised school leaving exam (similar to the Cambridge FCE). There is a section, for example, that tests 'use of English' and contains quite complex grammatical structures. Deviation from the norms would certainly be problematic there, and teachers naturally feel they have to prepare their learners well for this exam.

The education system here is also struggling, in my opinion, with the multilingual reality of our classrooms. There are often explicit or implicit 'German only' policies in schools (German speaking country; German is the language of instruction) - I share the first poster's feelings on these. I think this attitude also influences the way we teach English. From my conversations with teachers, I would say that an English-only classroom is still seen as the gold standard.

I am beginning to think that it would be beneficial for everybody if we engaged more with all the languages present in the classroom in English lessons, but I still have to figure out what that would look like in practice.

[miabae]

In my experience "English only" works great as it makes the students immerse into the language environment. I only resort to L1 if there are great difficulties with understanding a particular word or structure. And if possible, I ask one of the students to translate so that I remain the L2 person to the class at all costs  

[Rachel Dry]

Aug 7, 2020 19:43:17 GMT miabae said:

In my experience "English only" works great as it makes the students immerse into the language environment. I only resort to L1 if there are great difficulties with understanding a particular word or structure. And if possible, I ask one of the students to translate so that I remain the L2 person to the class at all costs  

I think asking another student to translate is a really useful tool, i have never thought about it as a way to maintain my position as speaker of the L2. 

In a mixed nationality classroom i often find if i translate a word for a student who is really struggling with the meaning the rest of the class will then ask for the word to be translated into their language.. before you know it the word 'sustainable' has been translated into 7 languages! I feel they don't always need it to be translated but in those situations it is a form of comfort to see their own language and have the reassurance they have identified/translated the word correctly themselves. 

I am in an EAL context with young learners so often need to change between actively teaching EFL and also providing curriculum support for my students to be able to function in school using English as the mode of instruction. It is difficult to ensure that i am ensuring they are progressing in terms of their English language aquisitoin but also supporting them to be able to actively engage in the national curriculum. 

[Anita]

In an Outer Circle country, I often hear of the ''English Only' policy but it is not followed by students and staff. Having said that, it is surprising to to see that students communicate the plurilithic way rather than using ''Standard English'' There is an attempt by staff to avoid using L1 in class or in their staff rooms while responding to student queries.This is to provide students with maximum exposure to the target language.I do not think such an approach hinders the development of the plurilithic approaches to English.