Make language your own

[Admin]

I love this idea of making language one's own, and I liked this exchange in which the teachers arrived at this conclusion.
I think there could be forums for students to share their local experiences. In an online medium perhaps actual forums, discussion boards like this one, blogs, or even vlogs on YouTube channels could be created and used for students from all sorts of different learning contexts to share their experiences. This could start as a simple class task, guided by the teacher initially and let evolve and grow through the student voices.
In a recent conference, two teachers in different US cities and states presented their project wherein they set up Google Slides presentations/videos with their respective students and then paired or grouped their students with each other across geographical constraints to work on their student-created videos, using topics that focused on them, their culture etc. I liked that and it could grow in scale and scope.
In one school I worked with where students came from tens of different cultures, we hosted a yearly International Day where students recreated their country/culture in their classroom using means like traditional food, games, music, pictures and videos of their countries, recreating important landmarks, offering mini language classes etc. They talked about their culture and their countries and their language to everyone visiting using English (their English) and it was always a wonderful result. This could be adapted to include ways of raising their awareness about language learning, somewhat like the collaborative forum discussed in the course.
This is a challenging question...does anyone have other views/ideas?

[sameerco1971]

Localisation is a popular term that teachers use nowadays which means applying any topic to local matters. The students should not only use English locally but also in meaningful situations. Young learners find it more interesting to talk in their own culture, their own English. As long as they express themselves comfortably. For example, if there is a topic about snowstorms which my students have never experienced, I adapt it to the students' environment like camping in the desert which my students prefer.

[Kunlong Jin]

Well, that is really an interesting idea to explore. The way I learn and teach English is following the traditional ways of doing it. Generally speaking, employing all materials, activities, lesson plans from English-speaking countries. I always think it is kind of 'model' that we should follow. However, that conversation opens a new perspective for me. Indeed, it ie quite right that learners are only becoming 'proficient' when they can express themselves freely in their own ideologies. If learners can speak fluently in English whatever topics they are, why we force them to learn the western cultures. The ultimate goal of learning languages is to use that language to express one's own social experience not others.

I do not know what kind of international forums exist in the world. But if not, why not create one and we can simply collect the ideas from all over the world. Allowing people to express their own ideas of suing English in their lives. I am sure we can find that although some people may not have a better understanding of English-speaking countries and cultures, they are quite expressive in English within their own life circles.

[Daniel Palmer]

I worked at an international school which had a very diverse set of nationalities and cultures, and the management made a point of making sure the classes were as diverse as possible, and that they were moved every few weeks. This made it easier to create a kind of physical forum where differences would be brought up naturally; personally, I spent a lot of lessons encouraging students to apply concepts to their own culture, and then make presentations.

[catmom101]

The introduction to this unit reminded me of this TED Talk which I recommend in case you haven't seen it:
The world's English mania
www.ted.com/talks/jay_walker_the_world_s_english_mania

[evarojo]

I have used etwinning as a tool for students to communicate with other students in the EU and share their English language learning and personal experiences.
www.etwinning.net/es/pub/index.htm
Students become aware of other students across Europe doing the same thing they do and they try to communicate with them in a language that is not their mother tongue. This is when I take the chance to share the idea of world Englishes. From now on, I will insist more on the idea of them making English their own and adjusting it for whatever purpose they may have in their personal and private life.
I am now fully aware of it and will go beyond, making my students be proud of their own English.

[marian]

As I teach students who will work in the tourism industry, for them it is of paramount importance to be able to talk about their own culture in English. No matter where tourists come from, English will always be the lingua franca we have been talking about in this course.

[Amaryllis]

When you can use English to say what you set out to say, then you are proficient - that’s an interesting way of describing proficiency and I think it is valid.

This idea is relevant and appropriate for the General English classes that I teach because often students feel that passing the formal tests is more important than learning to express yourself in your own way. Sometimes we all lose sight of the wood for the trees, teachers included. I think it would be interesting for my students to share their local experiences in short videos that could be shown to English learners in high school and university in their countries of origin. I think they would feel more intimidated speaking to an audience of native speakers, but speaking in English to speakers of their own languages would, I think, be empowering for both my students and those watching them express themselves confidently in English.

[Amaryllis]

May 14, 2020 17:26:16 GMT Admin said:

I love this idea of making language one's own, and I liked this exchange in which the teachers arrived at this conclusion.
I think there could be forums for students to share their local experiences. In an online medium perhaps actual forums, discussion boards like this one, blogs, or even vlogs on YouTube channels could be created and used for students from all sorts of different learning contexts to share their experiences. This could start as a simple class task, guided by the teacher initially and let evolve and grow through the student voices.
In a recent conference, two teachers in different US cities and states presented their project wherein they set up Google Slides presentations/videos with their respective students and then paired or grouped their students with each other across geographical constraints to work on their student-created videos, using topics that focused on them, their culture etc. I liked that and it could grow in scale and scope.
In one school I worked with where students came from tens of different cultures, we hosted a yearly International Day where students recreated their country/culture in their classroom using means like traditional food, games, music, pictures and videos of their countries, recreating important landmarks, offering mini language classes etc. They talked about their culture and their countries and their language to everyone visiting using English (their English) and it was always a wonderful result. This could be adapted to include ways of raising their awareness about language learning, somewhat like the collaborative forum discussed in the course.
This is a challenging question...does anyone have other views/ideas?

These are all such wonderful ideas!

[Ulla]

I enjoy getting my students to talk about local matters in English. It often surprises them how difficult it is to explain local circumstances to outsiders in a different language - they way the country is governed, for example, or even our grading system in schools. I like bringing in an article from our local newspaper in German that has lots of references to the local government, for example, and getting the students to summarize it in English. Maybe this type of activity will become more popular now that the CEFR includes mediation.

[miabae]

My students are professionals that need English to interact with their offices and clients in other countries. In a way, they make English their own on a daily basis (or almost on a daily basis, depending on their role in the company). Naturally, they compare their Englishes with those of their colleagues overseas. Sometimes they bring up the differences in class and we discuss the varieties.

[Anita]

I totally agree with the views of Chris, Khawla, and Rana. It is easy to relate to them since I am teaching Arabic students. Students who consider the target language as their own are the ones who are aware of the importance of the language in their daily lives. I would like to quote a comment by one student who refused to attend remedial classes for English. He said,''English is my enemy language,so I don't want to study it''. In a conservative context like this, it is not common to see students taking part in discussion forums.It is challenging for the teacher to design tasks that are interactive,contextualized and appropriate.