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| Mr. Thomas Santos providing a workshop on "Teaching in the Target Language Without Translation." |
THE AMERICAN EMBASSY'S REGIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE OFFICER
After Korean language classes, we attended a workshop by a guest speaker named Thomas Santos. He is the Regional English Language Officer (RELO) from the American embassy, and will be with us for a two-part workshop on teaching English in English in a Korean classroom.
While it may seem like an obvious concept at first, there is apparently a huge debate right now about teaching in the target language without any translation. I remember my four years of Spanish classes in high school, where my teachers would speak in English to teach Spanish. I never thought about it much - how in/effective this approach may be, or whether there were other strategies for teaching a foreign language - until I went to college and took more Spanish courses.
LEARNING SPANISH WITHOUT TRANSLATION
At UW, I experienced firsthand what it means to be taught a language by only hearing, speaking, and writing in that language. Although college-level Spanish was difficult, I was still able to derive comfort in how familiar this foreign language was to me. My "r"s rolled in a way that made me the envy of most of my classmates, and my pronunciations were diamond-cut in their precision.
LANGUAGES & SHARED HISTORIES OF COLONIZATION
In elementary (still living in the Philippines), I heard stories about how my mother's side of the family had Spanish blood. In junior high (once in the U.S.), I quickly developed a passion for learning more about Spanish-speaking countries - especially those in the Americas. It wasn't until college that I came to understand more that my affinity for things Spanish was historically-based.
My "r"s rolled enviably and my pronunciations were diamond-cut thanks to 333 years of Spanish colonization of the island-nation of the Philippines. My passion fixated more on the Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas because most shared a common history of being colonized by Spain. Language-learning, first with English, then with Spanish, and now with Korean, started on a thought-provoking note for me from the very start.
LEARNING KOREAN WITHOUT TRANSLATION
Our Korean language classes here in Jungwon are taught by professors from Korea University, one of the three "SKY" schools (Seoul, Korea, and Yonsei). They speak to us only in Korean - thereby providing a demonstration for those of us who have not yet experienced what it looks like to teach a language in the target language. Despite my sneaky little complaints over the length of class-time and the mind-numbing amount of memorization we have to do, at the end of the day, I recognize that receiving such a high-quality (and free) language instruction is an immense privilege - something that other Fulbright programs do not provide, but something which the Korean Fulbright program has ensured was included in our training.
Back to Mr. Santos. His workshop was very informative and very interactive, but one thing he said that has really impressed itself on my mind is this:
"To learn a new language is to lose an immense amount of power."
People around the room slowly nodded in agreement. Mr. Santos continued by saying that being a beginner can be especially infantilizing. More nods as minds everywhere connected what he was saying to our classroom experience, where teachers talk very. slowly. with. us. Just because they need to in order for us to understand! Since I have experience learning a foreign language myself, I feel more equipped for the job that's ahead of me. However, there is more equipping to be had and, even before this, maybe more experiences up ahead involving the loss of "an immense amount of power" before I can re-learn to place myself where my Korean students will be in my English classroom.
MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU
Do you speak another language? If so, how did you learn? Did you experience the immense loss of power that Mr. Santos talked about at the beginning of your journey to learn the language? If you don't speak another language, what is preventing you from doing so? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
I love reading about your experiences in Korea; keep up the great blog content, Mimi!
ReplyDeleteWhat an honor to have you be among my readers, Bryan - aka Master of all things social media! I don't think I've shared this with you before but that one conversation we had last summer on Memorial Way (when you said you were thinking of applying for the Fulbright in Korea) actually inspired me to consider applying to the country with more seriousness. Did you ever end up applying? Were you going to go for the ETA or the research? In any case, I wanted to let you know that you are changing the course of people's lives even when you're just heading home from classes!
DeleteI speak a fair amount of German, having studied four years in high school and then minoring in college. I also did an immersion experience for just four weeks between high school and college. Because I began in an English environment, the loss of power was minimized. More recently, I have been attempting to learn some Spanish. Our family has become connected with a family of recent immigrants from Mexico, and I have wanted to communicate more clearly with them. Fumbling over words, reaching into the foreign language area of my brain only to blurt out a word in German that is no help to anyone. Realizing that my grammar and syntax are probably incorrect and make me sound like a toddler. Definitely more powerless. Lastly, my next door neighbors are from Vietnam originally. I would LOVE to learn some of that language in order to better connect with them. Sadly, I think the fear of that powerlessness has me momentarily paralyzed in my efforts. I'm glad to be prompted to think more objectively about the process.
ReplyDeleteAmy, thank you for sharing! I'm glad that the prompt inspired this deeper reflection on your part as far as the languages you've learned and those that you still want to learn. I remember you demonstrating the occasional German word in English class! What inspired you to study it in high school? I think that even fumbling (as you are doing) is better than stiffening up (like I did learning English at first). Now that I'm thinking along these terms, that momentary loss of power is worth it when you can then begin to reach out to more people. I hope that you ARE able to eventually communicate more clearly with the family from Mexico, and better connect with your neighbors from Vietnam! I know that your schedule is usually pretty tight. What are you doing to fit in language-learning amidst your other responsibilities?
DeleteYou will laugh. I chose to study German because my older sister had taken it, because of the cute boys in the class, and we wanted to have a language we could speak without our mom understanding! It's true.
DeleteLanguage study definitely takes a backseat these days. I have taken summer courses in Spanish at the local community college, as well as a few online courses. I purchased some picture dictionaries in Vietnamese and even have a CD with some language instruction. I just squish it in whenever I can. This coming year, I will be starting to teach my own children German, so that should keep that business fresh in my mind. The rest might have to be mediocre until my kids are grown. This seems far off, but it really isn't. I know it will come eventually.
Wow! Amy, what you're doing takes such discipline. You have so many full-time jobs going on that squishing this in whenever you can is admirable. I'm glad to hear that the boys will be learning German from you soon! That should definitely keep the language fresh in your mind and, in no time, you will have your young men speaking fluently with you. The back story of why you chose to study German did make me laugh. I would never have guessed that was the reason. Hahaha! Does Erik speak German? Did it actually even help you in the "cute boys in the class" department?
DeleteHi Mimi, just starting to read your blog, and I'm really enjoying it. I really should have blogged more when I was in Thailand--maybe next time! On that note, I do know some Thai, which I learned at UW. Though my mother is Thai, I only learned vocabulary words growing up. I only studied for two years at UW, but I've lived and worked in Thailand since then, and I am still learning! I am not fluent yet! Why? Perhaps it is the loss of power that Mr. Santos talked about. I'm still becoming confident in my Thai voice, and sometimes the fear of saying something wrong stops me from saying anything at all. I don't know if I would feel this way if I were speaking a non-tonal language. I took a class about teaching ELLs last term and I learned that it is not too uncommon for those literate in their first language to develop reading and writing skills before speaking, which is exactly what I did. My reading and writing capabilities par surpass my abilities to speak. Certainly, languages that are dissimilar from the mother tongue take longer to achieve full proficiency, so I am still working at it. I keep thinking about learning a third language, but I feel that I am so set on building a life in Thailand, so I think I should keep progressing with that before adding on something new. I don't want my Thai abilities to become fossilized.
ReplyDeleteDear Friend, I'm glad you're enjoying keeping up with the blog! It's exciting to see where life has taken you. Blogging about it can mean achieving a certain level of satisfaction; however, I am often torn between the desire to keep a record of what I do and actually doing things outside the blogosphere. The fear of saying something wrong was what kept me effectively mute during my first couple of years in the States. I have an idea of what you mention here. Now that you're learning more and more Thai, are you and your mother able to talk to each other more in the language? She must be excited to see you so deeply-immersed in the culture! As far as your ELL-related observation, I have found that to be true for me with Spanish. I can receive very well, but find it more difficult to produce the language. What third language are you considering learning? Are you still in Thailand now or are you planning on returning to live the rest of your life there?
DeleteI have felt the "loss of immense power" that you speak of 3 times. First, when learning English. Second, Spanish. Third, Portuguese. I feel like a kindergartner in college. It's a sucky feeling but you're right, the "loss of power" only lasts for a while, but once you master a language, oh how it feels sooo good :)
ReplyDeleteKeep learning ate! You will be fluent once you come back and will be able to watch Korean dramas with me without a problem! :D
Christy, thank you for your faith in my language learning abilities. I don't know if I will be FLUENT when I get back, but I would like to show some sort of recognition when someone speaks in Korean to me slowly. Currently, nothing registers except for the words and phrases that I have learned in my language class. I have the option of spending my winter break studying the language hardcore. Or I can travel. As you can see, it's a very tough decision.
ReplyDeleteWhich Korean drama should we watch together when I get back?
TRAVEL! Travel your heart out because after you get back and start on your PhD, you will never know when the next opportunity will come up for you to travel again. Language learning can be done now when you're there interacting with your children or when you come back here on your free time. But for now, travel and don't let anything get in the way. Even though I have failed in a lot of ways but not being more involved in school, I can definitely say that the best thing I ever did was travel and study abroad 3 times. So go on! Do it! I will be a proud sister :)
ReplyDeleteI love this entry. It brings up an interesting topic that, in all my years of language learning, I've never thought about in words, but definitely felt!
ReplyDeleteI speak English natively, and Korean and Japanese decently well as I've studied them throughout college and in their native countries each for an academic year at a time. I also took French in high school, though I've now forgotten pretty much all of it. I never felt the loss of power in French, but I feel like that's because it was simplified high school/middle school course work and I never really had to use it. (I haven't even been to English Canada even though I live so close in NY..) For me I feel the loss of power most (even at my level today!) when trying to speak with natives who would be considered higher in status than me in various ways (my boyfriend's parents, my professors, my friends' professors, older people from either country no matter how I know them XD). I just get so nervous and it's even worse when what I say is either misunderstood or completely not understood in any way...
Kaity, your comment compelled me to reread this entry. I am even more glad now that I've kept a record of my Fulbright journey! The number of languages you've taken on is impressive! There is no doubt that your previous years studying abroad will come in handy for all other journeys you will take in life. I can understand your last statement very well - nothing makes me feel as hopeless as when what I say is misunderstood or completely not understood. What do you hope to be known for someday? How will you bring your gift in languages to bear in your future occupation?
DeleteI don't really have any desire or plan of being known well for anything. If I can help people and spread cultural understanding and tolerance between countries, maybe open a few minds to all the possibilities of the world, then I will be happy. I'm kind of simplistic in that manner. So long as I have quality friends I don't mind what is the first thing that comes to their mind about me. If it's something good is always best, though. lol I actually got something that fits this yesterday at my sister's baby shower. They're sticky notes with a quote on them that reads, "If not for the stars, aim for a good view of them." That's pretty much about how I think. I don't need to be among the stars so long as I have a comfortable view of them.
DeleteAs for using languages in my future occupation, my plan right now is to stick with teaching English for as long as I can. It's my dream really. I want to live abroad and either country will do since I have a passion for both, though Korea is looking more promising at the moment. Which ever country I'm not in I would like to keep up with my studies of so that I can maybe be an interpreter or something if the opportunity arises or even use it as yet another language I can teach if that sort of an opportunity arises instead. I don't dream too big, just simple things that will keep me happy, really. I'm more the type that just goes with the flwo, honestly. To tell the truth, even this whole Fulbright thing was an on-a-whim, kind of last minute decision after it was recommended to me back in September. But I put my all into anything I try to do so I still think I have a decent chance.