Thank you so much

Comment for Catherine,

Today, I’ve also been trying to leave my comment on your blog but it keeps disappearing.

Thank you for your concern and all the kind words which were very touching. I didn’t expect you to post a reply after you mentioned you had problems trying to reply to my post. I would have thanked you in class but I didn’t notice your post until today. The end of the semester has been a bit busy as you know. But I wanted to take this time to post this before thanking you in class. And as you said, “silence has its rewards but sometimes we must be heard.”

Again, thank you for the support. I consider you a sincere friend.

Even though there were ups and downs in the class. And at times people had strong opinions and didn’t want to give in. And even not being able to fully express ourselves in class.

It didn’t mean we didn’t learn a lot. Like we talked about it on the phone, it was all worth it.

It would not be critical pedagogy without some disagreement after all.

To my dear classmates J

I never thought my last post would generate so much concern for me. I am deeply touched by those of you who were concerned. I won’t say your names but you know who you are.

Thank you for your support and thank you so much again, Prof. Curtis.

With love,

Christy

Clearing the air from Saturday class

I felt like I was ‘on the spot’ (somehow I felt like I was the Iranian girl in the article we read a couple of weeks ago) when the discussion turned to doing critical pedagogy for Korean high school students. Also, I think there was a misunderstanding between my critical pedagogy lesson plan which takes 50 minutes for our assignment and doing critical pedagogy for 10 minutes on a regular basis. There was a miscommunication at this point, I was thinking about my original 50 minute lesson plan while others were questioning me or trying to persuade me to do critical pedagogy for 10 minutes. Because I was thinking one thing and others were thinking something else that caused miscommunication in the classroom which I realized after the class. I was so confused in the classroom and couldn’t figure it out until later. So, it seemed as though some thought that I didn’t want to do the critical pedagogy or that it isn’t right for Korean senior high school students.

I want to take this chance to clarify this. In fact, I really enjoy this method since I enjoy discussing issues especially politics. And I also believe doing critical pedagogy class is a great way for people to get a better understanding of themselves and the things happening around their lives. Also it will be a good opportunity for my students to see the world differently or more broadly. In the past, I have had discussions with my students and we discussed various things in their life, Korea or the world.

So, of course I look forward to doing critical pedagogy as often as I can with my students but I think it should be avoided near testing times especially with my senior high school students. And, my students don’t want it at that time either. They want to focus on the test because they have a sense of urgency about them and they feel every second should be used to prepare for the test. The mothers also feel that way and when they ask, “Could you do this after the test” they are letting me know what they think is important. During regular lessons devoting 10-15 minutes is not a big problem since the students don’t have a sense of urgency about them. Luckily I was able to do my critical pedagogy lesson with one of my students as I mentioned in class. And after doing it, I saw that it is effective for even beginner level students. I realized critical pedagogy made him think and he seemed to enjoy it as well.

Again, I agree that critical pedagogy is very effective but I question if it is right for high school seniors in every lesson. In my opinion when it gets closer to exam time, maybe it is better to focus on their immediate needs. However, I strongly believe that doing critical pedagogies would give my students the opportunity to think about things deeply and differently. I would also like to make students experience something totally new and some might like learning in this way but I think I shouldn’t expect all students to like this method. I think our duty is to meet their needs and the expectations of their parents first and if we can include some critical pedagogy so it doesn’t interfere with their agenda then I’m all for it. After all, it is their future we are gambling with. Do we have that right? We can gamble with our own lives but we shouldn’t with the lives of our students, whose futures we have been entrusted with.

Also, I would like to give some background information for those of you who may be interested in KSAT.
Why do Korean high school students have to memorize so many words that they will immediately forget after a test?
 I would like to take this chance to put it into perspective.  From my understanding in America students can take the SAT several times a year and even choose the best score to submit to schools. What a luxury these students have!  In Korea, students are allowed to take the KSAT just once a year and if they don’t do well then they have to wait another year. This year is quite often spent at a cram (재수학원) school where some stay at a dorm while others commute everyday until the next test. I am not familiar with other western countries such as the UK so I cannot compare them as well. In both the USA and Korea , the score mostly dictates whether a student can go to a top university or not. A student who scores low probably cannot go to Harvard or SNU. So a low score is not as much of a problem in the US since students can take the test several times in a year and try to improve upon it in a short time period. In Korea for high school seniors the KSAT is not the only test score that carries weight. Korean high students must take 4 major tests: midterm,finaltest, national pre KSAT (모의고사), and KSAT.  The total of these 4 scores provides a ranking (수능등급) for each student. Therefore, the final year of high school is devoted to maximizing the score on these 4 tests. That is why in one of our readings a student thought critical pedagogy was not helpful and that he could take that type of class later since he had to focus on his exams. Of course doing well on these tests is not a guarantee of future success or happiness but this is what they perceive as well as their parents. It is just an example, let’s compare 2 students, one with a high score VS one with a low score and their possible earning potential. Let's say both go to universities respectively of their KSAT score. Subsequently let’s assume the better student gets a job at Samsung, which many people want in Korea with a starting salary of 36 million won per year vs the other student gets a job at a regular mid-sized company for 24 million per year(even though I have no problem with working in a small company). Now the difference is just 12 million a year but if you consider a 30 year career then that difference is now 360 million and if it adjusted for interest then it is much much more.

Of course money doesn’t buy happiness but what about the other factors of improved self-esteem of going to a great university or working in a prestigious company. Or not disappointing parents who want their child to succeed. After all, isn’t that why all these kids go to academies? But let’s say both of the people from the example are both equally happy in their respective jobs. The person with the better job will be able to afford to do more things for their family and isn’t this the goal of parents? Maybe not in the west but in Korea it is.

Different cultures have different customs and this is the reality in Korea. So that is why it is important especially for high school seniors to focus all their energy on producing top scores on these 4 major exams. We have to remember this is Korea and I think judging what is right or wrong based on another culture’s ideals without trying to understand the host country’s culture isn’t right either. Isn’t this what happened during colonial times, forcing foreign ideals on the native people?

The Language of African Literature & World Englishes

The Language of African Literature    

While I was reading the Thiong’o and how English was forced on Africans by their colonial rulers I couldn’t help but think of the similarities between their experience and Koreans during Japanese rule. Koreans were forced to speak Japanese and Japanese was the language that was used in schools. Also, the Japanese forced Korean to change their name to a Japanese one. They even forced their culture on us and ignored our culture.

What I found especially powerful was how schools forced kids to tell on each other when they spoke African. The system made them betray each other and again reminded me of similar situations that happened in Korea. Also, I think it is important to point out the fact that no matter how hard the colonial rulers tried to exterminate the African languages, the languages survived.

Thinking about Korea’s experience, I could feel how Africans must have felt. As Thiong’o mentioned language is closely tied to one’s culture and to lose one’s language is not just losing one’s culture but losing one’s soul as well.

World Englishes

There is no denying the fact that English is spoken all over the world and that variations have been created that does not get the same recognition as those varieties spoken by the inner circle.

However, I think intelligibility is one of the most important factors that need to be kept in mind when discussing World Englishes. How else can people speaking different variations of English communicate?

Of course, there is the interpretability factor but as long as the Englishes are intelligible, people should be able to manage the interpretability.

Kachru makes a good point how the different variations and uses of English need to be considered when teaching ESL.

Critical Pedagogy in an EFL Teaching context

Critical Pedagogy in an EFL Teaching context : An Ignis fatuus or an Alternative Approach                                                          - Sima Sadeghi

My thought ..

While reading material for my Culture and Language course, the part of about silence and nonverbal behavior made me think critically about discourse in a multicultural environment.

Critical Pedagogy seems to be ideal for a homogenous group of similar cultural background. But, I wonder if it can work and how it would work for a heterogenous group with differing cultural backgrounds especially when it comes to dialogue.

 It seems like Western cultures that value direct speech with an immediate response goes against the concept of critical pedagogy when mixed with a culture that values silence and forethought before speaking. Westerners look at silence negatively and feel awkward if there is a brief period of silent during a dialogue. But Asians think it is respectful to the speaker and is an acknowledgement to the speaker that their words were heard and that the listener is giving them due thought. This quote from the reading “…anti-dialogical method which…..leads to domination and oppression through the silencing of students’ knowledge and experiences” seems to be what happens when these two cultures interact in a critical pedagogical classroom.

In addition, psycholinguistics states that if a person isn’t truly bilingual then there is about 15 seconds from the time a sentence is received in one part of the brain then transferred to another part of the brain and a reply is made. I know 15 seconds is an eternity in a discussion but then how do we minimize the impact of the silence so we can liberate the oppressed?

Then how to go about liberating the oppressed? I don’t know but I think we can first start by considering the fact that there are different levels of English proficiency among us Koreans and how can these differences be integrated with the fully fluent native speakers so everyone has a voice.

Time Machine (Lesson Plan)

                                                                                                                    Christy Kim

Time Machine   

    

Summary - This is a lesson to discuss the subject of History becoming a mandatory subject in Korean high schools from 2012. The concept of a Time Machine will be used to activate creative processes in the Ss and to gain their interest. For the activity Ss will learn Conditional type 2 grammar to meet curriculum requirements. Grammar will be shown both inductively and deductively. Ss will choose one person from the past and imagine they have traveled back in time to meet the person. So, Ss will use the learned grammar to complete the activity.

Level – Intermediate level

Students – High school students

Goal – Give Ss who are familiar with the issue - History becoming a mandatory subject in Korean high schools from 2012 - an opportunity to use prior knowledge to think critically about how it affects their daily life and possible future implications. Give Ss who are not familiar with this issue a chance to learn about the issue and to think critically about how it affects their daily life and possible future implications. An activity will be done to active critical thinking processes to see if Ss perceptions or opinions change from the warm-up discussion to the end of the activity. Ss will learn a grammar and vocabulary lesson that will be needed to complete the activity due to several limitations such as: English ability, the need to study for the Korean SAT that involves specific grammar, vocabulary and expressions, the need to fulfill other study requirements, limitations within the classroom setting, time constraints, and the need to meet the expectations of parents/faculty/school etc.

Grammar focus – Conditional type 2, Vocabulary related to the reading and history

Objective

1. Go back in time to meet any historical figure and talk about the reasons why and what the Ss would say to the historical figure.

2. Use what Ss learned while doing activity to discuss and answer questions critically

Material – PPT, 5 hand-outs: Article, Survey, Brainstorming, Grammar, Activity hand-out

Lesson time – 50 minutes

Procedure

Warm-up

The teacher will start off the lesson by giving the Ss a survey before the lesson. The questions in the survey are: What do you think about history? What do you think about History becoming a mandatory subject next year? Do you think learning history is important? How will learning history affect you? Ss will answer briefly. Afterwards the survey the teacher will take up the papers. The answers will be compared to similar questions after the lesson to see if there are any changes in Ss perceptions or opinions.

Survey 1.     What do you think about history? 2.     What do you think about History becoming a mandatory subject next year? 3.     Do you think learning history is important? 4.     How will learning history affect you?

Then the teacher will say, “Imagine we have a time machine and we can go back in history and meet a historical figure like Admiral Lee Soon Shin or the martyr, Yoo Kwan Soon. Who would you want to meet? Why do you want to meet this person? What would you say? What would you do if you were that person? Why is this person important? Students will brainstorm using a handout where they can write down some of their thoughts and any vocabulary or expressions they need to know in English related to their historical figure that the teacher will provide on a case by case basis.

Brainstorming Sheet 1.     Who would you want to meet? 2.     Why do you want to meet this person? 3.     What would you say? 4.     What would you do if you were that person? 5.     Why is this person important? Vocabulary / Expressions needed in English : Other information needed in English :

Study Part

Part 1 – Introduce lesson & learn vocabulary before reading

Vocabulary will be inferred from the text.

Required subject – Math is a required subject so I must take it at school. Unveiled – The company, Apple unveiled the Ipad 2 yesterday and everyone loved it. Sovereignty – Korea declared its sovereignty from Japan which resulted in the Samil Movement. Overshadowed – My brother always overshadowed me in basketball because he is so tall. Assertion – She made the assertion that she is the most qualified to lead the team. Pacifism – Gandhi believed in pacifism so he didn’t use violence.

***Note: for KSAT preparation these words will be defined using synonyms/antonyms and finally in Korean if the meaning cannot be inferred from the text***

Part 2 – Read Article

Reading Comprehension Questions (Discuss while reading to ensure comprehension)

1. After reading (A), why is it now a very critical time for Koreans to have a stronger sense of history?

2. According to (B), why do you think History will be concentrated on modern history instead of ancient history?

3. What is the main point of the article? (Done after reading)

Korean history to be required subject

Korean history will become a required subject at every school from 2012 and teachers should pass a history exam to be appointed. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on Friday unveiled a plan to strengthen history education. (A) “In new schoolbooks, Japan renewed its sovereignty claim over Dokdo and distorted historic facts regarding Korea. Now is a very critical time for Koreans to have a stronger sense of history,” said Education Minister Lee Joo-ho in a news conference. Currently, all schools teach Korean history, but for high school students Korean history is optional, with only 10 percent of them choosing the subject. “The plan is meaningful as it will pave the way for young students to build up their consciousness of history. The ministry will make history classes easier and more interesting to study by adopting various activities such as field trips,” said the minister. The importance of history will be taught through interesting experiences rather than stressful examination,” Lee said. Therefore, the ministry decided not to include Korean history in the subjects of the nation’s highly competitive college entrance exam.
 
(B) The nation’s history education has concentrated on its modern history, according to Lee Tae-jin, president of the National Institute of Korean History. Right after independence from Japanese colonial rule, school education emphasized nationalism among children. However, over past decades marked by the rapid development of Korea, history education has been overshadowed by economic values. Critics say the country has a weak assertion to dispute claims made in recently strengthened history education in neighboring countries such as Japan and China. “In this globalized era, we have to take a pride in our own culture. And the pacifism found in our history can be the value through which we can appeal to the international community,” Lee said. “We need to approach history education from a new perspective, not just from the previous test-oriented angle,” he said.

Part 3 – Grammar Focus (Deductive)

Conditional type 2: use if + past (if I knew / if you were / if we didn’t etc) If I could go back in time, I would meet _______________. (I would meet _______________ if I could go back in time.) If I could meet ________________, I would meet her/him because _________________. If I could meet ________________, I would tell her/him __________________. If I were ________________, I would have _____________. Exercises A. Put the verb into the correct form. 1. If I _____________ (know) her number, I would call her for a date. 2. I _______________ (not / buy) that computer if I were him. 3. This sandwich isn’t very good. It ________________ (taste) better if it was fresh. B. Write a sentence with if… for each situation. Ex. I can’t meet you tomorrow – I have to work late. If I didn’t have to work late, I would meet you tomorrow.                   1. She doesn’t see him very often because he lives far away.                                                                           2. These shoes are too expensive, so I’m not going to buy them.                                                                          3. He can’t buy the car because he can’t afford it.

Activity

Part 4

Handout activity sheet to Ss to write down which historical figure they would want to meet and why by using the learned grammatical structure and the given example answer. Ss will discuss the questions in pairs or group. Ss will fill out their activity sheet from the discussion. Finally students will present their information to the class. After all the presentations, the class will review the issue and offer any other suggestions.

Activity Sheet

Grammar Activity Example answer: If I could go back in time, I would meet Yoo Kwan Soon. If I could meet Yoo Kwan Soon, I would meet her because I admired her heroism and bravery. If I could meet her, I would tell her that Korea will be free eventually. If I were Yoo Kwan Soon, I would not have been captured so I could fight longer. She is important because she fought for Korea’s independence from Japan. Your answer:

Discussion Activity 1. After this discussion, what do you think about History becoming a mandatory subject next year? Do you have the same opinion as before or not? Ex) I think it is… or In my opinion, I agree/disagree because… 2. What are some advantages and disadvantages of this policy? 3. What could result from this in 10 years, 20 years or 100 years? 4. How will this affect you/Korean society/Korean culture? 5. How will this affect Korean and Japanese relations? Note: Do Reflection after the lesson. Reflection: What did you feel about today’s lesson?

Part 5 – Accuracy Review: Optional depending on time constraints

Teacher will close the class by reviewing some errors that Ss made in class that the teacher jotted down while Ss were talking.

From “No Way” to “Maybe" ( Reflection from last Sat )

Whoever read my blog might think, I might be irrational or wrong. However, I’d like to say what I could not say last Sat....

I think Thornbury used the term “window-dressing” as meaning the publishers are doing a kind of lip-service by saying they will include more controversial topics in coursebooks such as  feminism, landmines, etc. but they never include “homosexual” issues and even the use of “etc” is a way of hiding it. In addition, lip-service is paid to these issues because as long as they are just hinted at then it meets the requirements of curriculum makers.

I support Thornbury’s view that the issue of “homosexuality” is hardly ever mentioned in ESL or any other type of education. I think this must be changed and it must happen on many different levels for the issue of “homosexuality” to become mainstream. However, I am not saying we should force the issue. What I want to say is that at least  we could consider the followings ;

First, teachers, parents and the whole community need to have their awareness raised about homosexuality and how it is a natural part of some people’s lives and that it shouldn’t be viewed as negative or taboo. In my opinion, being taught at home is more important since this is where a child’s values will be first developed. As Thornbury mentions there are lots of gays and lesbians in ESL so why shouldn’t it be mentioned in ESL books.

Second, movies and media should change the way they portray gay men on screen from the “classic flaming gay” to a more mainstream type gay. There needs to be more positive image of gays and even having gays as the main character in movies. For ex, blacks were rarely cast as the main character but nowadays it is just a regular occurrence in movies.  I think categorizing the picture book “And Tango Makes Three” is in one of the banned books is too much.

People are always resistant to change in the beginning but eventually it becomes normal and accepted publicly. For ex, gay marriage has started to become law in many states in America even though it was strongly opposed in the beginning.

Another example is like mixed-blood kids in Korean society. At first, many years ago, people looked down on these kids and even parents didn’t want their kids to hang out with them but now it is happening less and less. Of course, this happens because people think it is abnormal but as time goes on, who knows it might become normal some day. The movie industry needs to focus on this issue not only for gays but for other minority groups that have “bit parts” in movies for ex, taxi drivers are always Indians, the convenience store owner is  always Korean, etc.

Third, even adoption by gay couples should not be considered just “Wrong” since even regular couple can become bad parents. We’d rather focus on thinking, wWhat are some alternative options for the abandoned babies? There is no guarantee the baby will be happy only when he/she is raised by a regular couple.

There is no right answer for anything. Gay parents can be as loving and kind (like “the wonderful gay parents in an American sitcom “Modern Family”) and raise a great kid equally as well as regular parents. 

Because I do believe ,

 “ From “No Way”  to “Maybe ”  is a huge change and gives  hope.”

Activity - Explaining the image & oppositional class

My reflection …

First, Explaining the image

In my opinion, this exercise had a “freshness” appeal because it is not something that is done on a regular basis. The exercise allowed each of us to have an opinion on the issue. It also promoted discussion among the three of us. I do wish we had more time so we could have done the ‘possible inferences’ and ‘explanation’.

Ex) when Homer was voting the machine kept saying, “McCain” and I inferred from that the election could be possibly manipulated to allow a different outcome as might have possibly happened in Florida when George Bush won the presidency in the 2000 election. A good thing about this type of activity is that it allows every student to have a say while maintaining a discussion type format.

This is especially important when the class is multicultural with different levels of English proficiency.

The format was nice because it guided the students and the sample prompts were very helpful too. However, a bad thing about this activity is that it could hinder ‘free thought’ since it provided sample prompts from the teacher. I think I would like to try this one day with my students.

Second,  Oppositional activity :

Two challenges among 6 are “ Irrelevant” and “ Teacher’s lack of Knowledge”

My advice for “irrelevant issue” was:

1. Use the students’ background information to learn about the students so the teacher has a better idea of the relevancy of certain issues to minimize the chances of having irrelevant topics.

2. Give students the option to choose among the topics.

3. Give the students freedom to suggest a list of topics.

Advice  I  received  from  Andy  about “teacher’s knowledge” was:

1. Teachers should be confident so students don’t think the teacher is lacking knowledge that way the teacher can instill trust in the student,

2. Teachers should be prepared and try to anticipate what will happen.

3. Teachers should develop themselves. (including further study & research..etc)

For me, the activity was innovative because I had never experience a lesson like that where a person can be an expert and express their opinion while the other person is just listens and asks clarifying questions. Overall, this activity would be good for ESL to develop  “listening and speaking skills”.

And Tango Makes Three(Banned book)

It's a story that kinda kicks the cinderblocks out from under the rusty ol' car that is "gays ain't natcherl." Tango Makes Three is the true story of Roy and Silo, two male penguins who've been in a committed, monogamous relationship for nearly six years, who try their darnedest to hatch a rock. When sympathetic zookeepers realize what the couple's trying to do, the get an abandoned egg from a female penguin, which Roy and Silo promptly adopt. And hatch. And raise as their own. That'd be Tango, I guess. Anyway, while it turns out there are gay penguins everywhere, this particular gay penguin family lives in the Central Park Zoo. The book is written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated with pages and pages of cutey cute penguins by Henry Cole.

Reflection

I would like to start by saying Catherine and Major Gee’s presentations made me think a lot. I thought the advertisement was typical of an airline since it used an attractive woman and a powerful man and how it created such a long discussion with so many diverse points from discrimination to social class and even the analogy to our classroom. I thought it was interesting how some thought it was sexist and racist. From my point of view, I don’t think it was too racist because it was Cathay Pacific Airlines which is a Hong Kong Airline so it is natural that the flight attendant be an Asian woman. I think if it were an American Airlines commercial the flight attendant might have been either a ‘white’ woman or guy. So, in that regard, I don’t think it is racist. We all know sex sells in advertisement especially in certain industries such as airline, alcohol, automobiles and cell phones. I do think it was a little sexist since it had the ‘powerful’ man in a dominant position and the woman was obviously subservient. But then again, sex sells and I think most woman want to be an object of desire that is why so many get plastic surgery or try to look beautiful.

Here’s a really sexist airline advertisement from Virgin Atlantic Airlines:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbib-A6NpW8&NR=1&feature=fvwp