Brown Ch. 17 and Kumar Ch. 9 & 10

In chapter nine of Kumar there is a quote that says “successful language communication is a manner of realities coming together that make up linguistic, extralinguistic, situational, and extrasituational contexts…using language for effective communication integrates contextual factors, and, therefore, teaching it for effective learning must invoke contextualization of linguistic input” (213). I think one of the best ways to tie all of these contexts together and make students recognize context as well as integrate language skills like chapter ten depicts is metacognition.  I think the most beneficial way to teach language skills and to see these skills across different contexts is to get students to think about their own thinking and recognize what they are doing in their thinking to make sense of the language communication they are doing. It is important to provide students with a context but to also take it one step further and have them think about the context or contexts in which we are asking them to think. I feel that having students think about their own thinking and the way that they contextualize their communication and their language skills will give them a true understanding of language and a great foundation to build upon. 

Brown Ch. 22 and Kumar Ch. 7 & 8

In chapter seven of Kumar the entire first paragraph was so captivating to me especially because I have read one much like it, but with even bolder statements.

In the article “Warriors with Words: Toward a Post- Columbine Writing Curriculum” by G. Lynn Nelson, Nelson says “language is both the source of much violence in our society—and its potential cure” which reminds me much of the first paragraph in Kumar’s chapter, and how fostering students awareness of the role played by language is so important (42). Rhetoric and the power of speech is an incredible tool and one students should both recognize and understand.

Another reason I think language awareness is so important in a more specific sense comes down to language awareness in writing. A huge part of writing is voice and finding our own identity—identity especially being an element that is so important to L2 learners. In Nelson’s article she says “deny me my stories, as the modern dominant culture does, and I will eventually turn to the language of violence,” and although I question the validity of that statement, it also makes me nervous to think about my L2 learners since writing and understanding language is already a struggle for them (42).  Is this why motivation is sometimes low for learners? Do they feel denied of their stories and identity? If L1 students are acting out because of this wont the effects of this on L2 students be even worse because they struggle in writing?

Writing makes both the writer and the story meaningful. Just as we want our students to be aware of language, we also want our students to be aware of their own language as much as we are aware of their language. After all, language is the awareness of it is power.

Brown Ch. 20 & 21 and Myth #5: Students Must Learn to Correct all their Writing Errors

The Ferris article was one that I could relate to very closely being that I am an English teacher. As an English teacher I am constantly teaching, reading, and responding to student writing. Throughout my experience I found that when I place the biggest emphasis on correcting student writing often times it does not help to better the student writer.  Upon teaching writing and giving students feedback to writing it is very important to actually teach. I love that in the Ferris article one of the main points in the what can we do section is to “teach students to take the time to write,” which seems like a no-brainer.  Writing is not a simple lesson—writing is a process, and it is important for our students to see that. It is not all about correcting so that students’ writing is 100% accurate, but instead it is about progressing as a writer holistically so that a student can achieve accuracy in the big picture. Knit picking each error will not help students develop any confidence as a writer, or foster autonomy in student writing which should be a goal any writing teacher has for her students.  It is important for a teacher to praise the student for their writing and nurture ideas before going about the writing in a “what’s wrong with this paper” type manner; a student must be comfortable and confidence enough to receive corrective type criticisms to their writing.

Brown Ch. 18

Upon reading this chapter of Brown on teaching listening, there were many aspects and elements of teaching listening that I have never thought about—I guess to be honest, I have never really thought about teaching listening at all; listening just seems like a natural concept like breathing—everyone knows how to listen right? This chapter really made me think about listening from the learning perspective instead of what comes natural.  A part of the chapter that really made me think was what teachers should consider about listening comprehension, and then it listed things like: what are listeners doing when they listen, what factors affect good listening, what are the characteristics of “real-life” listening, what are some principles for designing listening techniques, how can listening techniques be interactive, what are some common techniques for teaching listening, etc. These were all great and important questions to think about, and ones that will help me to better understand my students and their individual needs.