The "Art" of Orthographies

The Free Dictionary online defines orthography as “the art or study of correct spelling according to established usage, the aspect of language study concerned with letters and their sequences in word, [and] a method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols.” The reason I share this quote with you is due to the fact that the word “art” is used to help define what orthography and, in my mind, this is very fitting. When I took the time to write in Urdu, Gujarati, Panjabi, and Chinese I felt that the language itself was like a work of art: the way the written symbols gently curved in some instances, the way some almost seemed to create a picture, and the way in which the symbols looked quite beautiful after they were written (the textbook’s writing of course, certainly not my own crude attempt). In my opinion, when an artist is creating a work of art they often strive for perfection. This reminded me of Xiaoxiao’s discussion on our Wednesday evening class about how even altering a tiny portion of the symbol can create a whole different meaning for the reader, therefore, creating a perfect piece of writing is incredibly important in order for meaning to come across to the reader. Inevitably, this need for perfection when writing a language is incredibly daunting. I found myself feeling an anxiety about my own writing and wondering how it would look to a speaker of the language: Would they understand what I had written? Had I perhaps created a sentence that had a completely different meaning altogether?

The whole process of experimenting with different orthographies made me empathize with those ELL students coming into my classroom. How must they feel after moving to a new country and being expected to read and write entirely in the English language? Learning to write a new language, as I discovered after ten minutes of trying to write a short sentence, can be agonizingly slow. In the Canadian classroom there is a tremendous pressure on students to achieve quickly, and certainly our ELL students feel the brunt of this pressure as they struggle to learn a language that may have a completely writing system than their own.

So what are the implications for my ELL students?

ELL learners in my classroom, as I discovered by experimenting with different orthographies, would need a tremendous amount of support to learn a different writing system. I would definitely encourage consistent communication with parents so that they understand how their child is progressing with written language in L2 and how they might be able to extend the student’s learning beyond the classroom into the home environment. I would also take it upon myself to learn more about the student’s language so that I could personally understand the differences between the two writing systems and how I can best help the student succeed in my classroom. For example, if my student was an Urdu speaker I would have done research to understand that they write from left to right and that the symbols and vocabulary structure is different than the way English words are created. Lastly, Edwards discusses how, “Teachers, as gatekeepers, upholding specific norms about language and what counts as knowledge and defining literacy in terms of the practices and expectations of the dominant group” (Edwards 2009, 85). Therefore, it would be important for me to understand how and why the students write in L1: Is it purely to communicate with family and friends? Is it so they can secure a job later in life? It would be important for me, as an educator, to understand the functionality of L1 in order for me to best understand how to help the student learn L2. This experience has made me question how I perceive ELL learners in my classroom and how I can better educate them as they learn the English language in the future.

References:

Edwards, Viv. (2009). Learning to be Literate: Multilingual Perspectives. Great Britain: Multilingual Matters.

Farlex. (2011). The Free Dictonary. May 28 2011. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/orthography

Chinook Wawa: The Value of Being Multilingual

My great-grandmother, Anelia, was born in the Ukraine but learned to speak Polish, Russian, Italian, and English in addition to Ukrainian. My great-grandfather, Adam, (who changed his name from Adolf to Adam following his immigration to Canada for what would seem obvious reasons…but I digress) spoke Polish. When I was younger one of the most interesting stories that my grandmother would tell me was the story about how my grandfather had insisted my great-grandparents (my grandmother’s mother and father) stop speaking Ukrainian and Polish around my mother, who was two or three years old at the time. My mother had started to respond in Ukrainian, Polish, and English (as well as some of the other languages my great-grandmother would routinely flip between) and my grandfather was deeply concerned that learning so many languages at such a young age would confuse my mother. In Viv Edwards’ book, Learning to be Literate: Multilingual Perspectives, she explains that, “Until the 1960s, researchers claimed that children who spoke two languages found themselves at an intellectual disadvantage, performing at a lower level than monolinguals on a range of tasks . . . [Current researcher shows that] there is evidence of greater sensitivity to the social nature and communicative functions of language” (Edwards, 2009, 18-19). Therefore, it is not surprising that it was not until many years later, after learning that my mother’s young age was the prime time for acquiring new languages, that my grandfather regretted his decision.

So what does this have to do with an endangered language? Last time I checked…English, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and Italian were doing quite fine thank you very much…

Well, there is no news of any of the above languages becoming extinct in the near future. However, my grandmother’s story of how languages can become inextricably linked with each other and how they can certainly evolve over time into a sort of “hybrid language” helped me to understand the complexity of the Chinook Wawa language which, unfortunately, is nearly extinct.

Chinook Wawa was originally spoken along the Pacific coast from Oregon to Alaska. It was “formerly used during the 19^th century as a trade language between Native Americans and Europeans, and between speakers of different languages” (Ethnologue: Languages of the World). It had alternate names throughout its history: Chinook Jargon, Chinook Pidgin, and Tsinuk Wawa due to its vast array of dialects which took admixture of words from the Nootka, Canadian French, and English languages. The present day concern with the language is that it is slowly shifting to English and there appears to be little stopping this transition. In 1962, it was documented that only 83 people in Canada spoke the language. In 1990, the United States documented only 17 people speaking the language and that the number was indeed decreasing.

What are the implications for my students?

Although geographically it would be odd for me to have a student, or a student’s immediate family, speaking Chinook Wawa, the Ethnologue: Languages of the World website suggests that the language has “probably scattered” across the United States and Canada. Therefore, it is not a total impossibility that a student, or student’s immediate family, who speak Chinook Wawa be a part of my local community and/or my classroom in Southwestern Ontario. Due to the fact that the language is so unique in its origin, I would need to ensure that the student have educational materials (e.g., magazines, newspapers, videos, etc.) in the language, which means I would probably have to seek out those few remaining persons who speak the language and may have access to such materials. I would encourage the Chinook Wawa student to explore the language and evaluate why certain words were spoken in a certain dialect. Due to the fact that Chinook Wawa was used as a trade language, it would be interesting to see why certain words had elements of Canadian French, while others were Nootka. I would encourage my Chinook Wawa student to delve into the history behind the language and, particularly, the origin of the words. I believe that understanding the historical context of Chinook Wawa would allow the student to explore the complexity of oral communication and how languages can melt together over time to become a completely different language altogether. In order to save this dying language I would have the noble responsibility of sparking a desire to continue to learn Chinook Wawa in my student, and I believe the only way to do this would be through closely examining the history behind the language and the value it had and could still have for communicating with others.

References:

Edwards, Viv.  (2009).  Learning to be Literate:  Multilingual Perspectives.  Great Britain:  Multilingual Matters.

Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/.

e-ELP: The Complexity of Being "Literate"

Before I begin discussing my personal experience creating the e-ELP I feel it is only fitting to place my discussion in context within the framework of the European Language Portfolio. The e-ELP project “aims at the implementation and use of a digital European Language Portfolio (ELP).” On the website for this project a few important points are clearly identified:

1.      “The data base underlying the digital ELP is an important instrument to get longitudinal information on the language learning process. This may bring considerable pedagogical innovations to evaluation.

2.      A digital ELP allows [us] to experiment [with] new forms of assessment based on a dynamic – not static – concept of language learning.

3.      The implication in terms of ODL and ICT is that the Institution could better monitor the students’ learning process in order to improve it; teachers could easily have access to students’ in-progress ELPs; students would be constantly stimulated to think about their learning (made visible by the digital ELP, that thus fosters their learning autonomy and active consciousness.”
(eelp.gap.it/about.asp#pedag)

So what did I learn from the e-ELP experience?

Completing the e-ELP in French, the only language I have ever had prolonged experience with that is not my mother tongue, was incredibly daunting. There was an irrational fear of “judgement” that plagued the whole process for me (although I do not know who I felt would judge me for my answers as there was no one but me and my computer in the room). I felt that if I somehow admitted I was not as proficient in the language as I should be that I would be a failure. This initial reaction to the e-ELP seemed interesting to me and provided me with a new-found respect for all those people who ever have to write a language proficiency test or are required to answer a similar questionnaire about their level of understanding in a given language.

As a result of completing my e-ELP I have come to realize that to be “literate” in a certain language can mean a variety of different things. For example, when listening to French I can certainly get the gist of what is being said and glean meaning from a conversation if I understand the context in which it is given. However, to read the language or to understand a complex lecture would prove incredibly difficult for me. I realized that asking someone if they are literate in a specific language is not an easy question to answer: Can you understand a simple conversation? Can you understand a lecture? Can you understand a television broadcast? Do you need to hear something several times to understand it? Do you need it to be spoken slower? Do you need something to be written down? All of a sudden the phrase “to be literate” is far more complex than I originally anticipated.

The e-ELP has impacted the way I view language learning in that I now understand that this sort of learning is not necessarily done in a systematic way. For example, a student may be proficient in conversational French but not have the slightest idea how to write a grammatically correct sentence. By creating the e-ELP the language learner can begin to understand where their strengths are in understanding a language and also which areas they will need to work on in the future. The e-ELP also elucidates that learning a language is an incredibly personal and complicated process that requires not only an understanding of the language itself but also the cultural backdrop of a language to be able to meaningfully communicate with the people around them. The next time I see an English Language Learner struggling to write English but able to conduct a conversation in my classroom…this educator will certainly think twice about the complexity of the students’ learning process!

Referemces:
EU/SocratesMinerva Action. (2005). ELP: European Language Portfolio. http://eelp.gap.it/. 

Issues Related to "Capital" and FoKn

In the 1990s Moll and Greenberg introduce the concept of "funds of knowledge as a way to describe and acknowledge the intellectual resources of minority language groups . . . [FoKn] are the essential cultural practices and bodies of knowledge and information that households use to survive, to get ahead, or to thrive" (Marshall & Toohey, 2010, 222). These FoKn extend beyond the classroom environment and profoundly affect the way in which students construct meaning outside the confines of the traditional classroom. FoKn can be derived from alternative tools which could include: images, performance, movement, books, artifacts, photographs, paintings, film, etc. FoKn can often be compromised in traditional school communities which “commonly ignore the multimodality of learners’ lives [due to the fact] that classrooms rely largely on language as a representational tool for meaning-making while disregarding other tools that students use to make meaning outside the classroom” (Marshall & Toohey, 2010, 224).

So what are the issues related to "Capital" and/or FoKn that I have taken for granted in my own teaching practice?

One of the main issues related to this concept that I often take for granted is that I understand the cultural backgrounds of each of my students. In my humble opinion, educators can easily fall into the habit of considering themselves an “expert” on world history and culture and, as a new teacher, I am certainly no exception to this tendency. To rectify this habit in my own classroom I need to cultivate an appreciation and understanding of my students’ FoKn. Once I can better understand their own cultural resources I can use it to create more engaging lesson plans and forms of assessment that will appeal to my students and allow me to help them make meaningful connections between themselves and the world around them. 

Another issue that comes to my mind is directly related to “Cultural Capital” as defined by Bourdieu and Passeron in 1977. For example, something as seemingly simple as expecting my students to maintain eye contact when discussing a topic with myself as “proof” of their understanding of the subject material and focus on the conversation. Eriks-Brophy advocates for the fact that, “Difficulty following the rules of classroom interactions can therefore contribute to differential access to learning and to miscommunication, which can have serious consequences for students’ educational success . . . communicative misunderstandings represent a form of institutional discrimination that results in serious misjudgements of students’ academic and communicative competence” (Eriks-Brophy & Crago, 2003, 399). In my own classroom, my perception that a students’ lack of “eye contact” during classroom discussion demonstrates a lack of understanding or disinterest in the subject matter could actually result in a misjudgement of the students’ academic and communicative competency. Could this lack of “eye contact” be the students way of showing respect when speaking with an adult or person of authority? Could it be the student demonstrating a lack of confidence in their ability to discuss their understanding of a topic using the English language?

These issues related to “Capital” and FoKn can only be remedied by my willingness and initiative to understand my students’ unique backgrounds and allow them to bring their own cultural resources into the traditional classroom to better make connections between themselves and the world around them.

References:

Eriks-Brophy, A. & Crago, M. (2003). Variation in international discourse features: Cultural or linguistic? Evidence from Inuit and non-Inuit teachers of Nunavik. Anthropology and Education Quarterly. 34(4), 396-419.

Marshall, E., & Toohey, K. (2010). Representing family: Community funds of knowledge, bilingualism, and multimodality. Harvard Educational Review. 80(2), 221-288.