It's been a good eight days or perhaps more, not having documented my learning journey through this blog. Having said that, I have not really abandoned the project but was unable to use the time effectively due to some extra commitments.
One of my biggest learning during these eight days has been about Additional Language (AL) learners. I have met teachers, additional language learners and concerned parents who want their children to pick up the language but don't know how to support them.
Last week I attended a meeting of the AL teachers and one of the most interesting things that I learnt there was that every single Language quote in Mandarin is not attributed to Confucius! OK, I am exaggerating, I do know that! Just that I could not resist laughing when the presenter shared a quote which was assumed to be that of Confucius and she said "Not all Chinese quotes belong to Confucius!" It is typical to have Chinese associated with Confucius. It is an easy reference, easy assumption.....perhaps because we don't know better. In my view we don't have much understanding of the Chinese culture and the embedded, inherent values that go with it.
I have been preparing for an interview about International Mindedness by a professor in the University of Melbourne. I have been trying to work on some of the questions that he is going to ask me. One of the questions is "What is the best indicator of international mindedness?" I have been reflecting on it since the last few days and my best response is that the best evidence of international mindedness would be when an Asian teacher would be able to bring his/her pedagogy with pride at the same table as a Western teacher and both would be able to draw upon the best practices from each others' cultures. For now, the balance is extremely skewed and the Asian staff (more so the mandarin staff) is particularly restricted to taking pride only in its culture and supporting lessons which do not encompass the vast pedagogical practices which are an inherent part of that culture.
This might sound strange because I am a strong believer in the inquiry-based pedagogy. However, it bothers me that we might be losing a strong culture of learning because those cultures are losing pride in their practices. If we are truly international-minded we should be examining their beliefs, values and cultural norms before applying a standard fit of inquiry to their pedagogies. It is a challenge to all leaders in the authentic international contexts.
I have taken the role of helping facilitate the AL teachers interest group. As always, I realise that the more I work to train/facilitate teachers, the deeper my understanding becomes. The new research paper from the IB gives an interesting insight into the AL learning. More than anything it is simply gratifying to read that the challenges are felt across the community, particularly with languages that are considered to be 'not very useful'.
This brings me to the stress families undergo in regards to AL learning. Whether the parents are getting a child to learn a language due to its usability in real-life contexts (eg talking to grandparents, using the language for business, etc.) or usability to pass the exam requirement, the challenges remain similar. (I am now planning a workshop on this for parents.)
One of the key things is for schools to rethink their AL philosophy. Mother tongue versus AL is great; however for a number of nationalities English has now become a naturally acquired language. It can have a tinge of the local lingo and accents to become Aussie English, English English, American English, Hinglish, Singlish etc but it does come naturally to many because they are immersed in it. In addition, Mother tongue in many cases does become literal.... it is what the parents use amongst themselves but their children have no context as they are speaking English.
How does a child in such a case learn the language?
More reading needs to be done, however one thing that is clear is for teachers and parents to develop an interest in the AL and make the context for use, relevant for the learner to get motivated.
More to come.......
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