Agenda

• Background

– Define English

– Who owns English

• Students’ Perceptions on Race, Language, & Culture

• Implications & Suggestions

Inspiration

• “My customer yelled at me that I should learn English or go back to where I came from. Then my manager told me the customer is always right.”– Ethiopian female

• “I’m unlucky because I was born speaking Chinese and not English.”– Chinese female

What is “English”?

• What is “English”?

• Who owns English?

• What is “good” English?

• What is “bad” English?

• Whose English is “correct”?

True or False?

• English is the official language of the United States.

• There is an official council in the U.S. which regulates the rules of English.

• Standard English is a distinct dialect of English, required to succeed in school and business.

• What are we involved in when we teach English?

Teaching English as Something Other Than Language

English

Culture

Power

Economy

Ownership

Politics

Othering

English Speaking = English Colonies

• What are we involved in when we teach English?

Teaching English as Something Other Than Language

English

Culture

Power

Economy

Ownership

Politics

Othering

• Native Speaker vsNon-native Speaker

– Often racialized

OtheringKen asked Tom for help with his English homework.

Who is Ken?Who is Tom?

• What are we involved in when we teach English?

Teaching English as Something Other Than Language

English

Culture

Power

Economy

Ownership

Politics

Othering

ESL Teacher / ESL Student

English speaker

How many people speak English?

25%

75%

2.5 billion people

Native English Speaker

"Non-native" Englishspeaker

What is “English”?

• What is “English”?

• Who owns English?

• What is “good” English?

• What is “bad” English?

• Whose English is “correct”?

• American Heritage Dictionary:

– People who invoke the term Standard English rarely make clear what they have in mind by it, and tend to slur over the inconvenient ambiguities that are inherent in the term.

– “is highly elastic and variable, since what counts as Standard English will depend on both the locality and the particular varieties that Standard English is being contrasted with. A form that is considered standard in one region may be nonstandard in another...”

Challenging the “Standard”

• Why is English “sacred”?

• Why are some changes more acceptable?

– Furnitures or Informations versus Coffees or Accomodations

• Why insist on close adherence to NS models when it causes problems?

– Should Italians spend time on “th” if they’re speaking to Russians who also can’t pronounce “th”?

Language Changes Over Time

Rethink “English”

• International Lingua Franca, not “owned” by native speakers

– English is LOCAL and what is IN PRACTICE

True or False?

• I don’t speak with an accent.

• To sound like a “native” English speaker is a definable and achievable goal for “non-native” English speakers.

• If you speak with an accent, it’s your responsibility to make yourself more comprehensible & intelligible.

• ACCENT ≠ COMPREHENSIBILITY (listener effort)

• ACCENT ≠ INTELLIGIBILITY (how much listener understands)

• Ethical?

– AZ Law removes teachers with “accents”

• /b/ vs /v/…/t/ vs /θ/ - low functional load

– 12+ states remove ITA’s with “accents”

• Study: weak teaching skills > accent

– Accent reduction programs

Accent and Ethics

• Study 1: P’s listened to clips of people speaking, accompanied by a picture, then answered:

– whether the person spoke with an accent

– how comprehensible the person was

• Study 2: P’s spent time with NNS ITA’s for just one hour with a pre and post survey on

– comprehensibility

– competency as instructors

Listener Bias

2013 Study

• 56 participants

• 24 males, 32 females

• Ages 17-30+

• African, Asian, Middle Eastern, European, Central & South American, Caribbean

• International students at a southern university

• 18 Bachelor’s, 17 Master’s, and 21 Ph.D. students

• 40 different majors: arts, sciences, business, etc.

• Studied in the US for 1 – 11 years (exc. 21 years)

Primary Questions

BEFORE COMING TO THE U.S.• What perceptions of racism and America did

students have?WHILE STUDYING IN THE U.S.• What types of differential treatment (positive or

negative) do students encounter because of racial, linguistic, and/or cultural differences?

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE• What can we learn from these encounters to

improve students’ experiences?

THEMES

1• Significant change in students’ perceptions of

Americans’ knowledge and opinions of their countries

2• Students’ lack of accurate knowledge and awareness of

discrimination

3• Challenges to students’ acceptance & intelligence

4• On campus discrimination: Jobs, Students, Professors

“I thought that they feel contempt to people from my country. It made feel fear, because I would have

to study with them.” (Mexican Male)

“I thought that they think Arabs are terrorist and very conservative. I was afraid that I not gonna be

accepted by [this] culture.” (Saudi female)

1

66% of students believed that Americans had a negative view of their country, language, and/or

culture

How did their perceptions change?

BEFORE STUDYING IN THE U.S.Howmany?

No Change

MindChanged

How did it change?

0 - + +/- ?

Americans know nothing/little about my country

6 0 6 3 2 1

Americans have a negative view 37 10 27 7 8 9 3

Americans have a positive view 7 2 5 4 1

Americans have positive & negative views

2 1 1 1

Other/unclear 4 1 3 1 2

TOTAL 56 14 42 8 1 13 15 5

75% of participants changed their views on

Americans’ knowledge of their country, language, and culture once they

began studying in America

21 (50%) added a positive view

7 (17%) added a negative view

8 (19%) now think

Americans know nothing or very little

1

19%

30%26%

16%

9%

International students…

Knew nothing/little ofracism

Knew some, didn't affect

Knew some, affected

Thought racism no longerexists

Other/Unclear

2

Students’ lack of accurate knowledge and awareness of discrimination

2

35% of students had no/little knowledge of discrimination before studying abroad or

believed it to be a thing of the past.

“I didn't know anything about racism in America. I was too young and naive.”

(Mexican male)

“It was before in the 19th Century but it has been removed after 1960. Eradication of racism makes

comfortable for us to study in peace environment.” (Nepalese male)

“I didn't know what level it could reach and most of all,i didn't know it was still present.”

(Italian female)

“[acts of discrimination are] often invisible to the casual

observer, and they are sometimes not even

articulated as forms of oppression” (Eriksen, 1992)

Those who reported not experiencing discrimination were unaware of racism or

knew little and did not worry about it prior to studying

abroad.

“One can be oppressed unknowingly but offense requires (logically or conceptually) the

awareness and acknowledgment of its victim” (Gay, 1998)

2

Students’ lack of accurate knowledge and awareness of discrimination

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

White(n=8)

Black(n=6)

Asian(n=30)

Latino(n=7)

Middle East(n=4)

West Indian(n=1)

% Reported Discrimination by Race

Racial Linguistic Cultural Any

Looking at the Numbers3

Non-white students were less accepted and faced more racial and overall discrimination3

“I have heard and witnessed many situations, which relate or somehow relate with the

racism matter. Most of them are about the black people, Hispanic, and Asians. But most

of cases are black people.” (Vietnamese female)

“Luckily for me I'm white (not meant in a racist way, but I think it makes life easier here), so people don't

really see I'm foreign and even when they know they don't really mind… Even though it's convenient for me I think it's bad for people I'm friends with.”

(Dutch male)

I attended a university in Mississippi and I believe that I wasn't given an assistantship because of my nationality.

(Cameroonian female)

In my English class we formed small groups to work… my group pretty much ignored me and any

comments I had to make. I could see they thought my input was valueless. (Mexican female)

Professors like those who talk fluently.... and they easily pass viva exams just because of that... But though we are good in subject... we fail... This is not fair (Indian male)

On Campus Discrimination: Jobs, Ss, Profs4

True or False?

• It’s our responsibility as educators to incorporate social issues into the curriculum to increase critical thinking, social responsibility, and global citizenship of our students.

So What? Is it our Responsibility?

• Educator

• Teacher

• Advisor

• Counselor

• Cheerleader

• Referee

• Confidant

• Problem-solver

• English

– Formal

– Informal

• Culture

– Academic culture & expectations

– Cultural norms and mores

– Intercultural communication

– Social issues?????

Acculturative Stress

“Sources of acculturative stress often include • English language difficulties, • academic struggles, • cultural adaptation, • problematic perfectionism, • lack of social supports, • homesickness, • and perceived discrimination”

(Tung, 2011)

“Perceived discrimination is a unique source of stress that is different from general stress”

(Harrell, 2000; Meyer, 2003; as cited in Wei et

al., 2008)

Effects on Success

(Grant & Zwier, 2011)(such as gender, race, ability)

Student Retention

• “The most important influence leading a student to recommend the host university to others was the perception of receiving fair and equal treatment.” (Lee, 2010)

“Compared with U.S. counterparts, international students are at greater risk of perceiving or

experiencing discrimination” (Poyrazli & Lopez, 2007)

“Applied” Diversity

• Campus-organized diversity discussions, interact with… diverse cultural backgrounds, take courses with materials on race and ethnicity = greater levels of learning and development (Glass, 2012)

• Implement anti-racist pedagogy. Changes in attitudes, behaviors and achievement occur only when the entire school environment changes to demonstrate a multicultural atmosphere (Curran, 2003)

More than a topic?

• Hometown

• Shopping

• Money

• School

• Jobs

• Travel

• Music

• Hobbies

• Family/Friends

• Work

• Stories/Novels

• Poetry

• Movies

• Sports

• Food

• Clothes

Macrolevel

• Topic Choice

– Students’ background knowledge

– Engaging

– Contextually relevant

• Invisible ideology

• Change in teaching & students’ questioning

– Engaging

– Add complexity to language use

Cultural “Tourism”?

• Proposed Stages

– Acknowledge differences

– Question/Learn about differences

– Respect differences

– Celebrate differences

– Recognize similarities

More than a Topic

• Applied Diversity

– Impact

• need a tangible outcome

• Task-based (TBLT)

– Two-way street

• Not just ESL students

• Also NES students

• And faculty & staff

• And the local community

Worth it?

Either [Americans] have to adapt to it or I have to

adapt to their likings, after all, this is not my country. I

understand a lot of international students

have trouble of surviving in America because they are

reluctant to change.

I tried to read books about US culture

before coming here, but to be honest, I

couldn't understand it until I experienced it. I wish I just didn't take a

lot of things too personal.

I wish I had applied for scholarships before coming here. But the

experiences made me grow up, hardened my heart a little, and gave me

more confidence in myself and to be proud of my country. I do not regret

coming here. It was a hard and lonely road for 8 years.

Thank you!

Elisabeth L. Chan

elisabethlchan@gmail.com; echan@nvcc.edu

TESOL Diversity & Inclusion Committee

TESOL Social Responsibility IS Co-Chair

(References handout available at)http://www.slideshare.net/ElisabethChan