Week 2 Blog: Who am I? Who are we?

            The theme or major focus of this week’s readings was language and identity and the link between these two concepts.  The Holliday reading provided numerous narratives about how people considered “minorities” formed their respective cultural identities.  One of the most interesting narratives to me was the case of Parisa.  Parisa is an Iranian woman dealing with the complexity of forming a cultural and social identity.  She wants to excel in career and be seen as a respectable and efficient business woman.  Unfortunately this image often is portrayed as abandoning her Iranian cultural role.  It is easy for me to identify who I am, but these readings gave me insight into how complex the topic of identity can be.  Another interesting point was on page 19 about how people live up to or fill out certain identity roles in society.  For example, many tall black men are portrayed as basketball players or athletic by society.  Therefore, many tall black children may feel obligated or be coerced into becoming basketball players in order to meet this stereotype.  However, on page 98 of Holliday, the idea of a cultural supermarket is also discussed.  The idea is that people can choose their identities from a variety of choices, but these choices must be made within the eye of the social world.  This means that people have some freedom when constructing their identity, but they must choose carefully because this identity is how they will be identified by the rest of society. 

            The article also centers on narratives from immigrants about the processes of identity formation and language’s role in this process.  The article compares the experiences of immigrants at the turn of the 20^th century and immigrants in the modern era, particularly in regards to language’s role in the immigration process.  One of the finding in both eras is that immigration results in the renegotiation and reimaging of language, national, and cultural identities.  One apparent difference between the two eras is that in the past 1^st generation images had readily attached stereotypes and were forced to “accept the label forced upon them” (42).  Although stereotyping is definitely still a problem in society, I feel like the frequency of stereotyping has definitely decreased and no longer includes the majority of the population.  Another point I found very interesting was the concept of the “self-made-man”.  In both eras, becoming a “self-made-man” was the ultimate dream to most young people.  However, unfortunately, I believe becoming a successful “self-made-man” was easier back in the turn of the 20^th century.  In modern times, the rich often stay rich, while the poor remain stuck in a cycle of poverty.  Of course there are success stories, but not nearly as many as there should be.

           

            This was an interesting topic and the readings were insightful.  I do not have much criticism for this week’s readings partly because understanding the concept of identity is very important for teachers.  As a teacher, I need to be aware that not all students see the world the same; particularly, not all students see the world the same way as I do.  That is why it is important to teach from a multicultural perspective.  I need to incorporate the views and beliefs of my students into the classroom.  If I only teach from my beliefs, not only will my students miss out on learning opportunities, so will I.  I wish the articles said more about how to make people (ideally students) more comfortable when adjusting to new cultures.  As a TESOL teacher, this is one of my primary goals.  The readings share many negative or socially challenging experiences, but I’m unsure how to make an uncomfortable student feel like they belong.  Hopefully, I learn how to handle this challenge before I set foot in the classroom. 

Week 1 Blog

The article by Dwight Atkinson brought many interesting points to my attention.  On the first page of the article, I was intrigued by the sentence, “Except for language, learning, and teaching, there is perhaps no more important concept in the field of TESOL than culture.”  We obviously acknowledge language differences in ESL and TESOL classrooms, but cultural differences are often ignored.  In my opinion, understanding the culture of one’s students should be just as important as understanding their language. 

            I also agree with the post-modernist view of culture as dynamic and “anything but homogenous”.  If each individual is unique, how can a group of millions of individuals be classified as homogenous?  Atkinson’s point that, “The term culture is sometimes avoided by those working in this vein as one that is so encumbered and compromised as to be misleading or dangerous,” is very interesting to me.  I interpret this to mean that a teacher should not central on a student’s culture but rather the student’s individual identity. 

            Another useful piece from this article that I will use in my classroom is the section about the dangers of making cultural assumptions.  Unfortunately some teachers “rhetorically construct” the identities of their students.  This means that teachers assume that certain students have certain characteristics or belong to a particular cultural group.  For example, a teacher could assume that a Japanese student belongs to the Chinese culture.  Stereotyping can have very serious negative consequences.  Atkinson also reinforces the point that if culture is fluid, stereotypes will become old and inaccurate very quickly.  According to him, the best approach is for teachers to view students as unique individuals as opposed to members of any particular cultural or social group.     

This article as a whole has made it difficult for me to place individuals inside rigid cultural boxes.  The conclusion of this article questions, “That is, if individuals are so various and internally inconsistent in themselves, how then can we posit whole cultures that are not so? Isn't it better, therefore, to put aside the notions of both monolithic cultures and stable personalities, and focus on the deep and profound differences that exist at all levels within them?”  Yes, it is much more difficult and time-consuming to spend time getting to know each individual we encounter.  However, I feel like giving every person a chance to form their identity is well worth the time and effort.