Sorry for being late this week.
Sorry for being late this week. Between cooking and eating Thanksgiving and then some follow up dinners, plus my son being out of school for half the week, it's been hard to find free time! But I did watch the video yesterday and I'm honestly not sure I have much to say. I agree very strongly with many of the things said about L1. A few years ago while teaching in an IEP with very strong English-only rules, I ended up stumbling on some research on L1 use. I found it quite persuasive that allowing students to speak L1 can be very beneficial for all the reasons Penny said.
I can also add that letting students use L1 can be good for their well-being and for building community. I've seen research that suggests it’s very demotivating to force students to never use their L1, especially if they are in school all day long, and especially where the English Only rules are enforced even in free time, like in the halls or the lunch room. If they can't speak their language and be free to express themselves ever, and never in class translate a single word, then to some extent they are being infantalized because they are being forced to express themselves only at the level of their English, even if they are working adults. It can also feel that their language, and by extension their culture is devalued in the classroom. If they are immigrants, they can feel there is no place for them in America and I feel it can do real harm by spreading the myth that America (or the UK or Australia) is an English-only, "English" culture-only zone.
In terms of rapport, as a Russian-speaker, I've found nothing makes a student from Russia or Uzbekistan feel better than when the American teacher breaks out into Russian and demonstrates their understanding of their lives (Russian not being the most common foreign language spoken in the US).
I do think Penny’s tips for managing L1 are very helpful. Use it appropriately and do your best to gradually insert English into the classroom, and insist they use what they know. I do teach multi-lingual classes and when I’m giving them a task that I feel might be a bit difficult, I put them in monolingual groups so that they can help each other in their L1.
I do let lower-level students write essays in their L1 and then rewrite in English, so they can express themselves in more complex ideas than their English might allow. I do try to prevent them from just translating so they do start to "think" in English or work to figure out "How do I express this in English"? I've found it makes for much better essays in general, and I can always tell if they just plugged their L1 version in Google translate.
I can also add that letting students use L1 can be good for their well-being and for building community. I've seen research that suggests it’s very demotivating to force students to never use their L1, especially if they are in school all day long, and especially where the English Only rules are enforced even in free time, like in the halls or the lunch room. If they can't speak their language and be free to express themselves ever, and never in class translate a single word, then to some extent they are being infantalized because they are being forced to express themselves only at the level of their English, even if they are working adults. It can also feel that their language, and by extension their culture is devalued in the classroom. If they are immigrants, they can feel there is no place for them in America and I feel it can do real harm by spreading the myth that America (or the UK or Australia) is an English-only, "English" culture-only zone.
In terms of rapport, as a Russian-speaker, I've found nothing makes a student from Russia or Uzbekistan feel better than when the American teacher breaks out into Russian and demonstrates their understanding of their lives (Russian not being the most common foreign language spoken in the US).
I do think Penny’s tips for managing L1 are very helpful. Use it appropriately and do your best to gradually insert English into the classroom, and insist they use what they know. I do teach multi-lingual classes and when I’m giving them a task that I feel might be a bit difficult, I put them in monolingual groups so that they can help each other in their L1.
I do let lower-level students write essays in their L1 and then rewrite in English, so they can express themselves in more complex ideas than their English might allow. I do try to prevent them from just translating so they do start to "think" in English or work to figure out "How do I express this in English"? I've found it makes for much better essays in general, and I can always tell if they just plugged their L1 version in Google translate.
Such a sensible approach.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a copy or a link to that original research? Or do you remember the authors?
ReplyDeleteWalton Burns I am really interested in the idea of first writing an essay in L1 and then rendering (?) it in English. I mostly teach essay-writing for exams so there is the issue of time constraints to consider. Do you have to deal with it in your teaching?
ReplyDelete