Wrap up

I've really enjoyed being a conversation circle facilitator this past semester, as well as reading about and discussing different aspects of language learning and cultural identity in class.  Meeting with my group of international students as well as Isabella each week has been a great experience.  I feel like I have learned a lot, both about China and South Korea and about what it's like to be an international student at the University of Michigan (and what it's like in particular to be a computer science student as well, since coursework for that major was also a frequent topic!).  One of the things that I liked the most though was that I didn't even really think of it as a conversation circle or an international student group by the end, it was just an hour every week when I got to hang out with nice people and somehow get class credit for it.  While we would sometimes discuss directly cultural differences between the US and their home countries, or talk about things like internet censorship, it was almost better when those topics came up as part of a conversation about something else we all had in common, like the movie Cinderella, or the days when we played card games.  One of my favorite times was when they taught us a popular Chinese card game this past week, with a name that goes something along the lines of "Defeat the landlord." Three people can play at a time, and each round one person is the landlord and the other two are peasants who work to together to defeat the landlord.  The names of the different types of cards you can play range from the common card hands (pair, triple, straight) to those distinctly related to the figurative setup of the game (bomb, rocket).  It was really fun to play and had similar rules to some other games I've played before, but the concept is so interesting to consider and think about (there would never be a card game in the US where the goal is to defeat the landlord- we have Monopoly and Life instead where the goal is to get rich!).  So moments like those were my favorite, where we were just having a lot of fun but also got to notice some cultural differences and often would then laugh about them together.  I'm definitely going to miss my group and hope to see some of them again in the future!

I'm looking forward to working as a conversation circle facilitator again next year, and hope that I can continue to reach out to the international student population on campus in other ways as well.  I'd like to continue learning more about other countries and cultures as well as meeting new people (and learning more new card games!).

Conversation Circle Visit

Friday I finally had the opportunity to join Irish's conversation circle, and I had a wonderful time.  There were two girls there, and they were both very chatty and sweet.  We went through a series of questions Irish had prepared about education, teaching, classes, and discussed some of the differences in the way education is viewed in the US and in South Korea and the Philippines.  One of the biggest differences was in the way that extracurriculars- sports, music, art, etc- are viewed.  The girls said that in South Korea, parents are strictly interested in having their children study academic subjects, especially math and science (and English from a young age).  They don't see value in arts or music because they don't tend to lead to very lucrative careers (we were all speaking in broad generalizations of course).  In the US on the other hand, there is much more emphasis on being a well-rounded person- someone who only does all academics, all the time is almost seen as being incomplete or strange.  I think some of this is due to a genuine respect for and interest in having a wide range of interests and activities and appreciation for the arts and physical fitness, but some of it is also due to the way our education systems are set up.  Even for parents who are strictly interested in ensuring that their child ends up with a lucrative and successful career, there is a strong incentive for them to engage their children in all kinds of extracurriculars as a way to get to the best college or university.  Both girls agreed that they prefer the American interest in extracurriculars to the strict focus on academics that they grew up with.  Overall it was a good meeting and I really enjoyed getting to meet both of them!

Blog 5: What did I learn so far?

Time is really elusive. In a blink, it's already April. After the crazy winter chills, here comes the unexpectedly windy Spring. The weather here in Ann Arbor is really unpredictable; likewise, the events that occurred to me when I chose to audit this class and became, for the first time, a conversation circle facilitator. The whole experience has truly been life-changing!

What were my hesitations/questions before? What surprised me so far?

a. Hesitation/Question (Before the start of this course): Should I always talk in the circle? Or should I take more the 'Interviewer' role?

What I learned?

People love talking about themselves. So try to think of ways that will encourage the participants to talk more about their interests, their views, and their feelings. And when they are talking, LISTEN INTENTLY. Listen as a friend, not as a conversation leader. For sure, these International students, who may be here for the first time, who may or may not have enough friends, will appreciate someone whom they think will be able to GENUINELY listen to them. And once you find them opening up about themselves, that's when you realize that it is easier to talk about stuff - from silly to nerdy topics.

b. Hesitation/Question (Before the start of this course): I am a non-native speaker of English, myself. Should I fear that they underestimate me (my accent, etc.)?

What did I learn?

To be an effective conversation circle facilitator, one does not need to be a native speaker of English. One important thing I realized from this experience is that an effective facilitator is one who empathizes well with the participants - one who listens, one who understands because he listened, and one who cares because he understood.

c. Hesitation/Question (Before the start of this course): If I talk about cultural differences (i.e. American culture versus Asian culture), would I launch issues that would be very offensive?

What did I learn?

Culture is a VERY interesting topic for any discussion. In fact, I found that when you brought up a single topic - table manners, customer service, greetings, ways of cooking, and the like - people love to compare and contrast. And when the contrast is so apparent, that's when the conversation gets too intense. Some minor disagreements may get in the way, but that's where the beauty of conversation is!

Before, I was so worried about bringing up cultural topics. But now, I learned that culture is so ingrained in people, so bank on that. They love to talk about what they are practicing and they love to compare the practices they are accustomed to having and do to people who do things differently.

I know that in the next few weeks, I will still be learning a lot from this unique journey as a conversation facilitator, and I am looking forward to every lesson I can bring home to.

In Conclusion

My conversation circle group has been changing constantly over the course of the semester. In the beginning, I would have different groups of people each week, and at first I found it frustrating, because I didn't feel like we were forming a group bond. But the past couple of weeks, I have really gotten to know one of my participants, who has been fairly consistent in coming. And I would consider that a success. We have had such interesting conversations (including about the use of the word interesting - and in this case I truly mean interesting) about so many different things. Some of my favorites are comparing our different backgrounds, as she is from China. I have learned so many different things about China, but also that it's hard to generalize about an entire country. I have mostly learned so many things about her as a person. And I truly cherish that opportunity through this conversation circle.

If I had to do it again, I think I would try to stress how important attendance is in the beginning, even though I think I tried to do that. But I would definitely emphasize the importance of letting me know if you can't be there, because people often would not do so. I am also torn on including more activities. I think it would have been great to do something like Emily's group with book-binding (that sounds so cool!) and a good bonding experience. But on the other hand I do like the opportunity to just sit down, take a break, and have a good conversation with people and hear about their weeks and any other things that they want to talk about. I think their group is a great example, because they had both!

As a facilitator, I learned how to be a better listener. I have learned about subtle things that occur in conversation that I usually am not aware of, but as a result of this class I now notice more often - the amount of time it takes for a silence to become "awkward", who starts the conversation, the types of things you ask in a conversation, your responses to someone and how they may perceive them and also how that might be different than what you intend. I will think of this experience when working with international students in the future, hopefully in the field of education! I truly learned so much from them and for that I am grateful.

Progress

Being a conversation circle facilitator this semester has been a surprisingly fun experience.  As the weeks went on, meeting with my group felt less like a school assignment and more like hanging out with friends.  I consider that a success for my circle; the goal of my group appeared to be to practice conversation in English, and because of the friendships formed between us, I think that goal was achieved.  I felt a big breakthrough moment occur when my group was working on book-binding: It would be silent as we concentrated on measuring out paper and sewing pieces together, and then Xin or Kyle would break the silence by asking personal questions to Jamie or me.  This was different from the beginning, where we would all sit in the coffee shop and have directed conversations.  Here, while we were making books, Xin and Kyle would begin talking unprompted by Jamie or me.  I think this shows that they have become much more confident with English speaking throughout the semester.

From being a facilitator, I have become a better listener.  I have also become more open to people who have different backgrounds and experiences than I have had in my life.  I think this will help me if I pursue a career in education because it will remind me to understand the goals and experiences of my students, therefore allowing me to help them in the most effective way.  I have learned quite a bit about the importance of language and of verbal communication, and that different cultures interpret aspects such as tone of voice or silence in different ways.  This knowledge will be useful for me as I interact with new people throughout my life.

Re: Pronunciation and Second Languages

I find the idea of English pronunciation classes being discriminatory a very interesting one.  I would agree with what was said in class and in the article about intelligibility being the most important goal when correcting or learning pronunciation with a non-native speaker.  That being said, I think it is also important to recognize that there currently exists stigma in many ways against those who speak with an accent, especially a strong one which may be intelligible but require extra effort to understand when compared to a native English speaker. (It's also interesting to note the difference in, for example, American reactions to different accents in English- British, Scottish, Australian, French, Italian, and other "Western" accents are frequently considered sexy or intriguing, while accents of ESL speakers from most other parts of the world are not seen in as glamorous a light).  Correcting this stigma is important, but will take time- for students looking to find a job next year, they may want or need a pronunciation class that can help them move past the stigma (perhaps unconscious) of potential employers, etc, associated with a strong non-native accent.  Since the classes are voluntary and it wasn't a group of international students who filed the complaint, it would seem that the students affected either do not feel that their identities are threatened by a pronunciation class, or place a higher priority on the potential gains from assimilating their pronunciation than they do on avoiding this linguistic assimilation.  

While there are delicate questions to consider here, I feel that the focus should be on reducing stigma among native English speakers towards others, on increased foreign language learning among native English speakers (which provides the best opportunity to appreciate how incredible it is that so many people learn English as a second language and then take classes, work, etc, in that second or third or fourth language), and on conversations about protecting other languages as English becomes increasingly common worldwide. Taking course options away from English learners does not, in my opinion, further these goals in a productive way. 

Why Teach Pronunciation?

Only when reading Brinton and Butner (2012) did it occur to me, that some people would think that teaching proper pronunciation would cause uneasiness to the point of considering it a form of racial discrimination. 

Being a teacher of English in the Philippines, I see to it that I rectify, directly or indirectly, students’ 'mispronounced' words because in my understanding, they are learning the English language; hence, they should also learn the sounds of English (its properties, including patterns of stress, rhythm, and intonation, etc.) in order that they may be understood once they speak. Let me make it clear that the term ‘mispronounced’ here refers to an entirely different pronunciation of any of the sounds of a word, thereby producing confusion as to what word has been referred to, consider the example 'set - seat - sit', because a mispronunciation of any of the vowels here will, of course, imply a significantly different meaning. Let me also make it clear that English teachers never teach students to compromise their native language, even if English is the world’s lingua franca, a language that opens global opportunities. Rather, we subtly instill to students to acquire a sense of communicative competence, which means that they should establish credibility in speaking both L1 and L2 (with accent that’s deemed appropriate for every language). 

Personally, as a language teacher as well as a conversation facilitator, it is but ETHICAL and necessary to teach proper pronunciation, including accent. 

But first, the definition of ‘accent’ and the gauge to which we consider ‘correct’ pronunciation should be as clear-cut as possible to people (teachers and learners). Derwin and Munro (2010) in Brinton and Butner (2012) made a very precise definition, one that does not at all discriminate any language, saying that "accent is the degree to which an individual’s pronunciation differs from a given local variety”. This tells us that language is an intricate system, not isolated, used by a web of people coming from different cultures and social strata; hence, it has varieties. So having an accent does not mean that you are speaking a language that is ‘inferior’ to a language that is ‘superior’. Accent only highlights how unique people and languages are. So having an accent is not bad at all!

Abercrombie (1991), Gimson (1989), and Derwing and Munro (2010) in the same article, however, have all purported the importance of intelligibility in speech, which is generally the degree to which the listener would be able to make sense of the speaker’s utterance. I believe the basic goal of every communicator is to convey a message. It would be tragic, of course, if a mispronounced sound and a hardly recognizable accent will impede the receiver in understanding the message. It is then given that if you are trying to acquire a language in order to communicate, then try to achieve an accent that will be intelligible to the person you wish to communicate with.

Crystal's (2003) theory about the three circles has proven that varieties of English are real since more and more people, coming from different linguistic communities, learn and use English everyday with every possibility of changing the language (its sounds, maybe even contributing their own lexemes, etc.). This gave rise to other Englishes such as Konglish (Korean English), Chinglish (Chinese English), Spanglish (Spanish English), among others. However, being communicatively competent means that one should be sensitive to know that producing something in either of these Englishes might be an obstacle in communicating with a native speaker of English, then one should opt for a pronunciation that IS COMPREHENSIBLE by the receiver, not necessarily sounding like real native Americans because after all Americans have varied accents as well.

I have always been an advocate for teaching correct pronunciation in the language classroom because the students need this. As a language teacher, and now, a conversation leader, I think I owe it to my students and to my Chat Cafe participants, that I teach them the correct articulation of sounds. They enroll or sign up for this because they deem this necessary in their careers or in any other personal or official transactions they may be stuck into. It empowers them. makes them compete with the rest of the world. 

Yes, accents are intimately tied to speaker identity and group membership (Levis, 2005 in the same article); but teaching students how to properly articulate sounds and try to sound intelligible to most speakers of English does not mean that you are eradicating students’ cultural identity, rather, it paves the way for students to be more appreciative of multiculturalism.