Challenges in teaching non-English L1 learners

It is apparent that there are many varied challenges to the teaching and learning of English as a second language in the New Zealand classroom and probably for some of those challenged with English as a first language.

There are still remnants of historical challenges such as the task on time theory which states the more time you spend on something the better you will learn that task. This theory ignores underlining cognition development and awareness that are retarded through this method by ignoring existing and more developed skill sets that have previously not been recognised as complementary skill but rather distracting or confusing. It also does not recognise the increased difficulty that building an English L2 students language skills up to a native English L1 level are without the students L1 available for support. I am saying there are remnants because it is a way of teaching that is ingrained within the learnt experience of teachers based on when they were students and requires a conscience shift to change. Another historical challenge that may have recently found its way into the classroom is the use of a spell checker. Debates around the usefulness and appropriateness of this tool when teaching English would sound similar to the old calculator vs. slide rule debate of yesteryear.

Teacher centric challenges include speed at which conversational instruction is given, language support given to more academic words or technical subject language, personal bias, beliefs, issues, styles, level of effort, personality, personal knowledge gaps in other languages, and capability for creating effective relationships with students.

Teaching issues might include how to identify and change gaps in bilingual students learning, knowing if students are on task, and helping to extend the L1 of a non-English L1 student.

Student centric challenges are much the same as the teachers one but I would include in their list their willingness and/or ability to do the work set for them.

There are many ways to address some of these issues the biggest being quality teacher education to improve the standards within classrooms.

Techniques within the classroom include group work which increases the student’s exposure to relevant and related language in context. This provides opportunities to observe and to participate in discussions and make crucial links between their L1 and L2 knowledge/skill sets.

Encouragement of their L1 can be furthered through the grouping of similar L1 students in group work and then bringing the discussions back to the wider class.

Support of their L1 development can be enhanced with the use of computers and online translation tools so that they can immediately identify new words and terminology presented initially in English within their personal L1.

Another method is to look for opportunities in assignments and group work where students are given free license to draw from their own culture and language sets.

What if...

Digital Natives - What if the artificial systems we have in place for ourselves collapses?

As these 'Digital Natives' are another generation that has moved another step further in their reality away from the true reality of this physical world we live in I can understand a little why they think differently.

We have created artificial living conditions for many in the so called 'developed' world. We are distanced from our food, water, and our land.

Many of these places we live in are akin to zoos where the animals are in pens and encouraged to live and interact 'naturally' as they would in the wild however they are very dependant on the system of zoo keepers to keep them fed and healthy. In our society we have many specialised zoo keepers. We call them Government and local body officials, police and military, health professionals, employers, etc... Funnily enough the zoo keepers are also trapped in and reliant on the same zoo system.

We fill our world with unrealities sold as realities intentionally or translated on a personal level as such, such as computer games, work promotions, air conditioning, movies, TV soaps, Fashion, unnecessary wars, continuation of curable diseases, the allowance of treatable conditions to continue by treating only the symptoms, world reliance on oil, etc.

If all the systems that are currently in place running our zoo were removed would many people today survive just as a released animal from a zoo? Looking at what has happened recently in Haiti I would suggest the answer is no.

Therefore do today's kids live in the real world or a zoo that we have perpetuated for them and are now enlisted them to become co-creators and further trapped participants of?

I am not questioning the use and development of technology just the appropriate use and development of it. The human race appears as a young child, running faster than it's chubby little uncoordinated legs can manage, with onlookers waiting for the eventual stumble which will bring it crashing to the ground head first.

In our running as a majority population we are leaving behind, and already lost, much of the old knowledge and ways of being, inherited from previous generations on how to live in harmony with our world. With our creation of countries and states, large cities and intensive farming, we have successfully created the cages we now live in. How many people know how to grow a plant, understand the seasons, or the mating and reproductive cycles of the fish or beasts they eat? If these 'renewable' food resources are plundered and decimated or increased in area at the detriment of other species to satisfy unreasonable appetites or company profit margins what will people have left?

Unreasonable appetites... Do people realise their appetites could be unreasonable? Do they know what is reasonable? Waistlines in 'developed' countries would put doubt that they do in the mix. What is reasonable for the planet?

We are divorced from our land for many reasons however two of the primary drivers are "modern" warfare and control of the masses. Intensive farming is a by product of warfare. It requires vast amounts of land and therefore land where there are no people. The other advantage is that you have many dislocated (from the land) people and therefore disposable in times of war as your remaining populance are not relient on the dislocated to assist with food production which is a core necessity for a society to survive.

Through dislocation from the land people can become reliant on the systems that will provide them with the food they would have historically grown or sourced themselves. Much like you train and control a dog with treats when they do well, so are we controlled with jobs, promotions and the need to seek futher and ongoing approval/reward within this system. These systems once embedded within can be difficult to emerge from due to habitual reliance, lack of knowledge, effort to overcome inertia, and the 'dream' they are sold via commercialism and the values instilled in them that are considered measures of success.

Worst case senario...

The millions of people around the world who live in our concrete zoo's would die or kill to survive if the zoo keepers were unable to maintain the systems in place, a key system being food supply. If unable to provide for themselves and loved ones in these zoos the only recourse would be to leave the zoos enmass amid a trail of destruction, murder, and chaos, as the last remaining resources dried up just as a mass escape from a real zoo would be. If the lack of food was due to being unable to transport the food then it would be fair to assume the same issues may surround city evacuations. The only plus in this would be the extended time people in the outer regions would have prior to the city inhabitant survivors arrivals and the radius of destruction these people would wreak prior to finding either a temporary food supply or death.

Is it all Doom and Gloom?

As the chubby child runs is it guarrentteed it will fall? Maybe not. If it runs without self checks or with simple reckless abandon then it is highly likely yes.

Maybe it is timely for some checks and balances. How well do we know ourselves? Our people? Our land? What are we leaving behind? What is it we are eagerly taking up and running to? That next new technological toy. That consumer product or service - do we need it? What harm will be caused by having it vs not?

Thinking of harm as only that which directly harms you and/or your loved ones is not the way a self aware adult operates. Freeing your mind from the entrapment of material commercialism and understanding the world for what it truely is, and can be, is a good way to free your mind for exploring the world and living with it.

Hello

Boo! - Now you see me...