Living With Multilingualism |
A LENS ESSAY
GIVE STUDENTS A PUSH NOT A SHOVE
ABSTRACT
In my piece, I use Suhanthie Motha’s prologue and introduction to Race, Empire, and English Language Teaching as a lens for Motoko Kainose’s experiences as a Japanese American student. I argue that teachers do owe it to their students to be aware of the challenges students may face by being an student with a limiting characteristic in school, and that the best form of individual attention would be for the teacher to meet with students the teacher feels may need some accommodations in the classroom to maximize the student’s potential. I show that Kainose’s sociology professor should not have grouped together all the ESL students and given them an easy accommodation, but rather have held individual meetings with the ESL students in order to determine what sorts of accommodations the students needed to maintain their grades, but still continue to receive criticism on their grammar in order to improve it. Additionally I show that this need to provide individualized accommodations is necessary for other limiting characteristics of students in school. Kainose’s interaction in her philosophy class helps me demonstrates that students who are quiet should not get off the hook for speaking in class because the speaking in front of others is an important characteristic individuals need to have when going into the working world. I end my essay with the idea that teachers can put in the time and effort to create more individualized approaches that allow students to continue to grow, without them worrying about their grades suffering.
Background On The Texts
Motoko Kainose discusses her experiences as a Japanese student in college courses in America. Kainose goes through many experiences in her education that demonstrate a difference in how students who may face challenges they can not control are given a ‘free pass’ when it comes to certain aspects of classes. Kainose experiences this in a few classes that she describes throughout the chapter. Kainose makes an argument toward the end of her chapter regarding the lack of desire for teachers to put in the effort because they are truly dedicated, but rather, just are fulfilling hours in the easiest way possible (Kainose 124). Suhanthie Motha’s prologue and introduction to Race, Empire, and English Language Teaching speak to the idea that English is a growing language and the population of English teachers needs to figure out a way to teach English ethically, responsibly, and consciously (Motha xxiii). Motha outlines many ways the English language is flawed that that the teaching of English can bring up divides in race due to the history of the language.
Work Cited
Kainose, Motoko. "Motoko's Reflections on Learning Across the Curriculum." Crossing the Curriculum: Multilingual Learners in College Classrooms. Ed. Vivian Zamel and Ruth Spack. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 2004. 111-25. Print.
Motha, Suhanthie. "Introduction." Race, Empire, and English Language Teaching: Creating Responsible and Ethical Anti-racist Practice. New York: Teachers College, 2014. 1-19. Print.
Motha, Suhanthie. "Prologue." Race, Empire, and English Language Teaching: Creating Responsible and Ethical Anti-racist Practice. New York: Teachers College, 2014. Xxi-xiii. Print.
Motha, Suhanthie. "Introduction." Race, Empire, and English Language Teaching: Creating Responsible and Ethical Anti-racist Practice. New York: Teachers College, 2014. 1-19. Print.
Motha, Suhanthie. "Prologue." Race, Empire, and English Language Teaching: Creating Responsible and Ethical Anti-racist Practice. New York: Teachers College, 2014. Xxi-xiii. Print.