Chapter 6, “Acquiring Knowledge for L1 Use” written by Muriel Saville-Troike was a very interesting chapter. I especially liked this chapter because it posed the same questions that I have for my research paper I am working on. He explains that there are two very different functions of learning a second language. Academic competence which serves the knowledge by learners who want to use the L2 primarily to learn about other subjects and interpersonal competence which serves the knowledge required of learners who plan to use the L2 primarily in face-to-face contact with other speakers. To break it down, academic competence entails the goal of learning a second language for school focusing on reading and listening. Interpersonal competence entails the goal of learning a second language to communicate with others focusing on listening and speaking skills.
As a future Bilingual teacher, our main goal is for our students to learn for interpersonal and academic competence. My research paper asks the question of how ESL teachers can benefit from Bilingual teachers approach to learning? The progress of my research explains that ESL Pull-Out classrooms aim to assimilate the student to English as quick as possible, whereas Bilingual classrooms aim to add English to the student’s existing L1 in a timely fashion. Although I am just beginning my research I find it hard to believe in ESL Pull-Out classrooms.
Hopefully at the end of my research I will have a concrete answer to my question through factual evidence I will find. How can you have language learners interested in learning for academic purposes, such as, standardized testing and have language learners interested in achieving native like fluency while conversing with others? Through authentic resources? Or, if you do present students’ with these different types of second language competences, will this help? And, if the students’ are interested in both competences, how will you as a teacher meet the standards by the State and your own Standards you have set for your students? These questions are very hard to answer because I am not actually in the classroom yet, but hopefully after researching, I will find an answer.
ok.... this comment is attempt #2 because blogger just erased my entire first one. frustrating! anyway, what I was saying...
ReplyDeleteI understand your aversion to pull-out ESL classrooms. Bilingual classrooms are so successful, it seems, that it's hard to "go back" to something like pull-out classrooms. I don't have much experience with pull-outs so I haven't formed a very well-educated opinion, so I'll be interested to see what you find in your research. However, I do think there are situations where pull-out can be beneficial - as long as the entire instruction is not being delivered in a pull-out classroom. A pull-out classroom should just be for extra help, individualized attention, etc. It should not be a primary means of instruction. I wonder if there is a way that pull-out English classrooms can become more of a "language classroom" - like we take Spanish, those students can take English? Perhaps it would carry less of a bad stereotype that way.
I guess this just makes me so curious to see what ESL is like in a few years!