Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.0.Beta5/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id LAA27808; Mon, 9 Nov 1998 11:32:24 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 11:32:24 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <E0zcuFy-0003D1-00@tantalum> Errors-To: lmann@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Trifon Trifonov" <trifonov@btinternet.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:2497] Re: : effective teacher - cultural indoctrination X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet Mail 4.70.1161 >Your example of the Somali woman who declines to socialize with men, and >other students who will ot sit with members of the opposite sex are >examples of the very behaviors and attitudes that I think we have to try >and eliminate. 'eliminate' is a bit strong isn't it? OK, in the case of attitudes which have a negative effect on others (racism etc) fair enough: I wouldn't tolerate behaviour on the part of one student which made oanother student uncomfortable, but I'm talking about someone not feeling comfortable sitting with a member of the opposite sex. My examples weren't of women wanting the men removed from the group becasue they hate them or something. OK, society demands that if (or maybe 'when') students want to take an active part in UK (or US) society and get jobs and so on, they will need to accept our norms and values to a large extent. Like it or not, I agree that's the way it is. However, I also think that when my students (having arrived in the UK for the first time as adults with 30 odd years of Somali/Pakistani whatever culture behind them) make the big and terrifying step of coming to their first English lessons they need to find themselves in an environment in which they feel comfortable otherwise they will just not come back again. I wouldn't be doing them any favours then would I? I do think that becoming accustomed to our way of doing things to some extent will help them, IF what they want is to get a job etc, but I think that at first (and that may be the first few days or first few months or years) they need to feel secure and if the learning environment is threatening because they have to behave in ways which make them uncomfortable, they'll not be able to learn. >Pretending that it is OK for the >boys & girls to be separated isn't doing the students any favor. You allow >them to (falsely) believe that they will always be able to avoid wotrking >with the opposite sex. I'm not pretending anything. It genuinely is ok in my class because I want to allow everyone to feel comfortable enough to make a few first steps in learning English. Some women just don't come to any classes because they're frightened of what the teacher might expect them to do in this alien country. Later - perhaps much later -we can *explore* issues which they will have to face in wider British society, when they know enough ENglish to discuss their points of view as well as the British perspective. Jo Southampton, UK
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jan 11 2000 - 13:27:17 EST