Listening to Difference in the Teaching of ‘English’: Insights from Internationally Educated Teachers

Abstract

More than 25 years ago, Ferguson first wrote about 'one of the most significant linguistic phenomena of our time, the incredible spread of English as a global language' (1992, xiii) -an historically unprecedented phenomenon in terms of its scale (see also Fishman 1998). English has the second largest number of mother tongue speakers worldwide; there are also large numbers of people around the globe who speak localised forms of English, speak English as a lingua franca and also learn English as a foreign or additional language. Jenkins (2006) notes that English speakers in the latter three categories 'vastly outnumber' those for whom English is a first language (158-159). 2 In the Canadian context, distinctions among different forms of English are becoming increasingly important. A recent report from Statistics Canada notes that one in five members of the population are now allophones -people who speak neither English nor French as their first language -an increase directly attributable to high numbers of immigrants (Corbeil and Blaser 2007). 3 Of interest to those educators is the fact that only 46% of allophones in the overall population speak English or French at home. Further, the languages listed as mother tongues in Canada (other than English or French) number 200. 4 Thus, more and more people in Canada speak English only in particular contexts and for particular purposes. Clearly, Canadian demographics are changing -and with them, the composition of the student population in our classrooms.The overall purpose of this paper is to consider what the teaching of English as a subject in Canadian schools might entail in the context of changing demographics and the various forms of English currently spoken in the country. How do we as teachers and teacher educators in the twenty-first century question what 'English' means, even as we teach (in/through) it? How do we realise the political work we do with language and listen to difference? As a distinct subject in schools, English has a relatively short history -and one in which particular (so-called standard) forms of the language have been crucial in positioning people in relation to one another in terms of power and privilege. In the nineteenth century, the study of English literature emerged in the British colonial education system of India -a context that says much about how it was intended to 'civilise' people though language and culture -and an educational initiative that was later applied to the working classes of Britain (Willinsky 2000). English as a single unified subject (i.e. one that brought together the previously separate strands of literature, composition and language) emerged in the 1920s along with the view that English was intended to do more than ensure that the language remained 'healthy'; it was also a means through which the moral and *

Innovating in the Margins of Teacher Education: Developing a Bridging Program for Internationally Educated Teachers

“…Since most IETs are new immigrants coming from non-Western societies, their language and cultural differences are often perceived as knowledge deficiency by Canadian institutions, both schools and universities. Similarly, Walsh (2008) noted that IETs encountered discourses that IETs are "not good enough English speakers" (p. 402) to teach in Canadian schools. Further, Cho's (2010) analysis revealed that IETs' cultural wealth and their ability to speak multiple languages are not always valued as an asset but instead "accent" is perceived as deficiency in terms of teaching qualifications.…”

Contemplation, Artful Writing

“…6 Our work together involved storytelling and artistic response, a process whereby we wrote individually at each meeting about a teaching or immigration/integration experience. When a person shared her story (usually one per meeting), we responded to it through various arts media, including watercolor paint, clay, fabric, blocks, and so on (see Walsh, 2006Walsh, , 2008Walsh & Brigham, 2007). Our artful responses were a way of listening to one another through the research process.…”

Journeys into Teaching: Pathways Created by Overseas-Trained Teachers into a Career Secondary School Teaching in New Zealand

“…However, international research indicates accents and vocabulary that are not local are perceived as a barrier to student learning by school-hiring staff. In contrast, findings indicate that although children may struggle initially to understand a new accent or word, but will find it easier to understand after hearing it again and then no longer struggle with comprehension (Sharplin, 2009;Walsh, 2008). These findings could allay the fears that students cannot learn from multilingual OTTs.…”

“…She stated that potential employers expected her to struggle when speaking English in spite of it being her first language, a language in which she holds a Masters" degree and is her teaching subject. A number of studies have found that language leads to challenges for OTTs (Guo & Singh, 2009;Mawhinney and Xu, 1997;Schmidt, 2010;Sharplin, 2009;Subedi, 2008;Walsh, 2008;Walsh, Brigham and Wang, 2011). Ordinarily those challenges are faced by OTTs for whom English is not a first language.…”

“…Staff would want students to be able to understand their teachers and hesitate to employ non-native English speakers for that reason. International literature challenges this notion; indicating that students may struggle to understand non-native English speakers in the first few lessons but not later on, once they had become familiar with a different accent (Walsh, 2008) or new vocabulary (Sharplin, 2009).…”