Today we began the day with a full day of classes (5 hours).
The day was split up into three hours of grammar and two hours of conversation.
After lunch we had a lecture on a topic that we began to discuss the day
before, which is a book by Paulo Freire, Pedagogy
of the Oppressed. This lecture was lead by Jorge, the director of the
language school and was conducted in Spanish. During this time we got a brief
history of things that were going on in the world during the time Freire was
around, as well as his impact and thoughts on education. Afterwards, our
Fulbright group had a brief discussion regarding this information. We came up
with a list of things that have helped us in learning a second language as well
as things that we can use in our classroom to better aid our students in
learning a second language while maintaining his/her first language and
cultural identity.
Discussion about
Paulo Freire
Paulo Freire is a Brazilian educationalist who made a name
for himself when he was exiled from Brazil for 15 years after teaching farmer
workers to read. His work upset the people in power because it is easier to
keep people oppressed when they are uneducated. He is well known for his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed. This book
discussed the notion of bank education (students are empty vessels to be filled,
waiting to be filled with knowledge); highlights the contrast between education
forms that treat people as objects rather than subjects; and explores education
as cultural action.
Our List of Helpful
Tips in Learning a Second Language
·
Teachers ask where you are in your language
learning
·
Understanding the need to shut down
·
Understanding the frustrations
·
Identity crisis - connection between language
and identity
o
Affirm their first language
o
Encourage parents to teach their children in
their strongest language
o
Bridge what students already know in their first
language and link it to the new language
·
Language as exclusionary - who is left out
·
Don’t want to sound or feel stupid – using
rephrasing to help students hear the correct way to say something rather than
continually interrupting and telling them they are wrong.
·
Don’t confuse the knowledge that someone knows
with what they can communicate
·
Celebrating little successes and allowing it
·
Consider how we treat people with “thick”
accents
·
Need time to rest
·
Recognize group vs. individual mentality and
recognizing that your students need to be a support for each other
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