Reflection Practice - 2B
Using pictures to encourage the students to make meaning about their own language and culture and the target language and culture (using reflective journal as a data collection tool)
The problem and focus
According to Scarino and Crichton (2008, p. 5), “What matters in using language is the meanings that are created, shared, and interpreted by people in interaction with each other and with texts (understood in very broad terms).” Therefore, making meaning is crucial for learners so that they can understand people of different cultural backgrounds. However, because of cultural differences, different people can have very different feelings towards the same thing, word, or visual experience. Given such differences, using pictures as tools to encourage students to make meaning about their own and the target language and culture is worth considering.According to Arizpe, Bagelman, Devlin, Farrell, and McAdam (2014, p. 306), images can help learners to obtain insights into meaning-making. In addition, images serve “as a form of expression that sidesteps language barriers, and allows learners from diverse backgrounds to respond in creative ways that develop their visual literacy.”Therefore, this essay contains reflection on how usingpictures could be an effective way tomake meaning about learners’ own and the target language and culture.
Context
There are two ESOL learners mentioned in the reflective journals from which this essay draws.One is Dora, a 31-year-old female migrant from China with a 3-year-old child. The other is Lee Chin Poh, a 72-year-old female migrant from China with two adult children – a son and a daughter. The English of both is at a beginner level. The type of the three classes is general English, and the content of the respective lessons is about knowing different shops, paying with EFTPOS, and giving/getting directions.
Action and rationale
I felt that the reflective process would be augmented by keeping a journal, since reflective journaling immediately after each teaching event enhances my memory of the learner’s reflection and what was successful or should be avoided. In addition, in view of the focus of this reflective essay (using pictures), a journal is more convenient than other data collection tools such as recording or peer observation, because I can include in the journals the pictures I used in the lessons. Moreover, journaling also cultivates my capacity for independent thought and analysis, which will be a great help for my future career and development.
Results and reflections
There are three points to reflect on for the three lessons.
Firstly, in order to stimulate the creation of meaning about the languages and cultures, a teacher should use pictures easily named in both the L1 and the L2, since people share many things in common, although they are form different cultures.According to Falihi and Wason-Ellam (2009, p. 409), “Our ability to interpret any visual experience is cumulative depending on previous similar and different experiences and specific understanding of those experiences,” and depending also on the effects of various circumstances and the social and cultural meanings of elements. Therefore, using pictures form the learners’ own culture means they will be able to recall their own experience, will have more things to share, and may even try to use the target language before they are taught, which may make the teaching and learning process later on more successful. In addition, it is important to use pictures related to learners’ daily lives, since it will motivate their learning more, and they may find the lesson more relevant and interesting. However, the pictures I chose of Chinese shops in the first lesson (See Pictures 8-10 in the Appendix) gave rise to many problems. Instead of providing three pictures of big shopping centres, I should have shown a variety of kinds of shops, because it is unrealistic to suppose that all Chinese go to such big shopping centres. Instead of just asking superficial questions, I could also have asked the student to analyse why some people prefer smaller shops.Arizpe et al. (2014, p. 318) mentions that “the images are useful because they act as cues and also have intrinsic value in themselves.” In this case, the pictures of those big shopping centres would send a wrong message or cue to the learner that all the shops in New Zealand and China are like that.
Secondly, in order to make meaning and connect the relevant cultures and languages, it is important to use pictures as tools while explaining or comparing cultural differences, because pictures make abstract things more concrete. For example, in the third lesson, I pointed to the picture and explained the differences between Chinese and New Zealanders in terms of giving directions, and the learner understood immediately. Chinese people prefer to use the wordsNorth, South, EastandWest,while New Zealanders preferleftandright. Therefore, a Chinese may say that a school is to the east of the supermarket (See Pic 16 in Appendix) while a New Zealander may say it is on the left. Without the help of pictures, the learner would not be sure of the meaning at all, let alone be able to make meaning. However, it is not a good idea to over-emphasise the L1 culture, especially when learners do not know much about a specific aspect of it, or when their need is simply to know about the L2 culture.
Thirdly, pictures should not be the only form of visual support; using real objects and other means of visual support should also be considered. For example, when Dora and I talked about what she did when she lost her way, she told me that she seldom asked other people for help and always used Google Maps instead. Also, Lee Chin felt happy when I took out my credit and debit cards when explaining the differences. After the lesson, I reflected that the world is changing so fast that our textbooks can quickly go out of date, as can any pictures or teaching materials we use. When I saw the PowerPoint presentations I used two years ago, I knew I could not use the pictures in them anymore. The movies were no longer newly released, and the pop stars were not so popular anymore. To address this, teachers should keep updating their teaching materials, stay open-minded, and try to integrate new technology into their language classes if possible.
Review of personal theory
Firstly, in order to make meaning about their own and the target language and culture, a teacher should use pictures from both, and pictures which are related to the learners’ daily lives. The pictures a teacher uses should also vary in order to generate more in-depth thought and comments.Secondly, it is important to use pictures as tools while explaining or comparing cultural differences, because pictures are very helpful for making abstract things concrete. However, it is not a good idea to over-emphasise the L1 culture, especially when learners do not know much about a specific aspect or when their need is simply to know about the L2 culture. Thirdly, pictures – especially the same set of pictures over and over again – should not be the only kind of visual support. Teachers should keep updating their teaching materials, stay open-minded, and try to use real objects or combine new technology into a language class if possible.
In conclusion, pictures contain rich messages, and being able to decode and know the meaning they convey is not only a basic skill for life, but also a useful tool which teachers can use to explore how much cultural information a learner can extract and how much meaning they can make from it.
New plan for further investing action and data
As for future investing actions, I will mainly focus onwhether the learner can see culture (including her own and the L2 culture) from a different perspective and make her own choice. The method I will use to gather data to answer this question is a self-evaluation survey, which I will make. (1326 words)
References
Arizpe, E., Bagelman, C., Devlin, A. M., Farrell, M., & McAdam, J. E. (2014). Visualizing intercultural literacy: engaging critically with diversity and migration in the classroom through an image-based approach. Language and Intercultural Communication, 14(3), 304-321.
Falihi, A., & Wason-Ellam, L. (2009). Critical visuality: On the development of critical visual literacy for learners’ empowerment. The International Journal of Learning, 16(3), 409-417.
Scarino, A., & Crichton, J. (2008). Why the intercultural matters to language teaching and learning: An orientation to the ILTLP program (Intercultural Learning and Teaching in Practice) [online].Babel, 43(1), 4–6, 38.Available athttp://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/fullText;dn=200900424;res=APAFT
Appendix
Reflective Journal
Background to learners identified in this Journal
Knowing Different Shops/ 2-3pm/ 29thSep / General English-Beginner/ Dora/ Female/ 31 years old/ Chinese/ Learner’s home
How to Pay on EFTPOS/ 11-12am/ 2ndOct/ General English-Beginner/ Lee Chin Poh/ Female/ 72 years old/Chinese/ Learner’s home
Giving or Getting Directions/ 2-3pm/ 6thOct/ General English-Beginner/ Dora/ Female/ 31 years old/ Chinese/ Learner’s home
29thSep, 2015
Using pictures related with students’ daily life is very important, for it will increase their learning motivation. Students may feel the lesson both relevant and interesting. In addition, when the learner passes by these shops, she may review the words of different shops unconsciously.
Using pictures is an effective way to elicit the target language, for a picture could contain rich information, and different people may interpret the same picture in different ways. If teachers would like to encourage students to talk more, they could use pictures as an elicitation tool. The students could both describe what they could see in the picture and use their imagination to speak more about it.
In order toencourage the student to make meaning about their own language and culture and the target language and culture, a teacher should find pictures from both L1 and L2. Picture 1-6 are shops in New Zealand and Picture 7-10 are shops in China. When comparing those shops in NZ and in China, the learner said Chinese shops are usually very big and with different small shops in it. Then I told Dora we call them shopping centres and asked if there are shopping centres in New Zealand. She answered yes and told me she had been to the shopping centre at Britomart. I also shared my shopping experience at Britomart and told her I had only been there once for it closed too early. She laughed, and then I also asked her which one she preferred and why.
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 7
Picture 8
Picture 9
Picture 10
2nd Oct
Using pictures at the beginning of the lesson is a good way to lead-in. At the beginning of the lesson, I showed a picture of an EFTPOS (See Pic 11) to the learner and asked her what it was and when people might use it. The learner was able to answer my question and gave me some examples in Chinese.
Using pictures from different cultures to compare is necessary, for people also share many common things although they are form different cultures. For example, Lee Chin could not understand the meaning of the capital letters on the buttons. Therefore I showed a picture of a Chinese EFTPOS (See Pic 14) to her. She could understand the meaning of the buttons according to the Chinese characters on them. Then I told her that the functions of these buttons are exactly the same as those in New Zealand. However, we should also avoid “over comparing”. For example, while comparing other buttons with different functions, she felt confused and it took a long time for her to remember them. Therefore, it was not a good idea to over emphasizing the L1 culture, especially when the learner does not know much about a specific aspect or when learner’s need is just knowing about L2 culture.
Using real objects is sometimes better than pictures. When I took out my credit card and debit card and asked Lee Chin to tell the difference, she was very happy. I also told her how to insert or swipe cards and in what condition she could pay by tapping it onto an EFTPOS.
6th Oct
Using picture is not only useful at the beginning stage of a lesson, but also useful when practicing the target language. By simply changing the standing point in the picture (See Pic 16-18), the learner could produce many different sentences to show directions.
While explaining cultural differences, pictures are quite helpful to make an abstract thing become more concrete. Without the help of pictures, the learner would feel more confused. For example, in this lesson I mentioned the differences between Chinese and kiwis in terms of giving directions. Chinese people prefer to use North, South, East and West while people in New Zealand prefer to use left and right to give directions. Therefore, a Chinese may say the school is to the east of the supermarket (See Pic 16), while a kiwi may say the school is on the left of the supermarket.
Picture should not be the only visual support, the teacher should stay open-minded and try to combine new technology into a language class if possible. When talking about what the learner did when she lost her way, she told me she seldom asked other people and she always used Google Map instead. After the lesson I realize that the world is changing so fast that our text books could be easily become out of date, as well as other picture or teaching materials we are using. When I saw the Power Points I used 2 years ago, I knew I could not use the pictures in them anymore. The movies are no longer newly released, and the pop stars are not that popular anymore. Therefore, teachers should keep updating their teaching materials and put some old flash cards away.
Newton, J. (2009). A place for ‘intercultural’ communicative language teaching (ICLT) in New Zealand?The TESOLANZ Journal, 17, 1-12.
Pulverness, A. (2004, January). Here and there: Issues in materials development for intercultural learning. Paper presented at Culture in ELT Seminar: Intercultural Materials in the Classroom and on the Web, British Council, Krakow, Poland. Retrieved fromhttp://www. academia. edu/268758/
Schulz, R. (2007). The challenge of assessing cultureal understanding in the context of foreign language instruction.Foreign Language Annals, 40(1), 9-26.
Tan, J. S., and Chua, R. Y. J. (2003). Training and developing cultural intelligence. In P. C. Earley & S. Ang (Eds.),Cultural intelligence: Individual interactions across cultures(pp.258-303). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
This lesson is about Knowing Different Shops. I took many photos in Queen Street and used those photos in my lesson. Dora was quite interested in this lesson, for she also lives in Auckland Central. Therefore she could recognize these shops as soon as she saw them, and could also tell me what things she could buy in each shop.
There are three points to reflect in this lesson:
Picture 2
This lesson is about How to pay on EFTPOS, for the learner used to pay by cash and she would like to know how to pay on EFTPOS. It took a while for the learner to remember the steps of using it and the function of different buttons. This lesson was taught in Mandarin so that the learner could understand what to do with an EFTPOS better.
There are three points to reflect on this lesson:
Picture 11
Picture 12
Picture 13
Picture 14
This lesson was about Getting/Giving Directions. The stage where I used pictures is at the lead-in part and the practice part.
There are three points to reflect on this lesson:
Picture 15
Picture 16
Picture 17
Picture 18
What are effective ways to improve intercultural competence? (using Student Survey as a data collection tool)
Problem and focus
Intercultural competence is the ability to communicate successfully with people of different cultures, which is what should be stressed rather than native speaker competence (Schulz, 2007; Sinicrope, Norris, & Watanabe, 2007; Newton, 2009; Woodgate-Jones, & Grenfell, 2012; Sun, 2013; Lockley & Yoshida, 2014). It is also “the capacity to respond flexibly to a range of possible solutions and a willingness to learn to work with people of different cultural backgrounds” (Tan & Chua 2003, p. 263). Therefore, cultivating and improving intercultural competence is essential for my learner, especially because her L1 culture is very different from her L2 culture, and cultural differences usually cause problems while she is communicating with native speakers. Therefore, my focus in this reflective essay is to use a student survey as a data collection tool to find effective ways to improve intercultural competence.
Context, action, and rationale
The learner who completed this survey is Dora, a 31-year-old female migrant from China with a 3-year-old child. I chose student survey as the data collection tool because, in my former reflective teaching practice, I mainly focused on how to apply theory in light of the literature and did not pay much attention to the learner’s perceptions. However, knowing students’ perspectives is essential, because it can help improve a teacher’s practice and deliver tangible data that informs better decisions in the future. In light of this, a teacher should take learners’ perspectives into consideration instead of only focusing on finding a good theory.
Data collection
The student survey was translated into Chinese. After the learner completed it, it was translated into English (See Appendix). In it, I included four main questions. In the first, the learner was asked to rank ways of improving intercultural competence from 9 (the most helpful way) to 1 (the least helpful). For questions 2 to 4, the learner was asked to give short answers and provide examples. The aim of each question was to find out the following: which ways are effective for the learner to improve her intercultural competence, whether she could see her own culture from another perspective, whether she has changed the way she perceives things, and what general comments she has to offer about cultural learning.
Results and findings
Graph 1: Effective ways to improve intercultural competence
Graph 1 shows the result of Question 1. According to Graph 1 and the learner’s general comment (See Appendix, part 4) about cultural learning, the most effective way to improve intercultural competence, from the learner’s perspective, is communicating with native speakers in real life. Making comparisons and doing more practice in classroom come next. Receiving cultural information or knowledge in class, figuring out what to do by oneself (for example, checking information online and going to a library), and imitating others’ behaviours were ranked lowest. According to the learner’s answers of Questions 2 and 3, she could see her own culture from another perspective and has obtained benefit from the lessons.
Discussion and reflections
Reflection One
The most effective way to improve intercultural competence is to let learners practice, both in classroom and real life. The learner believed that “Communicating more with native English speakers” was the most effective way, because she believed she could learn more during such communication, and, moreover, do so naturally without memorising mechanically (See Appendix, part 1f). In addition, she also gave a high score to “Doing more practice in class (such as role-play),” because she thought she would not feel so scared about talking to a native speaker if she could do more practice beforehand (See Appendix, part 1e). According to Richards, Conway, Roskvist, and Harvey (2010),in order to foster intercultural competence, teachers should provide chances for learners to practice the target language in the classroom or the real world. However,intercultural competence cannot form naturally (Sercu, 2004; Schulz, Sinicrope & Watanabe, 2007; Newton, 2009).In regard to this, a language teacher should set a task each lesson. For example, after a lesson about a conversation about weather, the teacher could set a task of talking about the weather with classmates, strangers in the elevator, or neighbours. Teachers can also encourage students to interact with people from different cultures on the Internet using Facebook, MySpace, and Second Life (a 3D visual world). This can not only reduce interaction anxiety but also make communication more interesting due to the features of these applications. However, before they interact with people in the real world, teachers should let students practice (by role-playing, for example) as much as possible in the classroom, so that they feel more confident when they talk with a native speaker.
Reflection Two
Besides getting students to practice, a teacher should also compare learners’ L1 and L2 cultures. In doing this, it is important to provide learners with opportunities to think about the differences by themselves and to ask more “why”/in-depth questions; teachers should encourage them to reflect on their own cultures through the eyes of others and to see different perspectives. According to the leaner’s answer in the survey (See Appendix, parts 1b-1d), she could come to know cultural differences by making comparisons that shed light on why people behaved in different ways. Another benefit of asking comparison questions and “why” questions is that they deepen her memory and empower her to think more independently. This shows that asking “why” questions is important: it is not only because it encourages learners to discover deeper relationships between cultural influences and people’s behaviours, but also because it is an important way to cultivate independent thought.Pulverness (2004) states that, while being able to understand cultural messages is important, learners may resist it when necessary and assert their own identity. Yet, if they do not at least have a chance to reflect, they may not know what to resist or accept.Therefore, teachers, for their part, should make reflection an inseparable part of language teaching.
Reflection Three
Giving information on culture is, by itself, not very helpful for improving intercultural competence. In the survey, the learner mentioned that, if she did not have a chance to practice, then it was not very useful to just receive information/knowledge about culture in class (See Appendix, part 1a). According to Newton, Yates, Shearn, and Nowitzki (2009, p. 68), teaching culture is more than teaching facts; it also “involves learners in constructing knowledge from experience and reflection,” which can, in turn, cultivate intercultural competence. Therefore, I believe that a language teacher, instead of only focusing on giving cultural knowledge, should also provide all the more chances for learners to practice, and examine whether they can apply the cultural knowledge they learn to achieve the goal of communication.
“Imitating other’s behaviours” got the lowest score, even lower than “Giving information”. In the learner’s view (See Appendix, part 1i), everyone has his or her own thoughts and behaviours. If she does not know why they behave in a particular way, she feels unsafe behaving likewise. If she imitates their behaviours blindly, she feels uncomfortable. From the learner’s answer, we can see that language learners’ national and social identity is one of the major issues associated with intercultural language teaching.According to Kramsch (2013), immigrants do feel it is necessary to learn the culture of the target language so as to adapt to society and successfully communicate with native speakers. However, some L1 learners feel uncomfortable behaving like a native speaker (Liddicoat, 2008). In regard to this, I agree with Pulverness (2004), who states that, while being able to understand cultural messages is important, learners should also be free to resist them when necessary and assert their own identity. As far as I am concerned, teachers should not require students to behave in exactly the same ways as a native speaker, nor should they have their students imitate others without considering their students’ attitudes or without giving reasons.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the most effective way to improve intercultural competence is to let learners practice both in classroom and real life. However, before they interact with people in the real world, teachers should let students practice as much as possible in the classroom, so that they feel more confident when they talk with a native speaker. Secondly, it is also essential to provide learners with chances to reflect on their own cultures through the eyes of others and to see different perspectives. Effective ways to trigger such reflection include making comparisons and asking abundant in-depth questions. In addition, it is not a good idea to only share information/knowledge about culture in class without accompanying it with practice. Furthermore, teachers should not require students to behave in exactly the same ways as a native speaker or have their students imitate others without giving reasons. Last but not least, cultivating student’s independence of thought is more important than giving them knowledge. As an ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tzu, said, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.” Although the learner only gave a ranking of 2 for “Figuring out what to do by yourself,” improving learners’ ability to do just this is still a worthwhile endeavour for teachers.
New plan for further investing
As for further investing actions, since communicating with native speakers is regarded as the most helpful way to improve intercultural competence, I will focus on what kind of after-class task can encourage students to practice more and communicate more with native speakers. The method I will use to gather data is writing teaching journals to record what the learner has done to complete the tasks, how well she has done them, and what she can learn from it. (1628 words)
References
Kramsch, C. (2013). Culture in foreign language teaching.Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research,1(1), 57-58.
Liddicoat, A. J. (2008). Pedegogical practice for integrating the intercultural in language teaching and learning.Japanese Studies, 28(3), 277-290. doi: 10.1080/10371390802446844
Newton, J., Yates, E., Shearn, S., & Nowitzki, W. (2009). Intercultural communicative language teaching (ICLT): Implications for effective teaching and learning. Report to the Ministry of Education, Wellington, New Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/curriculums /76637/introduction
Richards, H., Conway, C., Roskvist, A., & Harvey, S. (2010). Intercultural language learning (ICLL): Awareness and practice of in-service language teachers on a professional development programme.New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics, 16(1), 1–15.
Sercu, L. (2004) Assessing intercultural competence: A framework for systematic test development in foreign language education and beyond.Intercultural Education,15(1), 73-89. doi: 10.1080/1467598042000190004
Sinicrope, C., Norris, J. & Watanabe, Y. (2007)Understanding and assessing intercultural competence: A summary of theory, research, and practice.Technical Report for the Foreign Language Program Evaluation Project. University of Hawai ‘I at Manoa’ .
Retrieved fromhttp://www.hawaii.edu/sls/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Norris.pdf
Sun, L. (2013). Culture teaching in foreign language teaching. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(2), 371-375. Retrieved fromhttp://ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1330861304?accountid=8440
Woodgate-Jones, A., & Grenfell, M. (2012). Intercultural understanding and primary-level second language learning and teaching.Language Awareness, 21(4), 331-345. doi: 10.1080/09658416.2011.609623
Appendix
Survey
In your English course we have been working on developing intercultural competence. To help me improve my teaching and to consider what you have learned, please answer the following questions.
1. Which of the following ways do you think can help you to improve your intercultural competence best? Write 9 beside the most helpful, and 1 beside the least helpful.
a) Giving culture information/knowledge in class
7 If I don’t have a chance to practice, then it is not very useful
b) Making comparison and contrast of L1 and L2 cultures in class
2 I can know the cultural differences by making comparison so that I can know why people behave in different ways.
c) Asking questions to encourage you to have an opportunity to think about cultural differences yourself or to reflect on your own culture
5 I can think by myself and make some adjustments.
d) Asking more "why" questions in class so that you can think in more depth
4 It can deepen my memory and think more.
e) Doing more practice (such as role-play) in class
3 I will not feel scared to talk to a native speaker if I can do more practice before talking to them in real life.
f) Communicating more with native English speakers so that you can learn about their culture better
1 I can learn more while talking to a native speaker, and I can learn things naturally without memorizing mechanically.
g) Reading books or watching movies to know more about New Zealand culture
6 It is true that I can learn many things from books and movies. However, books and movies can only represent the opinion of the writers, if I want to know more culture about a country I should go to this country instead of reading books or watching movies.
h) Figuring out what to do by yourself (such as checking information online, going to a library, asking others)
8 It may take a lot of time to figure everything out all by myself or I may have some misunderstandings.
i) Imitating others' behaviours
9 Everyone has his or her own thoughts and behaviours. If I don’t know the reason they behave in a particular way, I will feel unsafe to do like that. Besides, I don’t know whether it is appropriate or not to do like that. If I imitate others’ behaviours blindly, I may feel uncomfortable.
Please write any comments to help explain your ranking
2. Can you see your own culture from another perspective? Please give an example.
Yes. For example, in China, many parents believe their children should be ahead of others at the “starting line”. Therefore, many parents make their children to go to school at a very young age and their children also take part in many extra-curriculum classes. They have a lot of homework to do and couldn’t get enough sleep. They don’t have a happy childhood and look like nerds. However, the children in New Zealand are very happy. They don’t have to do much homework and they learn many practical skills. After I came to New Zealand, I began to realize that is too tiring for children.
3. After these lessons, have you changed the way you perceive things? Please give an example.
Every culture has its own unique features. What we used to do may not be the most suitable for you. Knowing other cultures can give your more choices. It is always good to know more. For example, I never thought about the differences between Chinese traditional doctors and Western doctors. After the lesson of “going to the doctor’s” I realized the differences, and how might a New Zealander think about our doctors. So I know there are more differences, and I can start to think about them.
4. General comment about cultural learning:
From this course I have learned that......
I should practice what I have learned in real life.
This is important because………………..
Because I can only know what is correct when I talk to a native speaker, and I can learn more.
As a result of this learning I will…………….
Communicate with other people more often than before.
