Topic A: Think about how these various accents differ and how they might be have been influenced in various regions. How might the IPA be used to capture these accents?
In looking at the map with the flags of different accents, you can see that there are smaller differences between the IPA transcription with flags that are closer together. As you move farther from the original flag clicked (for example, starting in the east and moving west and north) the IPA transcription begins looking vastly different. It's also amazing how in the same state there can be so many different accents and sounds spoken differently. For example, the Philadelphia sounds very different than Lancaster. A reason for this could be that there is a high population of PA Dutch speakers and this language is influencing the English for the region. Similarly, Philadelphia is closer to New York and may be influenced by the New York accent. As for the guess where I'm from game, I was totally stumped. I got 3/20 correct because it was tough to tell the different between an Austrian v/s a Germanic dialect. They sound so similar to me because I group them all under one "idea" of a sound.
Topic B: What Would You Do?
In response to the video, it made me realize that as a language teacher we are not only responsible for teaching the student to learn the language to communicate but also to communicate effectively to avoid some of these judgements. Other teachers may even carry some of these biased feelings, not on a concious level, but perhaps subconciously. This knowledge may make it more difficult for us as ESL teachers. (copy and pasted from discussion on D2L)
Topic C: Briefly reflect (3-5 sentences) on how this information helps you as an educator.
As an educator I have always found language to be interesting since at the moment I teach English to first language English learners. Despite teaching native speakers, it's amazing how different we speak and it raises a question of concern of what should I teach? For example, even with the knowledge of Ebonics it was difficult to try and explain my acceptance of students saying "We don't got no..." but when they wrote it how it was not "acceptable." (and I use the term acceptable with a lot of fear...) One question that was raised about e-mail ruining our language. Again, this shows how we must shift our teaching to appropriate v/s inappropriate contexts for language. It is appropriate to type "u" in a text, but do not put it on a job application or even to an e-mail to a colleague. As an educator, it's important to note that language shifts, it doesn't stay the same and we need to be current in the language and show appropriate levels of usage.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Unit 9 Blog Entries
Topic 1
1. John is a fisherman. He did not catch many fish last week. He wants to catch more fish tomorrow, but he doesn’t think he can. He is not a very successful fisherman. It is the only job John has. He needs to catch two nets full of fish to pay his debt. He tried to do this last year and for 3 years before that, but he was not successful. John wanted to be a farmer, but he did not have the money to buy land....
John's brother bought land last winter, but sold it to the neighbor when the economy crashed. John loves fishing, but longs to be more successful. When he feels down, he paints his boat, “Troubled Waters,” blue and shines it up. John asked his brother what he thought of the new look, but his brother just laughed and said, “You’re always fishing for compliments.”
John wanted to argue with his brother, but he did not have the energy. Instead, he made more nets, with the hopes of increasing his catch the next day.
2 Other parts of the story which could be challenging for an ELL learner is the sentence "When he feels down, he paints his boat, "Troubled Waters," blue and shines it up. It may be best to divide this complex sentence into several sentences because it is not clear enough that he is painting his boat blue or that his boat is called "Troubled waters." It could be written When he feels down, he paints his boat blue. He also shines the boat. His boat is named "Troubled Waters." Another area of confusion could be the idiom "You're always fishing for compliments" which could make no sense to the ELL. The idiom should be taught or replaced with "You're always asking for compliments from me" so that it is more clear.
Topic 2
1.
Sentence: John is a fisherman. Simple Present= is.
Now
---------------------------------+----------------------------------
X
John is a fisherman.
Sentence: His brother bought land last winter, but sold it to the neighbor when the economy crashed.
Last winter Now
-----I--------------------I-------------I---------------+--------------------------------------
brother economy brother
bought land crashed sold land to neighbor
(simple past) (past progressive because the economy was still crashing as the brother sold it to the neighbor)
2. I believe that some grammar needs to be taught especially in English because of the many exceptions to the rules that need to be learned or practiced. As Keith Folse was saying,though, these grammar concepts should be relevant to communication and success in the world outside of the classroom. Folse gave the example of teaching the order of adjectives when in the language a string of 5 adjectives doesn't occur, "We just don't do it." So why teach it? Grammar should be taught with a focus on what will be needed to communicate properly. When I learned French I needed to be able to practice the order of verbs or how to move them around to ask questions appropriately and I wouldn't have understood had I just simply heard it over and over again in an immersion model.
1. John is a fisherman. He did not catch many fish last week. He wants to catch more fish tomorrow, but he doesn’t think he can. He is not a very successful fisherman. It is the only job John has. He needs to catch two nets full of fish to pay his debt. He tried to do this last year and for 3 years before that, but he was not successful. John wanted to be a farmer, but he did not have the money to buy land....
John's brother bought land last winter, but sold it to the neighbor when the economy crashed. John loves fishing, but longs to be more successful. When he feels down, he paints his boat, “Troubled Waters,” blue and shines it up. John asked his brother what he thought of the new look, but his brother just laughed and said, “You’re always fishing for compliments.”
John wanted to argue with his brother, but he did not have the energy. Instead, he made more nets, with the hopes of increasing his catch the next day.
2 Other parts of the story which could be challenging for an ELL learner is the sentence "When he feels down, he paints his boat, "Troubled Waters," blue and shines it up. It may be best to divide this complex sentence into several sentences because it is not clear enough that he is painting his boat blue or that his boat is called "Troubled waters." It could be written When he feels down, he paints his boat blue. He also shines the boat. His boat is named "Troubled Waters." Another area of confusion could be the idiom "You're always fishing for compliments" which could make no sense to the ELL. The idiom should be taught or replaced with "You're always asking for compliments from me" so that it is more clear.
Topic 2
1.
Sentence: John is a fisherman. Simple Present= is.
Now
---------------------------------+----------------------------------
X
John is a fisherman.
Sentence: His brother bought land last winter, but sold it to the neighbor when the economy crashed.
Last winter Now
-----I--------------------I-------------I---------------+--------------------------------------
brother economy brother
bought land crashed sold land to neighbor
(simple past) (past progressive because the economy was still crashing as the brother sold it to the neighbor)
2. I believe that some grammar needs to be taught especially in English because of the many exceptions to the rules that need to be learned or practiced. As Keith Folse was saying,though, these grammar concepts should be relevant to communication and success in the world outside of the classroom. Folse gave the example of teaching the order of adjectives when in the language a string of 5 adjectives doesn't occur, "We just don't do it." So why teach it? Grammar should be taught with a focus on what will be needed to communicate properly. When I learned French I needed to be able to practice the order of verbs or how to move them around to ask questions appropriately and I wouldn't have understood had I just simply heard it over and over again in an immersion model.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Grice's Conversational Maxims
Maxim of Relevance:
One time when my entire family went out to dinner we were having a conversation about something ( I can't remember what in particular) and the conversation had hit a lull, my grandfather randomly blurt out "so how about that basketball?" This violates the maxim of relevance because it wasn't on topic in the least bit, but it allowed a new conversation to begin. There wasn't another maxim that was violated to follow another, he just decided to begin a new conversation more relevant to himself and to keep the conversation going. The reaction was one of humor and laughter, because he is a close family member. Had this occurred with someone not as well known, the response to the broken maxim would have been quite different.
Maxim of Quality:
Generally I break the maxim of quality with my students (middle school) if they ask a question that they know the answer to or should be able to answer on their own. For example, every so often students will ask "do I put my name on this?" I usually reply "no, when have you ever put your name on a paper before?" This is stating something I know to be false to get my point across that they should always put their name on a paper unless instructed otherwise. This use of sarcasm is breaking the maxim of quality because I am not directly answering their question with truthful statements, but rather saying an untruth to achieve a general understanding.
Maxim of Quantity:
An example from my life is when we have a student which has been absent for a while and the guidance counselor or principal will just say to excuse all work for a medical absence, but not provide more information. This additional information is withheld not to be misleading, but to not disclose more information than is necessary as a request of confidentiality.
Maxim of Manner:
In a conversation about someone, when unsure of the relationship between two people I will usually say "the person who was with so-and-so" to avoid any confusion. This is breaking the maxim of manner because it could be stating in a less lengthy way but it is stated briefly to avoid confusion or to draw conclusions of what the relationship is.
One time when my entire family went out to dinner we were having a conversation about something ( I can't remember what in particular) and the conversation had hit a lull, my grandfather randomly blurt out "so how about that basketball?" This violates the maxim of relevance because it wasn't on topic in the least bit, but it allowed a new conversation to begin. There wasn't another maxim that was violated to follow another, he just decided to begin a new conversation more relevant to himself and to keep the conversation going. The reaction was one of humor and laughter, because he is a close family member. Had this occurred with someone not as well known, the response to the broken maxim would have been quite different.
Maxim of Quality:
Generally I break the maxim of quality with my students (middle school) if they ask a question that they know the answer to or should be able to answer on their own. For example, every so often students will ask "do I put my name on this?" I usually reply "no, when have you ever put your name on a paper before?" This is stating something I know to be false to get my point across that they should always put their name on a paper unless instructed otherwise. This use of sarcasm is breaking the maxim of quality because I am not directly answering their question with truthful statements, but rather saying an untruth to achieve a general understanding.
Maxim of Quantity:
An example from my life is when we have a student which has been absent for a while and the guidance counselor or principal will just say to excuse all work for a medical absence, but not provide more information. This additional information is withheld not to be misleading, but to not disclose more information than is necessary as a request of confidentiality.
Maxim of Manner:
In a conversation about someone, when unsure of the relationship between two people I will usually say "the person who was with so-and-so" to avoid any confusion. This is breaking the maxim of manner because it could be stating in a less lengthy way but it is stated briefly to avoid confusion or to draw conclusions of what the relationship is.
Unit 8 Application Questions
#2 Your homework: (Mr. Smith is Mohammed's Teacher)
Mr. Smith: Do you know what to do for homework?
Mohammed: Yes, I think so.
Mr. Smith: So you understand how to do it?
Mohammed: Yes, sir.
Mr. Smith: Ok, great, I look forward to seeing your answers tomorrow.
Mohammed: Yes, thank you.
Mr. Smith: Do you know what to do for homework?
Mohammed: Yes, I think so.
Mr. Smith: So you understand how to do it?
Mohammed: Yes, sir.
Mr. Smith: Ok, great, I look forward to seeing your answers tomorrow.
Mohammed: Yes, thank you.
In this conversation, Mohammed replied "yes, thank you" when a thank you was not needed. Although it may not be considered too alarming because it is a statement of politeness, it doesn't quite fit with the conversation. Generally, students do not say thank you to a teacher getting ready to see answers. Mohammed is probably thinking that Mr. Smith has done some additional work to ask if he understands the work and requires a polite thank you. Mr. Smith may not think this too out of place and may just disregard it. Mohammed also includes "sir" which may seem out of the ordinary, and could be a cultural factor where those who are older are highly respected and referred to as "sir" and "ma'am."
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