Week 7

After doing this week's reading, my eyes were opened to how important it is to consider the sociolinguistic aspect of interaction between speakers. Like the example provided in the McKay reading, the way someone says something and the way it is interpreted is very important. In the reading, when the teacher asked the student, James, a question in which he answered with "i don't know" she took it as him not really caring about what she was asking. In reality, within the African-American community, James's response was telling the teacher to help motivate and help him answer the question. In hand, the reason why the teacher took it differently is because of the fact that she isn't from this community. When it comes down to teachers dealing with students from very different and a diverse spectrum of communities, it is important that we are knowledgeable on the different ways things are viewed and stated within these different communities and cultures.

Before reading, I didn't know what "lingua franca" meant, or had even heard of it. After reading Baker's article, I had a clearer idea. It's a word used to describe a "working" or "bridge" language. Baker examines the different forms of English as a lingua franca. We often look at English as being an essential language to know when it comes to several realms of education, business, and international interactions. But the basis of just knowing the English language doesn't mean that one truly understand where another one comes from culturally or linguistically. While a teacher can communicate with their student, and they get the idea that they mutually understand each other on a language basis, are they truly understanding one another on a deeper level? As Baker states in his article, "learners of English are not learning to join a single language community, but are 'shuttling between communities' between the local and global, in which variety of norms and repertoire of codes are to be expected" (572), it goes to show how L2 English language learners may feel when learning and adjusting to this new culture. It's important for us to be aware of how these learners may be viewing these codes on their local and global levels, and it's important for us to let them keep their cultures, codes and ideas.

As far as Marra's study, I find studies done in the workplace very interesting because second language learners as adults and in the workplace may have a particularly difficult time adjusting. I know my dad went through a similar difficult experience because the English he learned was different than that of the "standard" English here in the US.

Thoughts: Do you think there is a "standard" English that second language learners should be learning in order to interact "correctly" with their peers whether in an academic or work setting?