NOTE: This paper has two parts to it: Part One- Language & Culture Paper. Part Two- Language & Culture Discussion Post.
PART ONE: To fulfill the requirements for this language and culture activity, I would like you to interview someone whose first language is not English so that you can learn a bit more about different languages and cultural backgrounds.This activity will give all of you the opportunity to interact with someone from a different language background and learn more about his/her experiences learning English. It is also crucial that as a future teacher you find a way to connect to non-native speakers of English, since you will be likely to encounter them in your future classrooms. Your specific assignment is as follows:
(1) Select a person who is not a native speaker of English to interview. This person can be of any age, any background, and any level of proficiency. It could be someone who has recently learned English or someone who learned English many years ago.
(2) Come up with a list of questions to ask your interviewee. While you can ask whatever you want, some of your questions must be focused on content relevant to our course. Here are some examples of questions you might want to ask your learner:
How old were you when you first started learning English?
Why did you begin learning the language?
Have you studied any other languages besides English? If so, which language did you find easiest? hardest?
Did you attend school in America? What was that experience like for you as a student?
Are there any areas of English that you still struggle with or find frustrating?
Do you speak English or your native language in your home?
Which language do you feel most comfortable speaking?
Which language do you feel most comfortable writing?
Do you notice any differences in your culture vs. the American culture? If so, what?
(3) Summarize your key findings in a short, informative paper.
Once you’ve “participated” in your language and culture activity, you must write up your observations in a short paper. Your paper should be no longer than 2 pages and it should be typed and double-spaced. No citations required as this is your own interview. In this paper you should do three things: First, tell me a bit about the person you interviewed and why you selected this particular person. Secondly, tell me about some of the interesting things you learned from your interview and why these things stood out to you (do your best to relate your observations to the material discussed in our class). Finally, tell me what you—as a future teacher—learned from this activity and how you can incorporate that knowledge into your future classes.
PART TWO: Finally, in order to document your event for your classmates, all students must accumulate a short descriiption of your activity or event to later submit to our class discussion board, sharing with your classmates what you’ve learned from your event and/or what you found particularly interesting. Write this discussion post on the last page of the paper to submit to the board later.