Blog Post 1 January 25

From the TESOL and Culture article, the most important piece of information I found was written right there in the title; culture. I find it interesting that TESOL branches out into many more subjects besides just the English language. Psychology and cross-cultural communication can also use the TESOL component. I think that TESOL is so attached to teachers of the English language because it says that right in the title. But TESOL has seemed to become more popular as the years have gone on. I relate this to my experiences being an undergraduate student. I have recently decided to add on a TESOL endorsement and receive my TESOL certificate before I graduate. When I tell people I am staying at school longer in order to graduate with this, they tell me I should have no problem getting a teaching job because of being able to teach English to speakers of other languages and having a foreign language as a minor.

I think that TESOL is becoming more popular because there so many other languages spoken in the United States now besides English. The cross-cultural communication is very important regarding TESOL because the speaker of English should or needs to have a background of who they are teaching the English language to. Culture is so important because each culture is unique. Cultures have certain beliefs, morals and ideas and keep traditions alive within families and are passed down through the generations. I think it is important to share ideas with culture with other students who are getting a TESOL minor or endorsement to see how they view the importance of culture. I think that some teachers forget the importance of culture. Students can learn so much about cultures other than their own when the teacher takes the time to incorporate them into the classroom.

Teachers should have some kind of experience in TESOL so they know what they should do if they ever have a student whose English is not their first language. I don’t think that any teachers should have the view that culture is not important because it is. Some people have a received view that culture is a problematic concept that should be avoided. People may feel awkward discussing other cultures that they don’t have enough background information about. What can be done to encourage teachers to incorporate more cultural issues in the classroom? Why do people feel scared to introduce culture in the classroom and attempt to avoid it?