My Digital Journey: Final Narrative

                                     

                  I have always loved languages. I grew up in a bilingual home in the Warwick suburbs. My mom is an immigrant from Guatemala and my dad is a transplant to Rhode Island from Pennsylvania. I am a simultaneous bilingual, learning English and Spanish at the same time, though my early accent when I spoke in English would indicate Spanish is my mother tongue. I distinctly remember a trilingual book I had at home about a young girl’s "Keys to Her Kingdom." It was in English in the first line of every page, with the second line being in French and the third in Spanish. Even at seven or eight years old, I loved to attempt the pronunciations of the French words, though I had never in my life been exposed to the French language. As a sophomore in high school, I reached my wit’s end when I had to take Spanish for the fifth year in a row so a couple other emergent bilinguals and I, each already fluent in a language other than English, petitioned our head of school to start a French class for us. We were given permission to self-teach until the school was able to find a teacher for us later that same year. I took French the rest of my high school career and it was my double major in undergrad which allowed me to study abroad for a semester in southern France and refine my French proficiency.  I would now consider myself an emergent trilingual.

                  Since I had been an emergent bilingual myself in my first three years of school and I was now trilingual, I pursued a career as a teacher of emergent bilinguals, otherwise known as English as a Second Language. I was fortunate enough to find a job teaching emergent bilinguals in Fall River, Massachusetts. Fall River as a school district is poorly funded and it was frustrating to me that I did not have the technology I wanted to use in my teaching available to me. I had a school-issued laptop and that was it, not even a projector because there weren't enough for everyone. It was frustrating since growing up I always had access to technology because my dad has always worked in Information Technology as the “computer guy.” I remember having a large monitor and computer set-up in our living room where I would play with “Paint,” play games off of floppy disks, fly airplanes simulators, and lived and died on the Oregon Trail. Even when we lived in San Diego for a few months while my dad was on a business trip, we had a computer. I remember sitting on my mom’s lap while we designed our dream home on an architectural program. As time went on, more and more technology was available to my family and me. We started watching movies projected onto the wall from a computer. I got my first laptop in high school, my first cellphone at 15 and each of us in my family has his or her own technology to use in the home. We sit in the house, all within 20 feet of each other, each of us on our computers and/or phones. While the art of conversation is not dead in our house, I have watched us become more and more reliant on technology and have known for a while, but not necessarily acted upon the fact that it “[does] not substitute for conversation” (Turkle, 2012).

                 Prensky would most likely label me a “digital native,” someone who is a “native speaker” of modern technology (2001, p. 1). I happen to disagree with his terminology because as Boyd states, it does not mean that I knew how to be "critical of the content they consume” (2014, p. 181). I certainly have not been. I was not explicitly taught to be. Anything my parents considered “bad” for me was censored by them, rather than teaching me to analyze and critique for myself, especially when it has such a strong influence in our society. Prensky also seems to make the assumption that because my generation is considered digitally native, that reading of traditional texts plummeted. According to him, “Today’s [in 2001] average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games” (p. 1). I assume that he may think it could only get worse from there. I was 9 in 2001, the year this article was written. I have no exposure to traditional video games, even in my adult life. I spent most of my childhood with my nose in a book, and not on the computer. Having access to one did not mean that I was constantly on it.

                 Given my technological background, as a teacher I would consider myself to be a techno-traditionalist (McKenzie, 2005). I use GoogleDocs for my lesson plans, share many types of documents with my colleagues, collaborate on online forms with my colleagues, use my laptop on a daily basis for lessons, grading, submitting referrals and use my projector (which I got as a Christmas present from my IT dad) for lessons whenever possible. Even with limited technology in the classrooms, I would say that most of my colleagues are techno-traditionalists though I can certainly think of one or two that would be technocrats since they only use their laptops when they absolutely have to (such as for attendance or referrals) but use them and projectors on a very limited basis otherwise.

                 As a teacher of emergent bilinguals, regardless of the technology available to me and to them, I am driven by my “why.” As Simon Sinek says, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it” (2009). Without my “whys,” there would be no significance to my teaching and my teaching would only be a means to an end: a paycheck. No, the following are my core beliefs about why I do what I do:

1. Emergent bilinguals learn best when given time to language and translanguage - Hesson, Seltzer and Woodley (2014) write that “language” is a verb in that language is something you “practice” and not something you own or have. When we use English, we are languaging (note the -ing suffix) and if we are translanguaging, it means that we are using the linguistic features of more than one language. Translanguaging is the idea that everyone has one “linguistic repertoire” that society has broken down into “languages” depending on the linguistic features a speaker chooses. Allowing students to make use of their entire linguistic repertoire provides them with the tools they need to make sense of content in the classroom and negotiate meaning with their teachers and peers (p. 2-3).

2. Emergent bilinguals’ development of English progresses fastest when all teachers take responsibility - I am not the only one responsible for the language development of my school’s emergent bilinguals. Their English language development depends on their content teachers as well. I am unable to be with my students all day long to ensure their language development myself, therefore, content teachers bear the responsibility with me. The ESL teacher is the “expert” in language development and cannot be expected to know each content area and neither are the content teachers experts in language development, therefore it is imperative that content teachers collaborate with the ESL teachers, to ensure that there is language development throughout the day, allowing emergent bilinguals to language and translanguage all day. The Massachusetts Guidance (2017) states “ESL teachers, in collaboration with other content teachers, should continue to develop awareness of the language ELLs need to be able to process and produce in general education classes to reach high levels of performance. Likewise, general education teachers need to develop awareness and strategies to support the disciplinary language needs of ELL students” (p. 58)

3. Emergent bilinguals’ language learning depends on making content accessible - The education of our emergent bilinguals needs to be equitable. Native English speakers have the advantage of being such and are able to access content much more easily than non-native English speakers do. Therefore, in order for the education of emergent bilinguals to be equitable and accessible, it is the teachers’ job to ensure that emergent bilinguals have the tools they need to access their education. As quoted by
Garcia and Kleifgen (2010), Justice William O. Douglas wrote in the Lau v. Nichols case (1974), “There is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers and curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education…” (p. 30).

4. Emergent bilinguals deserve to be bilingual and biliterate. - I strongly believe that language is part of a person’s identity. I am easily able to be myself in either English or Spanish but, even though I’m proficient in French, it is still difficult for me to portray myself as myself in French because it is not a language I grew up with and easily identify with. Many programs focus on the development of English only and “[put] the English language in a sole position of legitimacy” (Garcia et al., 2008, p. 7) and instead we should be focusing on developing both languages so that they can “function in their home language as well as in English, their new language and that of school” (Garcia et al., 2008, p. 6).

                 With these core beliefs in mind, I am faced with a daily problem at school. I believe that all teachers of emergent bilinguals need to collaborate and by acting on this belief, the others will be fulfilled. However, I work with 70-plus students across grades four to eight, which amounts to 16 classroom/content teachers and three special education teachers. There is simply no time to be able to meet with them all on a weekly basis for sharing my expertise on language development with them. Without that collaboration time, my classroom teachers do not have access to all the scaffolds they could be putting in place in their classrooms, aside from those they learned in the RETELL (Rethinking Equity in the Teaching of English Language Learners) class required by Massachusetts to receive an SEI (Sheltered English Immersion) endorsement. I have so many that I want to share from undergraduate classes, graduate classes, and Professional Developments I have attended. It’s all in a large Tupperware storage bin in my bedroom as a mess of piles of paper. I had thought of putting together binders for each teacher with all the resources at my disposal but that seemed too overwhelming both for the teachers and myself. I put it on the back-burner until I could find a better solution.

                 I had planned on making these physical binders this summer but now that I have taken Digital Media Literacy, I have a much more efficient manner in which to share what I know and what I have. I had absolutely no idea that livebinders.com existed, allowing for the creation of a shareable, online “binder.” On this website, I can upload documents, images, websites, and videos, create tabs just like in physical binder with subtabs, even a cover page! Best of all, there is a sharing option. All I have to do is click share, get a link and share it with my colleagues and they will instantly have access to resources, scaffolds and advice directly from me. While the ideal is still to collaborate in person, being able to share my knowledge is a step towards that. I now have the beginnings of an online binder with online resources, key terminology, external websites and scaffolds, strategies and protocols broken down by language domain. Included in one of the first pages of the binder are my core beliefs. If teachers know why I made it and why I share it with them, they will (hopefully) be more likely to actively use it. Once I have more resources in it, I will be able to share and add to it. With this binder (that can go anywhere with me and teachers!), my colleagues and I will be able to select what is needed by our students in order to fulfill my other core beliefs: emergent bilinguals will be able to language and translanguage, content will be accessible and we will be working towards their bilingualism and biliteracy.

                 The creation of this online binder has started moving me from a techno-traditionalist to a techno-constructivist. I am not simply moving things from paper to something digital for my own use: I am sharing this with my colleagues so that it is a go-to resource for them too, to improve their pedagogy around teaching emergent bilinguals and in the hope that my core beliefs will resonate with teachers and inspire them to actively seek out pedagogical improvements. While I may still be a techno-traditionalist in some aspects, I am now also a techno-constructivist. Regardless of my colleagues’ positions on technology and regardless of whether they consider themselves digital natives or immigrants, I hope that my “why,” becomes an integral part of theirs.

Pecha Kucha: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQp6tQ3eUku7GYERgvW4oUUxaI6PF3c-YZ8FemNeykYRCqiUOvVEHxytxrVQImzAro83EUoMTVBv73d/pub?start=true&loop=false&delayms=20000&slide=id.g3d428e84db_0_64 


Self-Assessment

References

Boyd, D. (2014). It’s complicated: The social lives of networked teens. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Garcia, O. & Kleifgen, J.A. (2010). Educating emergent bilinguals: Policies, programs, and practices for English language learners. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Garcia, O., Kleifgen, J.A., & Falchi, L. (2008). From English language learners to emergent bilinguals. New York City, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University. Retrieved from https://ofeliagarciadotorg.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/ell-to-eb.pdf

Hesson, S., Seltzer, K., & Woodley, H.H. (2014). Translanguaging in curriculum and instruction: A CUNY-NYSIEB guide for educators. Retrieved from
http://www.nysieb.ws.gc.cuny.edu/files/2014/12/Translanguaging-Guide-Curr-Inst-Final-December-2014.pdf

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (2017). Guidance on identification, assessment, placement and reclassification of English learners. Malden, MA. Retrieved from http://www.doe.mass.edu/ell/guidance/guidance.pdf

McKenzie, W. (2005). Multiple intelligences and instructional technology: A manual for every mind. 

(2nd Ed.) Eugene, OR: ISTE.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the horizon, vol 9 (5). p. 1-6.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-JcBFAuLc-0Z01KNkdIWjdsNk0/view

Sinek, S. (2009, September). How great leaders inspire action. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action#t-795903

Turkle, S. (2012, April 21). The flight from conversation. The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/the-flight-from-conversation.html