Culture notes

People have questioned whether "culture" exists in any kind of national sense. When we know that someone is from the United States, what do we really know about that individual? What does knowing that someone is from Mexico or Tunisia or Pakistan tell us about that person (besides perhaps giving us a start in guessing about the language/s that person might speak)? There are plenty of websites designed for tourism that praise the varied and exotic cultures in different countries. I wonder how fairly these represent the reality of the actual residents. I rarely recognize places I've lived when I read tourist advertising.

On the other hand, we do have access to a much broader range of information sources from around the world, thanks to the Internet. Automated translations may confuse as much as they help, but it is still possible to see what is making news around the world. More importantly, we now have ways to be in contact with individuals in places where we may never physically go. The English language mailing list, TESL-L, links 10,000 people in over 40 countries. Reading about the insights and problems of our fellow language teachers helps us see similarities, such as a concern with student motivation and lack of money; and differences, such as class size and type of government control. It gives me the feeling that we have an English language teacher culture that goes across nations. I wonder how many other professions get the same feeling from their professional lists. (Perhaps it's just that English teachers are all a little bit crazy...)

Bakhtin talks about how everyone speaks many different dialects, depending on the situation. The language we use with loved ones is not the same as the language we use with strangers. Perhaps the culture we wear varies the same way - we take on different cultures depending on the context. Teacher, parent-of-teenager, in-group, stranger - these are all different roles we can take on as individuals. Perhaps roles link us to others in the same way that our national cultures do. Maybe they link us more.

--Deborah

The Internet as a "tool"

Educators often talk about technology as "just a tool" that can be used in different ways by teachers and students. It's often said that computers won't replace teachers, but teachers who know how to use computers will replace those who don't. My view is that the personal computer changed teaching somewhat - it made some things, like grading, easier. It let developers create a series of lessons that students could use on their own. Many of these lessons helped people learn habits, like multiplication. The more interesting lessons, though, were ones that captured the imagination. With sound and video, software like Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego and other simulations helped create language learning environments, not workbooks.

Maybe those were and are "just tools" in the hands of the skilled teacher. When we talk about the Internet, though, I think we have something fundamentally different. Computer programs let students interact with a machine in new and different ways. The Internet lets people interact with people in new and different ways. In my view, the Internet is "just a tool" like the printing press was "just a tool." Yes, it's a tool, but it opens new connections and possibiities. Language teaching is fundamentally different now that teachers can have instant access to real-life text, images, sound, and video.

As more teachers start to use the Internet, more ideas will emerge. Perhaps we'll find better ways to communicate, which will help us all understand each other. I certainly hope we find something more than just better ways to sell things.

Different perspectives

Each person brings a different perspective to a task. We talk a lot about cultural perspectives, but what does that really mean? If you take 10 people from the same country, how similar to each other are they going to be? It seems that being 18 years old creates more of a similarity than being from the same country.
--Deborah

Going global

Technology is here - but the hold it will have on us and on our education systems is yet to be determined. As technology-using teachers, we can help shape the direction if we stay knowledgeable and share ideas. The real changes will come as the children who grew up with computers become educators themselves. They will take things for granted about the use of technology, just as many of us take television for granted (though maybe not how to program a VCR).

Computers and the Internet are still new enough in education that the early adopters have a strong voice. It won't last long, so we need to be sure we stay informed and active.