Grant Boulanger sent this:
Ben,
My 5 year old was organizing her space in my office and found my teacher’s guide from Prentice Hall’s video program, “¿Eres tú, María?”. It was accidentally, but appropriately, found covered in dust behind a book shelf. This is a video mystery story that accompanies Realidades. I began to browse the dialogue but got distracted by the “program philosophy” at the introduction. I wondered aloud what the philosophy might be and how much SLA theory they might mention, given that the intended audience consists of professional language educators. Here’s the sentence that immediately caught my eye: “Even in their first year, students need to begin listening to language the takes them beyond the textbook.” My immediate reaction was, “If not now, then when?”
In this quote from Prentice Hall, I see a belief not in all childrens’ ability to learn, but rather in the likelihood that some (many, actually) won’t be able to learn the book content, much less achieve more than what it provides. It reinforces the toxic attitude that the book content is sufficient, appropriate, and what really matters – that the grammar presented therein forms the crucial, indispensable building blocks upon which language is constructed and without which a language student is destined for failure.
Whose job is it to speak to students using language that “isn’t in the book”? Why would beginning students be assumed unable to hear this language? How ridiculous and belittling.
The Achievement Gap is mostly about 2 things – poverty and attitude. The kids come from poverty, but it’s the teachers who bring the attitude. One of the reasons underachievers under achieve is because their teachers constantly parlay the responsibility of teaching them. Perhaps they’re not well trained, it’s too hard, or it takes too much time. Instead, it’s “If his parents cared, they’d make him pay attention in class” and “If they don’t have a good home life I can’t teach her” or “What am I supposed to do if they don’t do their homework”? So, let someone else speak to them in language that goes ‘beyond the textbook’. Maybe reserve that for upper level teachers since, according to this line of thought, upper levels must be when students will be able to understand language that isn’t in the book. Or, maybe that’s what study abroad is for?
Best,
Grant