From: Ana Rivera
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Date: Fri, Nov.21, 2008
 
I think that when it comes to speaking about Afro-Americans, Hispanics (I am Hispanic), one must enhance the good qualities of each culture.
We all have positives and negatives.  When we emphasize on the positives, we can make the students feel proud about their background. I had a class where each student talked about their country and what was typical of their country, food, music, so on.  Make them feel proud. 
I presently live in Ankara, Turkey, teaching ESL.  They prefer here, as they have told me, to have Hispanic teachers, at least in this school, because the similarity is the respect for the family nucleus and respect in general for others.  For example, they invite you to eat or give a present.  One most never say no, or they will feel uncomfortable with you.  One must eat with them. In general, make them feel like part of the home.  They even call me "aunt," like I am already part of the family. Turkey is a country where women are very discriminated.  I have to make my point several times, in order to signal that I have an opinion and that I am present and important.  Cultural clashes are awful.  Specially if you have to live within cultures that are very sensitive. 
Please, tell me your experiences with the Turkish community.
By the way.  I respect Black culture a lot.  I make my students listen to MLK's "I have a dream speech," sometimes we recite it, together with the tape.
I emphasize the rich inheritance from blacks, the deep feelings, the pain, the music, the movements, the jazz, the blues.  I just say, some people are still deeply hurt because of the years of slavery.  This will eventually pass, now that there is equality. Specially, with Obama as president. 
Thanks> From: englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov> Subject: EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 38, Issue 21> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov> Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:00:01 -0500> > Send EnglishLanguage mailing list submissions to> englishlanguage at nifl.gov> > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to> englishlanguage-request at nifl.gov> > You can reach the person managing the list at> englishlanguage-owner at nifl.gov> > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific> than "Re: Contents of EnglishLanguage digest..."> > > Today's Topics:> > 1. [EnglishLanguage 3143] Adult ESL students and African> Americans (Adam W Nathanson/FS/VCU)> 2. [EnglishLanguage 3144] Re: Adult ESL students and African> Americans (Rebeca Fernandez)> 3. [EnglishLanguage 3145] Re: Adult ESL students and African> Americans (Barber, Jennifer)> 4. [EnglishLanguage 3146] Re: Adult ESL students and African> Americans (Adam W Nathanson/FS/VCU)> 5. [EnglishLanguage 3147] Re: Adult ESL students and African> Americans (Rebeca Fernandez)> > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------> > Message: 1> Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:56:59 -0500> From: Adam W Nathanson/FS/VCU <nathansonaw at vcu.edu>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3143] Adult ESL students and African> Americans> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov> Message-ID:> <OFD9B468CF.17D09CB2-ON85257507.00681865-85257507.0068186C at vcu.edu>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"> > An HTML attachment was scrubbed...> URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/englishlanguage/attachments/20081120/776d119e/attachment-0001.html > > ------------------------------> > Message: 2> Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:05:26 -0500> From: "Rebeca Fernandez" <Rebeca.Fernandez at cpcc.edu>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3144] Re: Adult ESL students and African> Americans> To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List"> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>> Message-ID:> <02B49BF72ED97F40B077CE5048C21088E8E0B1 at CEVS6-CENTRAL.cpcc.edu>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"> > In response to Adam's post, I've encountered the same with my students.> I'm a Hispanic female, and by virtue of the cultural proximity, I> probably get earfuls of biases on a regular basis. It's really> difficult to hear but at the same time, I don't feel it's appropriate to> dismiss students' personal experiences. The fact is that this is an> issue we as educators cannot gloss over and ignore. Hispanic and black> youth kill each other in gang warfare in different parts of the country.> Recent media reports have cited that some blacks feel that immigrants do> threaten their opportunities and that efforts to help the plight of> Hispanics might take away from efforts to help build the black> community. There is tension between these communities, no doubt, when> there should be alliances. > > > > For that very reason, I have often used racially biased comments as an> opportunity to teach about American history, the civil rights movement,> and ultimately, to credit African-Americans with so many of the rights> immigrants have today. For lower level students, there are plenty of> really powerful images on the internet from which you could convey rich> messages. I also make connections between the historical treatment of> Blacks in this country and the way indigenous peoples of Latin America> continue to be treated in many places today. That can be very disarming,> and I have found that at least in class (I don't know what they do> outside), their attitudes change. I also teach about language dialects> among cultural groups in the US and caution against judgments of> 'correct English', again drawing parallels between the variety of> equally correct Spanishes of Latin American and Castilian Spanish. > > > > I like that you bring in African-American speakers. That is something I> haven't tried. > > > > Rebeca Fernandez> > > > From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov> [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Adam W> Nathanson/FS/VCU> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 1:57 PM> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3143] Adult ESL students and African Americans> > > > Hello All,> > > > I teach EL Civics for Richmond, Virginia Public Schools Adult &> Continuing Education. Perhaps because I am a white male, I have found> that like many native-born United States people, some of my ESL students> feel free to express their biases towards American blacks with me.> Examples include comments that blacks are lazy and impatient in> communicating with them.> > > > I always debunk their generalizations and stereotypes when they come up.> I also bring in speakers from the community who happen to be African> American, as well as stressing how black progress has pushed our country> forward throughout its existence. But I want to hear about other> instructors' experiences with this problem, and how you've dealt with> it.> > > > Thanks,> > Adam Nathanson> > -------------- next part --------------> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...> URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/englishlanguage/attachments/20081120/2b566bb9/attachment-0001.html > > ------------------------------> > Message: 3> Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:31:56 -0800> From: "Barber, Jennifer" <jbarber at ghc.edu>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3145] Re: Adult ESL students and African> Americans> To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List"> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>> Message-ID:> <2A83C259DAAAA74CA24E8E99AA48998B2CB1A9 at ghc-exch06301.ghc.local>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"> > I find it helpful to have students student different civil rights> leaders like MLK and Cesar Chavez to see the connections and benefits> for all. > > I also share with students other immigrant experience. My Latino> students are often surprised that the Irish, Italians, Jews were treated> similarly at certain points.> > > > Jennifer Barber> > English as a Second Language> > > > Grays Harbor College> > 1620 Edward P. Smith Drive> > Office: 2214> > Aberdeen, WA 98520> > 360-538-2516> > jbarber at ghc.edu> > www.ghc.edu/faculty/barber> > From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov> [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Rebeca Fernandez> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 12:05 PM> To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3144] Re: Adult ESL students and African> Americans> > > > In response to Adam's post, I've encountered the same with my students.> I'm a Hispanic female, and by virtue of the cultural proximity, I> probably get earfuls of biases on a regular basis. It's really> difficult to hear but at the same time, I don't feel it's appropriate to> dismiss students' personal experiences. The fact is that this is an> issue we as educators cannot gloss over and ignore. Hispanic and black> youth kill each other in gang warfare in different parts of the country.> Recent media reports have cited that some blacks feel that immigrants do> threaten their opportunities and that efforts to help the plight of> Hispanics might take away from efforts to help build the black> community. There is tension between these communities, no doubt, when> there should be alliances. > > > > For that very reason, I have often used racially biased comments as an> opportunity to teach about American history, the civil rights movement,> and ultimately, to credit African-Americans with so many of the rights> immigrants have today. For lower level students, there are plenty of> really powerful images on the internet from which you could convey rich> messages. I also make connections between the historical treatment of> Blacks in this country and the way indigenous peoples of Latin America> continue to be treated in many places today. That can be very disarming,> and I have found that at least in class (I don't know what they do> outside), their attitudes change. I also teach about language dialects> among cultural groups in the US and caution against judgments of> 'correct English', again drawing parallels between the variety of> equally correct Spanishes of Latin American and Castilian Spanish. > > > > I like that you bring in African-American speakers. That is something I> haven't tried. > > Rebeca Fernandez> > > > From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov> [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Adam W> Nathanson/FS/VCU> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 1:57 PM> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3143] Adult ESL students and African Americans> > > > Hello All,> > > > I teach EL Civics for Richmond, Virginia Public Schools Adult &> Continuing Education. Perhaps because I am a white male, I have found> that like many native-born United States people, some of my ESL students> feel free to express their biases towards American blacks with me.> Examples include comments that blacks are lazy and impatient in> communicating with them.> > > > I always debunk their generalizations and stereotypes when they come up.> I also bring in speakers from the community who happen to be African> American, as well as stressing how black progress has pushed our country> forward throughout its existence. But I want to hear about other> instructors' experiences with this problem, and how you've dealt with> it.> > > > Thanks,> > Adam Nathanson> > -------------- next part --------------> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...> URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/englishlanguage/attachments/20081120/3dab5a14/attachment-0001.html > > ------------------------------> > Message: 4> Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:34:35 -0500> From: Adam W Nathanson/FS/VCU <nathansonaw at vcu.edu>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3146] Re: Adult ESL students and African> Americans> To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>> Message-ID:> <OFCD6BE5F2.9E38E347-ON85257507.00710781-85257507.0071078C at vcu.edu>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"> > An HTML attachment was scrubbed...> URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/englishlanguage/attachments/20081120/4bd32a83/attachment-0001.html > > ------------------------------> > Message: 5> Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:21:50 -0500> From: "Rebeca Fernandez" <Rebeca.Fernandez at cpcc.edu>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3147] Re: Adult ESL students and African> Americans> To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List"> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>> Message-ID:> <02B49BF72ED97F40B077CE5048C21088B79A2A at CEVS6-CENTRAL.cpcc.edu>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"> > Here are some links I've used in class:> > http://www.voicesofcivilrights.org/index.html Explores civil right for many groups in America through interactive features, images, audio interviews, etc.> > http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/features/immig/introduction.html Entitled "Immigration", this site features the history of different groups (including African-Americans as involuntary immigrants) in the United States.> > > http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/features/moore/mooreIndex.shtml I just found this one. It's very simple, but it could be great for lower-level students. It has just key words that are hyperlinked to black and white photographs by Charles Moore of the civil rights era. > > > ________________________________> > From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Adam W Nathanson/FS/VCU> Sent: Thu 11/20/2008 3:34 PM> To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3146] Re: Adult ESL students and African Americans> > > Thanks Rebecca, > > I think that one point you touched on that is important is that personal experiences of our students are legitimate. We just need to remind them that those incidents on the bus or in the rental office can't be extrapolated to indict whole groups of people.> > Divide and conquer is real too, and I had a boss tell me years ago at a government job that "the blacks had their chance and they blew it, so now we're going with the Hispanics." > > Are there specific websites for the images you mentioned?> > Thanks,> Adam> > -----englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov wrote: -----> > > > To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List" <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>> From: "Rebeca Fernandez" <Rebeca.Fernandez at cpcc.edu>> Sent by: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov> Date: 11/20/2008 03:05PM> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3144] Re: Adult ESL students and African Americans> > > > In response to Adam's post, I've encountered the same with my students. I'm a Hispanic female, and by virtue of the cultural proximity, I probably get earfuls of biases on a regular basis. It's really difficult to hear but at the same time, I don't feel it's appropriate to dismiss students' personal experiences. The fact is that this is an issue we as educators cannot gloss over and ignore. Hispanic and black youth kill each other in gang warfare in different parts of the country. Recent media reports have cited that some blacks feel that immigrants do threaten their opportunities and that efforts to help the plight of Hispanics might take away from efforts to help build the black community. There is tension between these communities, no doubt, when there should be alliances. > > > > For that very reason, I have often used racially biased comments as an opportunity to teach about American history, the civil rights movement, and ultimately, to credit African-Americans with so many of the rights immigrants have today. For lower level students, there are plenty of really powerful images on the internet from which you could convey rich messages. I also make connections between the historical treatment of Blacks in this country and the way indigenous peoples of Latin America continue to be treated in many places today. That can be very disarming, and I have found that at least in class (I don't know what they do outside), their attitudes change. I also teach about language dialects among cultural groups in the US and caution against judgments of 'correct English', again drawing parallels between the variety of equally correct Spanishes of Latin American and Castilian Spanish. > > > > I like that you bring in African-American speakers. That is something I haven't tried. > > > > Rebeca Fernandez > > > > From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Adam W Nathanson/FS/VCU > Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 1:57 PM > To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov > Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3143] Adult ESL students and African Americans > > > > Hello All, > > > > I teach EL Civics for Richmond, Virginia Public Schools Adult & Continuing Education. Perhaps because I am a white male, I have found that like many native-born United States people, some of my ESL students feel free to express their biases towards American blacks with me. Examples include comments that blacks are lazy and impatient in communicating with them. > > > > I always debunk their generalizations and stereotypes when they come up. I also bring in speakers from the community who happen to be African American, as well as stressing how black progress has pushed our country forward throughout its existence. But I want to hear about other instructors' experiences with this problem, and how you've dealt with it. > > > > Thanks, > > Adam Nathanson > > ----------------------------------------------------> National Institute for Literacy> Adult English Language Learners mailing list> EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage> Email delivered to nathansonaw at vcu.edu> > > -------------- next part --------------> A non-text attachment was scrubbed...> Name: not available> Type: application/ms-tnef> Size: 9804 bytes> Desc: not available> Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/englishlanguage/attachments/20081120/c04f4e74/attachment-0001.bin > > ------------------------------> > ----------------------------------------------------> National Institute for Literacy> Adult English Language Learners mailing list> EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage> > End of EnglishLanguage Digest, Vol 38, Issue 21> ***********************************************
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