ESLetter article

CATESOL feedback

Lawrence Edwardson 

This workshop, by Marshall Brewer from the School for International Training was one the most interactive and reflective workshops I have attended. He gave us the opportunity to think deeply and discuss issues that daily impact our classes, yet are often overlooked.  The issues of teacher identities and student identities have many implications for the classroom.

Our first activity was to introduce ourselves to one or two people.  As we turned to do this, Marshall Brewer instructed us to do this activity without speaking.  Fortunately we had CATESOL nametags.  My partner traced “HK” on her palm and it took me a while to figure out that was Hong Kong.

He then led is in a discussion about identity, who I am and what I think of myself.  He mentioned that there is diversity in our identities because we have multiple identities with something in common.  We brainstormed our identities and he wrote them down.  They included teachers, mothers, varied traveling, politically leftists, interest in students, multiple jobs, bicultural, gender and native speaker.  We then formed small groups made up of those who shared one of these identities.

The next question we tackled in our small groups was, “How has your identity influenced your choices of second language, travel, partners and jobs given up or sought?”  That was very challenging.  I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about who I am.  It was an epiphany as I realized the connection between who I saw myself to be and the tremendous influence that had on my choices in life.  I left a secure job as an immigration officer to go back to graduate school and work as a part time teacher and another part time job for 14 years.  

Then we discussed “How do my students identify themselves?”  That brought back to mind an interactive writing exercise I had done with my Level 2 students, where the “correct” written response was “I am a good student” and yet no one could bring themselves to write that and instead wrote something negative about themselves.  It still causes me pain to remember that.  This question is a rich one to reflect on as we begin a new semester.  If we could get a clearer answer to that question how would that impact our teaching?

The final question our small groups explored was, “How might their (our students’) identities enhance or hinder their learning in your classroom?”  We talked about hidden identities.  Some of our students are Mayan and they are often hesitant to reveal that because of the treatment they received from the dominant culture in their county.  If we could consider this question throughout our teaching experience it would have a profound impact on our teaching.

Marshall Brewer ended the workshop with the question, “What have you learned?”  We need to be aware of the diversity in diverse groups.  There are minority and majority stresses and issues of class in our teaching environment.  We should develop awareness of the various cultural approaches to learning.  We as teachers can see ourselves as in a parent-child relationship with our students but we should consider the ramifications of that.  Our students are semi-lingual and trying to balance their home language and English.   There are “shifting” (situational) identities to consider.  Who do we show ourselves to and how?  How can we create an environment in which the students can undo their “stereotypes” and “-isms” in the classroom?   As a teacher I need to continually monitor myself to not put people in the box I put them in.  Do I see myself as a liaison or a bridge for my students?  Have I given careful thought to “Who am I?” and “Who are you?” as I interact with my students?  Am I willing to be a peacemaker and teach peacemaking skills in the classroom?  We teach who are.