Week 2 Assignment #3

Reflections on excerpts from Tongue Tied, edited by Otto Santa Ana - Wascicula ya he? (Do you speak English?) (pp. 56-63); From the Woman Warrior (pp. 78-81); Mother Tongue (pp. 169-73); My Hawai’I pp179-83)

I enjoyed reading Wascicula ya he? (Do you speak English?) by Delphine Red Shirt because there was such a clear description of the narrator’s language influences: Nebraska public school through third grade, Government-run school from 4^th – 6^th grade, and Religious school from 7^th grade onwards. Her experiences in the Nebraska public school were colored with warm emotional language and it seemed that the school was a place of joy for her – full of colors, books, smiling teachers and music. In contrast, the Government school seemed to be devoid of warmth and suffering from a bare bones curriculum with no funding for the arts. This story highlights to me the importance of emotional care when teaching children, especially when the goal is to improve their cognition. Luckily, her mentor in 7^th grade helped her to learn conversational English while her reading ability improved by reading filmstrips independently. I think reading and speaking a new language are really two different skills, and it was lucky that the narrator found a mentor to speak with so early on in 7^th grade. 

In the excerpt from the Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston I noted that the author, from kindergarten through second grade, refused to speak in American school except to other Chinese students. As an English Language Learner, she noted the struggled with the English words for “I” and “here” because they differed in so many ways from the Chinese words for “I and here.” It stuck with me that the narrator covered all her pictures/drawings with black paint during her silent time. I wonder if she had a sadness to speak English, or was she just frustrated that it was not coming easily to her? The author juxtaposed her experiences in American school during the day, and Chinese school in the evenings by reflecting the Chinese school as a space where the child could be free, run around and act wild, and not have to be ‘put on the spot’ to speak out loud in front of everyone else. I interpret her struggle to read out loud in front of others as being a culturally different between East and West, where Eastern cultures promote collectiveness and look down on individuality, while the reverse is true in the West.

In Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, the author discusses the different language she uses when speaking for an audience when compared to the language she uses when speaking with her Mother. I can relate to this story since my mom also has ‘limited English’ and has not been treated respectfully at times due to lack of being understood. She used to be self-conscious about it but is not any longer. Interestingly, she has really improved her vocabulary since she joined the Cleveland Hiking Club. During her many hikes with other American hikers, she has gotten more comfortable with conversational English (and reading/posting to Facebook!). I am so happy she found this group because it is a great source of happiness for her.

My Hawai’l by Nana Veary was a story of loss of language which I found heartbreaking. The author speaks about the loss of the traditional Hawaiian culture and language traditions. I noticed some similarities in the Hawaiian focus on spirituality in comparison to the Hindu traditions, where for example guests are treated with much respect, and the divinity within a human being is recognized and honored - the ‘aloha spirit’ (Santa Ana, 81). The author celebrates the poetry and unique expression of ideas in the old Hawaiian way. Many idioms simply do not translate into the new Hawaiian way of speaking. As ELL teachers we need to understand that students may be starting from a place where their ways of speaking do not translate into English. This is a difficult concept, but just having this awareness gives me heart.

Works Cited
Santa Ana, Otto (editor): Tongue Tied: The lives of multilingual children in public education. Lanhan, 2004.