Week Eleven

I have always been confused by the term globalization. Although there are an abundance of definitions for the term, they all have overlapping gray areas. The biggest controversy I find is that some define the term in a positive light while others cast a negative shadow across the term. Our McKay text supposes that “perhaps no other term has been as widely used and abused during the twenty-first century as the term globalization.” I found it interesting how they used the word abused. But this makes sense. Every time a culture was spread to another area, it was globalization, even if it was then abandoned in its original locale.

To try and clarify the gray areas of this term, McKay includes a list of categories this includes globalization “as internationalization, liberalization, universalization, westernization and deterritorialization.” The most common definitions I hear associate the spread of liberal and western ideas.

Keeping the different types in mind, I then thought about whether globalization is a good thing. The discussions regarding this are typically with other language majors. Since language majors are more liberal in their views and require globalization/spread of languages for jobs, they are normally all for it. When I go home, the Amuricans (yes, with a ‘u’) think it’s horrible and all immigrants should stop stealing their jobs. The under-educated don’t know enough about it to hold an organized conversation. The migrant workers are out in the fields when these discussions happen. So finding a neutral place to hold such a discussion is a little challenging.

It can be said that globalization can be seen “as the cause of a loss of cultural and linguistic diversity…which has contributed to greater disparity between the rich and the poor.” In many countries being bilingual, especially with English proficiency, can help attain greater financial prosperity. This motivates learners of more obsolete languages to abandon passing on their mother tongue to their children in hopes of greater prosperity for their bloodline.

In other respects, it allows for different communities to come together and share ideas. They can share food, clothes, technology, etc. The need for a Spanish teacher would be null, leaving me trying to find a job that fits my linguistic, pattern-recognizing brain. But in this notion of globalization, McKay notes that “while capital and goods can ‘freely’ move, the human element should stay where [it ‘belongs’]. While the United States may welcome foreign music, food and style, immigrants are not as easily accepted. If too many come to the land of, seemingly, plenty, it will no longer be the land of plenty.

Settimana Otto

The sections from our Holliday textbook this week focused on othering. Cultural misconceptions are at the center of this lovely concept. Section 3.1 opened with the tale of Reza, an Afghan refugee in Canada learning remedial English skills. The teacher made a few generalizations about his background, which helped isolate him. He was already transitioning from a male-dominated culture into a Western world, but that did not mean that his ideas were completely different than those of already naturalized Canadian citizens. A year later the teacher ran into her past student and they had a conversation. He explained his feelings about being treated as just a refugee. He expressed that he felt like part of the underbelly of this new society, when he used to be a Judge. His sister became a professor, but he was stuck doing menial labor. The teacher then gathered that her stereotyping him, along with the rest of that society stereotyping him, just isolated him. Being isolated, he was not in a habitat that was particularly conducive to learning a new language, and he then was not as motivated as a learner. In our ENG 344 class (theoretical foundations of TESOL) we have covered the idea that motivation is key to learning a second language.

There are a few adults we have talked about that were able to successfully require an L2 to a very proficient level. They were not othered as Reza was. Othering is detrimental to a learner’s motivation, and thus ability, to acquire a new foreign language. Encouragement and understanding are necessary to help the learner feel comfortable enough to cross cultural barriers that may inhibit or even prohibit them from learning a new language.

The Taylor-Mendes article I found really interesting. My friends and I have joked around before about how the media works to target certain groups. When I’m watching TV alone, I like to think about what kind of person or what group of people a commercial is trying to reach out to.

In regards to the author, I found it interesting how she referenced finding work in São Paulo. Her knowledge of the English language and education allowed her to get a number of job offers upon arrival, whereas a Joe Shmoe sans unique skill sets could be looking for a job for an entire year. English is such a commodity, and this class has helped teach me to not take for granted my Native Speaker of English status. I will always be able to find a job in our globalizing world thanks to my linguistic background and education.

I also found it interesting how she acknowledged her personal cultural adaptations to Brazilian culture. She stopped apologizing for silly things and was more direct. From living in Spain for 5 months and talking with friends from Central and South America, it seems that the Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking cultures share this. As a white girl from North America, I understand how it can shock you when you are called “my fatty” by a friend. Although intended neutrally, it is hard not to take such things offensively given a certain cultural background. This seems to be reflected in the media. In Spain we did not see violence as much as we do in America, but people were much more direct about the truth. By the results Taylor-Mendes received from her participants, it seems that they noticed that American media portrayed the US as a happy land free of conflicts. This censorship of the truth, to me at least, seems to stem from social origins. I do not believe we are as open about negative things as some cultures.