11/8

As it was stated in the closing paragraph of Chapter 11, I agree that teachers need to be very honest about the power that politics has on language. We need to explain to our students that the language and culture that they bring with them makes them unique, but in order to keep up with society they need to adjust to the "game" that's being played or they will have a very difficult time (pg 266).

The part of the chapter that captured my attention the most was the talk about the role of the first language. As a bilingual education major, I've learned so much about how resourceful the student's first language is, especially in a learning environment. In our education classes we've learned a million times how when a student can tap into their prior knowledge, or relate what they are learning to a personal experience, they will have an easier time understanding the new concept. This makes it shocking to me that the use of the first language in the classroom is always a debate. Clearly, if it is the only language being used in the classroom the students aren't going to make progress in their L2, but if it is used as a resource it can greatly enhance their understanding. I feel like this isn't always clear to the learners themselves either. A lot of the time they have their mind set on learning English as quickly as possible and never want to tap into their L1. As teachers we need to explain that their first language can provide them a lot of help with their second language. In our classroom it might be beneficial to do different activities that can link their home language to their second language. This way they can find some similarities or differences between the two and make helpful connections either within the grammar, communication styles, or speech acts. The use of the L1 in any ESL classroom is too great of a resource to ignore and if this is explained to the students and their parents they will understand how much it can really help.