Saturday, April 30, 2005
Identity, Culture Learning, Language Learning
For those of you who may be interested in issues of identity, here is a paper that I presented at TESOL this year. As some of you know, I believe that we should all be interested in identity issues. Why? Because our identities affect our instructional practices. Please take this paper in context. First, it's an oral presentation. So I preserved the oral tone of the paper. Second, it was part of the spotlight session on race and nonnativeness in English.
Lia D. Kamhi-Stein TESOL 2005, March/April
California State University, Los Angeles San Antonio, TX
Paper presented at the annual TESOL Conference. Spotlight session on race and (non)nativeness in English.
Mi Viaje: A Journey of Invisibility and Nonnativeness in English
In 1995, when I was about to complete my dissertation, and I was beginning to search for a tenure-track position, a professor I greatly admire said something like: “You are Latina but I don’t think you will have problems finding a position.” I did not quite understand what he meant by this statement. Was my being Latina a problem? But at the same time, in spite of my being Latina, I was going to find a job? How could this be explained, reconciled? I asked my professor for clarification and he told me the story of one of his neighbors who was Latino, fit the Latino stereotype, and faced many challenges because he “looked different” from the mainstream, dominant culture. He concluded his explanation by saying: “Your case is different, you don’t look Latina; therefore, you should not have a problem fitting in; people’s perceptions about you will not be affected by perceptions about “how Latina you are.”
When I heard these words, I had two immediate reactions: First, Lia, the survivor said to herself: This is good news. I will be able to fit in; this is positive since search committees usually look for people who can fit in.” However, Lia, the immigrant woman who had come to the US when she married an American, said to herself: “There is a lot wrong about this statement: I don’t look Latina, therefore, I can’t be Latina. And this is the one reason why finding a position will be easier for me than for other Latinas who look darker than me? Of course, what went unsaid in my conversation with my professor was the issue of my accentedness, which in this country is a marker of foreigness.
This vignette reflects my experiences as a TESOL professional in the US. My physical appearance makes me an invisible minority. However, my L2 accent makes me visible, and prompts reactions like: Wow, your English is very good. Did you speak English when you came to the US? A question that I always answer by describing my EFL learning experience, my training as an EFL teacher in Argentina, my years of teaching EFL and working as a program administrator in Argentina, etc. In the US, it is my accent in English that, particularly early in my career, made my interlocutors doubt my professionalism. Or to draw on Hansen’s (2004) ideas, it was my accent that obscured my experience/value as a TESOL professional.
How different are my experiences from those of many of my MA students? Many of my MA students are nonnative speakers of English like me. However, these students come from Asian countries. These students stand out from the “mainstream” Anglo culture. In my case, I don’t stand out. Drawing on Kanno’s work, I could pass as an anglo if I wanted to—that is until I speak. In contrast, for my students, their physical features mark them as different. Even if they wished to pass as anglo, they would not be able to be so.
Now, let me fast forward to the summer of 2004, nearly 10 years after my conversation with my professor. I went to Argentina, the country where I was born and raised, and the country where I lived until I was 32 years old. I visit Argentina every year. However, this time, I was there to do research related to language proficiency and NNES teachers (TIRF grant). I decided to visit my old high school to find out whether the school would be interested in participating in the study.
My Spanish is flawless, my knowledge of Argentine events and Argentine life is up-to-date, and in-depth. In fact, I start my day by reading Argentine newspapers. I am a member of a basketball Web site, Manu Ginobili.com. Therefore, when I went to my former school, I was surprised to hear the school principal talk to me as if I were an American. She said something like: “But girl….You have lived in the US for 15 years, this country (referring to Argentina) is a different country now, the country you knew does not exist any more (referring to the economic crises of 2001). (And looking at me, from head to toe, she said): You are no longer an Argentine. You are more American than Argentine.”
When I heard these words, I felt hurt. But I knew she was right in that my identity had evolved. I was no longer the person that I was when I lived in Argentina.
I had made the wrong assumption that in Argentina, I would still be an invisible minority First, much like in the US, in Argentina I am a member of a minority group, I am Jewish, and within the Jewish community, I am also a minority, I am a Sephardic Jew. Second, I am invisible because my physical appearance makes me fit in. I look like any regular Argentine, and I don’t fit the stereotype of what an Argentine Jew looks like. However, I thought that the one important difference between my situation in Argentina and the US is that in Argentina I “sound right” (to use Gee’s 1996 term), in the sense that the way I sound should not make me be perceived as different, as an outsider, in the US., it is my accent that stigmatizes me as an “Other.”
However, as I showed in my above example, in Argentina, I am no longer perceived as having an Argentine identity.
One could theorize that the position as an “outsider” that I experience in both my first language/culture community and my second language/culture community is problematic. However, I have come to perceive my identities in both settings as an advantage. My shifting, fragmenting identities have allowed me to develop what Canagarajah’s (2004) calls a “critically informed subjectivity,” it is from this critical subjectivity that I have developed a voice that is detached from both cultures. Or to draw on Bhabha (1994), I have learned to negotiate my identify from a “third space,” defined as a space of culture in which hydrib identities can be performed and affirmed.” (p. 96)
However, arriving at this third space has not been an easy, or a painless process. In the past, I felt conflicted by the fact that I did not see myself belonging in either culture. In fact, in the past I found myself in awe of some colleagues or friends who saw themselves as fitting into the L1 and the L2 culture. For example, this is the case of Jun Liu (2004), who in spite of being a visible minority in the US, achieved what he calls “adaptive cultural transformation” from a position of dual culture. This was not my case.
Now I can admit that when I graduated with a Ph.D. degree, I still did not have a voice of my own, or I did not see myself as having a voice, and this lack of voice affected the formation of my identity and particularly my professional identity in this country. Like many other NNES professionals, I felt conflicted about my nonnativeness in English. Even though I had a doctoral degree from a widely respected university, I did not feel that I owned the English language. To draw on Widdowson’s (1994), I was able to speak English and to write in English for academic purposes. And quite well, I should say. By the time I completed my Ph.D. program I had published or was in the process of publishing several articles/chapters. However, my topics tended to be “safe,” focusing on issues related to cognitive perspective on reading and reading-to-write. In fact, I subconsciously avoided topics such as affective factors and language minority students.
So over the past few years, I have reflected on the factors that have contributed to my gaining my professional voice, to my finally taking ownership over the English language. If I were to draw on Cummins’ work on academic language development, I could say it is the length of exposure to the target language in a natural setting and my higher degree of comfort in academia that contributed to the development of my voice. However, this is not the right answer for me.
I think that the single most important factor that contributed to my finding my voice as a professional is my work/involvement in the NNEST Caucus. I often say that nonnative speaking-professionals were a non-issue in the TESOL organization or in the field, prior to Braine’s seminal (1996) colloquium at TESOL Chicago. Within the NNEST Caucus, I found a forum in which nonnative speakers were not objectified. The NNEST Caucus has given me, much like it gave other NNES, a sense of community, and it is in this community in which we have developed our strength and we have, using a first-person perspective, discussed topics such as the status of nonnative English-professionals, issues of TESOL teacher preparation, professionalism, and accentedness. More recently, we moved onto a topic that until a couple of years ago seemed to be taboo, this is the issue of language proficiency, and also recently, we stopped looking at native and nonnative English speakers as being two different species, as having discrete characteristics. Now, with today’s colloquium we have further moved away from the native/nonnative speaker dichotomy by looking at the intersection among race/ethnicity and language status, and identity.
My own work, in the area of publications, presentations and as a teacher educator, focuses on issues of mentoring of NNESTs, and I believe that this line of work has affected how people perceive me in the TESOL community. Let me clarify this point. For some colleagues, my work in this area has been characterized as relevant, appropriate because it is concerned with the notion that teacher educators are responsible for creating conditions in which all students can succeed. For other colleagues, my work has been characterized as “touchy-feely Californian” (a comment that I found to be very insulting and pejorative). And still for other colleagues, my work focusing on NNESs has been the subject ridicule. Specifically, this was the case of a colleague who recently said something like: We could organize a series of talks, workshops, and you could give a talk on “your NNS thing…” I personally think that this person feels threatened by the fact that NNE topics do no longer take a back seat to other topics.
So in the recent past, I have begun to question the focus of my work. Could it be that working on issues related to mentoring, and specifically issues of mentoring NNES professionals, is perceived much in the same light as working on issues related to the practicum course? It is something that needs to be done, right, someone needs to do it, it but at the same time it is not academic enough (it cannot be quantified), therefore, much like with the practicum course, it does not carry the same prestige as work in other areas in the TESOL field. Could it also be that issues of mentoring have been traditionally associated with women, and as such the topic is marginalized, is not well seen?
In any case, I perceive this line of work as vital since it contributes to helping teachers develop a positive self-image, regardless of whether they are native or nonnative speakers. And to do my work, I draw strength and intellectual guidance from the third space to which I previously made reference.
To conclude, it is my hope that the conversation that we are starting today will contribute to the understanding of the multiple factors that affect nonnative English-speaking professionals in the TESOL field. Ultimately, it is my hope that through these conversations we can move beyond the native/nonnative speaker dichotomy and promote the creation of conditions that contribute to strengthening the initiation of novice professionals/scholars to a field is more fair and just.
References
Braine, G., Canagarajah, S., Connor, U., Sridhar, K., Thomas, J., Chitrapu, D. (1996, March). In their own voices: Nonnative speaker professionals in TESOL. Colloquium presented at the annual meeting of the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Chicago, IL.
Canagarajah, S. (2004). Multilingual writers and the struggle for voice in academic discourse. In A. Pavlenko & A. Blackledge (Eds.), Negotiation of Identities in multilingual contexts (pp. 266-289). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Gee, J. P. (1996). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideologies in discourses (2nd ed). London: Taylor & Francis.
Hansen, J. G. (2004). Invisible minorities and the nonnative English-speaking professional. In L. D. Kamhi-Stein (Ed.), Learning and teaching from experience: Perspectives on nonnative English-speaking professionals (pp. 40-55). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Kamhi-Stein, L. D. (Ed.). (2004). Learning and teaching from experience: Perspectives on Nonnative English-speaking professionals. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
Kanno, Y. (2004). Sending mixed messages: Language minority education at a Japanese public elementary school. In A. Pavlenko & A. Blackledge (Eds.), Negotiation of Identities in multilingual contexts (pp. 316-338). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Liu, J. (2001). Confessions of a nonnative English-speaking professional. In L. D. Kamhi-Stein (Ed.), Learning and teaching from experience: Perspectives on nonnative English-speaking professionals (pp. 25-39). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Widdowson, H. (1994). The ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 28(2), 377-389.
Lia D. Kamhi-Stein TESOL 2005, March/April
California State University, Los Angeles San Antonio, TX
Paper presented at the annual TESOL Conference. Spotlight session on race and (non)nativeness in English.
Mi Viaje: A Journey of Invisibility and Nonnativeness in English
In 1995, when I was about to complete my dissertation, and I was beginning to search for a tenure-track position, a professor I greatly admire said something like: “You are Latina but I don’t think you will have problems finding a position.” I did not quite understand what he meant by this statement. Was my being Latina a problem? But at the same time, in spite of my being Latina, I was going to find a job? How could this be explained, reconciled? I asked my professor for clarification and he told me the story of one of his neighbors who was Latino, fit the Latino stereotype, and faced many challenges because he “looked different” from the mainstream, dominant culture. He concluded his explanation by saying: “Your case is different, you don’t look Latina; therefore, you should not have a problem fitting in; people’s perceptions about you will not be affected by perceptions about “how Latina you are.”
When I heard these words, I had two immediate reactions: First, Lia, the survivor said to herself: This is good news. I will be able to fit in; this is positive since search committees usually look for people who can fit in.” However, Lia, the immigrant woman who had come to the US when she married an American, said to herself: “There is a lot wrong about this statement: I don’t look Latina, therefore, I can’t be Latina. And this is the one reason why finding a position will be easier for me than for other Latinas who look darker than me? Of course, what went unsaid in my conversation with my professor was the issue of my accentedness, which in this country is a marker of foreigness.
This vignette reflects my experiences as a TESOL professional in the US. My physical appearance makes me an invisible minority. However, my L2 accent makes me visible, and prompts reactions like: Wow, your English is very good. Did you speak English when you came to the US? A question that I always answer by describing my EFL learning experience, my training as an EFL teacher in Argentina, my years of teaching EFL and working as a program administrator in Argentina, etc. In the US, it is my accent in English that, particularly early in my career, made my interlocutors doubt my professionalism. Or to draw on Hansen’s (2004) ideas, it was my accent that obscured my experience/value as a TESOL professional.
How different are my experiences from those of many of my MA students? Many of my MA students are nonnative speakers of English like me. However, these students come from Asian countries. These students stand out from the “mainstream” Anglo culture. In my case, I don’t stand out. Drawing on Kanno’s work, I could pass as an anglo if I wanted to—that is until I speak. In contrast, for my students, their physical features mark them as different. Even if they wished to pass as anglo, they would not be able to be so.
Now, let me fast forward to the summer of 2004, nearly 10 years after my conversation with my professor. I went to Argentina, the country where I was born and raised, and the country where I lived until I was 32 years old. I visit Argentina every year. However, this time, I was there to do research related to language proficiency and NNES teachers (TIRF grant). I decided to visit my old high school to find out whether the school would be interested in participating in the study.
My Spanish is flawless, my knowledge of Argentine events and Argentine life is up-to-date, and in-depth. In fact, I start my day by reading Argentine newspapers. I am a member of a basketball Web site, Manu Ginobili.com. Therefore, when I went to my former school, I was surprised to hear the school principal talk to me as if I were an American. She said something like: “But girl….You have lived in the US for 15 years, this country (referring to Argentina) is a different country now, the country you knew does not exist any more (referring to the economic crises of 2001). (And looking at me, from head to toe, she said): You are no longer an Argentine. You are more American than Argentine.”
When I heard these words, I felt hurt. But I knew she was right in that my identity had evolved. I was no longer the person that I was when I lived in Argentina.
I had made the wrong assumption that in Argentina, I would still be an invisible minority First, much like in the US, in Argentina I am a member of a minority group, I am Jewish, and within the Jewish community, I am also a minority, I am a Sephardic Jew. Second, I am invisible because my physical appearance makes me fit in. I look like any regular Argentine, and I don’t fit the stereotype of what an Argentine Jew looks like. However, I thought that the one important difference between my situation in Argentina and the US is that in Argentina I “sound right” (to use Gee’s 1996 term), in the sense that the way I sound should not make me be perceived as different, as an outsider, in the US., it is my accent that stigmatizes me as an “Other.”
However, as I showed in my above example, in Argentina, I am no longer perceived as having an Argentine identity.
One could theorize that the position as an “outsider” that I experience in both my first language/culture community and my second language/culture community is problematic. However, I have come to perceive my identities in both settings as an advantage. My shifting, fragmenting identities have allowed me to develop what Canagarajah’s (2004) calls a “critically informed subjectivity,” it is from this critical subjectivity that I have developed a voice that is detached from both cultures. Or to draw on Bhabha (1994), I have learned to negotiate my identify from a “third space,” defined as a space of culture in which hydrib identities can be performed and affirmed.” (p. 96)
However, arriving at this third space has not been an easy, or a painless process. In the past, I felt conflicted by the fact that I did not see myself belonging in either culture. In fact, in the past I found myself in awe of some colleagues or friends who saw themselves as fitting into the L1 and the L2 culture. For example, this is the case of Jun Liu (2004), who in spite of being a visible minority in the US, achieved what he calls “adaptive cultural transformation” from a position of dual culture. This was not my case.
Now I can admit that when I graduated with a Ph.D. degree, I still did not have a voice of my own, or I did not see myself as having a voice, and this lack of voice affected the formation of my identity and particularly my professional identity in this country. Like many other NNES professionals, I felt conflicted about my nonnativeness in English. Even though I had a doctoral degree from a widely respected university, I did not feel that I owned the English language. To draw on Widdowson’s (1994), I was able to speak English and to write in English for academic purposes. And quite well, I should say. By the time I completed my Ph.D. program I had published or was in the process of publishing several articles/chapters. However, my topics tended to be “safe,” focusing on issues related to cognitive perspective on reading and reading-to-write. In fact, I subconsciously avoided topics such as affective factors and language minority students.
So over the past few years, I have reflected on the factors that have contributed to my gaining my professional voice, to my finally taking ownership over the English language. If I were to draw on Cummins’ work on academic language development, I could say it is the length of exposure to the target language in a natural setting and my higher degree of comfort in academia that contributed to the development of my voice. However, this is not the right answer for me.
I think that the single most important factor that contributed to my finding my voice as a professional is my work/involvement in the NNEST Caucus. I often say that nonnative speaking-professionals were a non-issue in the TESOL organization or in the field, prior to Braine’s seminal (1996) colloquium at TESOL Chicago. Within the NNEST Caucus, I found a forum in which nonnative speakers were not objectified. The NNEST Caucus has given me, much like it gave other NNES, a sense of community, and it is in this community in which we have developed our strength and we have, using a first-person perspective, discussed topics such as the status of nonnative English-professionals, issues of TESOL teacher preparation, professionalism, and accentedness. More recently, we moved onto a topic that until a couple of years ago seemed to be taboo, this is the issue of language proficiency, and also recently, we stopped looking at native and nonnative English speakers as being two different species, as having discrete characteristics. Now, with today’s colloquium we have further moved away from the native/nonnative speaker dichotomy by looking at the intersection among race/ethnicity and language status, and identity.
My own work, in the area of publications, presentations and as a teacher educator, focuses on issues of mentoring of NNESTs, and I believe that this line of work has affected how people perceive me in the TESOL community. Let me clarify this point. For some colleagues, my work in this area has been characterized as relevant, appropriate because it is concerned with the notion that teacher educators are responsible for creating conditions in which all students can succeed. For other colleagues, my work has been characterized as “touchy-feely Californian” (a comment that I found to be very insulting and pejorative). And still for other colleagues, my work focusing on NNESs has been the subject ridicule. Specifically, this was the case of a colleague who recently said something like: We could organize a series of talks, workshops, and you could give a talk on “your NNS thing…” I personally think that this person feels threatened by the fact that NNE topics do no longer take a back seat to other topics.
So in the recent past, I have begun to question the focus of my work. Could it be that working on issues related to mentoring, and specifically issues of mentoring NNES professionals, is perceived much in the same light as working on issues related to the practicum course? It is something that needs to be done, right, someone needs to do it, it but at the same time it is not academic enough (it cannot be quantified), therefore, much like with the practicum course, it does not carry the same prestige as work in other areas in the TESOL field. Could it also be that issues of mentoring have been traditionally associated with women, and as such the topic is marginalized, is not well seen?
In any case, I perceive this line of work as vital since it contributes to helping teachers develop a positive self-image, regardless of whether they are native or nonnative speakers. And to do my work, I draw strength and intellectual guidance from the third space to which I previously made reference.
To conclude, it is my hope that the conversation that we are starting today will contribute to the understanding of the multiple factors that affect nonnative English-speaking professionals in the TESOL field. Ultimately, it is my hope that through these conversations we can move beyond the native/nonnative speaker dichotomy and promote the creation of conditions that contribute to strengthening the initiation of novice professionals/scholars to a field is more fair and just.
References
Braine, G., Canagarajah, S., Connor, U., Sridhar, K., Thomas, J., Chitrapu, D. (1996, March). In their own voices: Nonnative speaker professionals in TESOL. Colloquium presented at the annual meeting of the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Chicago, IL.
Canagarajah, S. (2004). Multilingual writers and the struggle for voice in academic discourse. In A. Pavlenko & A. Blackledge (Eds.), Negotiation of Identities in multilingual contexts (pp. 266-289). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Gee, J. P. (1996). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideologies in discourses (2nd ed). London: Taylor & Francis.
Hansen, J. G. (2004). Invisible minorities and the nonnative English-speaking professional. In L. D. Kamhi-Stein (Ed.), Learning and teaching from experience: Perspectives on nonnative English-speaking professionals (pp. 40-55). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Kamhi-Stein, L. D. (Ed.). (2004). Learning and teaching from experience: Perspectives on Nonnative English-speaking professionals. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
Kanno, Y. (2004). Sending mixed messages: Language minority education at a Japanese public elementary school. In A. Pavlenko & A. Blackledge (Eds.), Negotiation of Identities in multilingual contexts (pp. 316-338). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Liu, J. (2001). Confessions of a nonnative English-speaking professional. In L. D. Kamhi-Stein (Ed.), Learning and teaching from experience: Perspectives on nonnative English-speaking professionals (pp. 25-39). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Widdowson, H. (1994). The ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 28(2), 377-389.
Friday, April 29, 2005
Viernes Otra Vez
There is a song by Sui Generis called Lunes Otra Vez... It talks about the beginning of the week and how much people dread the fact that a new week starts. Well, I am calling my blog "Friday Again.." I like Fridays, even though I work over the weekends... It makes me feel like I can take a little break... This Friday, I have decided to go to a masseuse... I should get back to the gym and start exercising again... But I always find an excuse not to do it... My back is bothering me, my right arm and shoulder are bothering... I guess too much computer time.... So I need a little break.... And this masseuse is great! She is from India and has a Ph.D. in Yoga.... She teaches yoga at the gym but the groups she has been working on are quite advanced. So I would certainly NOT be a good fit there!
On a different topic, as some of you know, I am a Spurs fan, or I should say, I am a Manu Ginobili fan... So if anyone has a logical explanation for what Pop did to Manu, taking him out of the starting line up because he needed to help the bench. I know that Manu was all in favor of the change, he wants to win the championship, but I can't understand. Well, not one person on Manu's site can understand! I was so pissed yesterday.....
OK, this is it for today! More tomorrow.... Cheers, Kuki
On a different topic, as some of you know, I am a Spurs fan, or I should say, I am a Manu Ginobili fan... So if anyone has a logical explanation for what Pop did to Manu, taking him out of the starting line up because he needed to help the bench. I know that Manu was all in favor of the change, he wants to win the championship, but I can't understand. Well, not one person on Manu's site can understand! I was so pissed yesterday.....
OK, this is it for today! More tomorrow.... Cheers, Kuki
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Here we go again
I wish I could get some inspiration from the wonderful blogs I have been reading... But no luck! So here I go again..... If you are interested in reading about my activities, keep reading... Yesterday, I worked on several projects: my class prep for today, email + email + email. I also read the final manuscripts for the book because I need AND want to complete this project so that I can move onto my other project. I also spent a lot of time burning CDs with teacher videotapes. I had to burn 12 CDs so this was quite a consuming task....
I like the Spring quarter. Everyone is in a good mood. However, there is always a large group of students who are nervous since they are getting ready for the comp exam. For those of your reading this entry, REMEMBER: Focus on the materials that have been presented in class. There is no need to panic, go to the library and start reading new materials. But this Spring, the weather is not helping. It's still rainy, the sky is not blue, the weather is not warm. This is NOT Sunny Southern California. Why I am talking about this? Because now I have come to realize how much the Southern Cal weather has come to positively affect me. I am not used to dark skies, rainy days, umbrellas, AND sweaters in the Spring. So not Californian! Hopefully, the weather will change and soon.... Kuki
I like the Spring quarter. Everyone is in a good mood. However, there is always a large group of students who are nervous since they are getting ready for the comp exam. For those of your reading this entry, REMEMBER: Focus on the materials that have been presented in class. There is no need to panic, go to the library and start reading new materials. But this Spring, the weather is not helping. It's still rainy, the sky is not blue, the weather is not warm. This is NOT Sunny Southern California. Why I am talking about this? Because now I have come to realize how much the Southern Cal weather has come to positively affect me. I am not used to dark skies, rainy days, umbrellas, AND sweaters in the Spring. So not Californian! Hopefully, the weather will change and soon.... Kuki
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Tuesday
This is not going to be an easy week. Too many committee meetings.... But I got good news! I have been recommended for full professor. This means that as of this September, I will be joining the rank of "professor." Time really flies. I was hired on a non-tenure track position 10 years ago, when I had just completed my dissertation at USC. Then two years later, I got the tenure track appointment. Last September, I got the outstanding professor award, and now I am going to be full. It's been a lot of work, too many weekends spent at the computer working on publications, presentations, and especially working with students. But this is the fun part. It's wonderful to see that students graduate, get good jobs, and then become involved in professional organizations, and become mentors themselves. Really rewarding...
On a different topic, after broadcasting the Spurs game on Sunday, I was mentally exhausted. There were something like 25 people in the chatroom. Rober and I were really busy broadcasting the game, especially in the fourth quarter, when the game was back and forth. Unfortunately, we lost. I was very dissapointed because Manu did very well. Tony Parker was TP, he disappeared, the difference was that this time he disappeared throughout the game. What was good on Sunday was to see el Chapu Nocioni did so great in Chicago. He really deserves the visibility. The problem for me on Sunday was that I was so angry about the score that I could not get to sleep. Not good when I am going to have a busy week, with meetings with my Dean and other Deans.... En fin.... OK, for those of you who might be interested in reading more about Manu Ginobili and the Spurs, here is the link to his forum http://manuginobili.com/forum/ Enjoy it! Kuki
On a different topic, after broadcasting the Spurs game on Sunday, I was mentally exhausted. There were something like 25 people in the chatroom. Rober and I were really busy broadcasting the game, especially in the fourth quarter, when the game was back and forth. Unfortunately, we lost. I was very dissapointed because Manu did very well. Tony Parker was TP, he disappeared, the difference was that this time he disappeared throughout the game. What was good on Sunday was to see el Chapu Nocioni did so great in Chicago. He really deserves the visibility. The problem for me on Sunday was that I was so angry about the score that I could not get to sleep. Not good when I am going to have a busy week, with meetings with my Dean and other Deans.... En fin.... OK, for those of you who might be interested in reading more about Manu Ginobili and the Spurs, here is the link to his forum http://manuginobili.com/forum/ Enjoy it! Kuki
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Saturday
Hi All,
Here I am again! Yesterday I attended the Honors' Convocation Ceremony. It was good. But it was cold. And I wish that we had had some refreshments, some flowers, some color, etc. In summary, something that would have contribute to creating a more festive spirit.
What I loved about the ceremony was to see so many families, parents, spouses, children proud of their loved ones' accomplishments. People were taking pictures, filiming, etc! It was really wonderful!
This weekend I have decided to monitor how much I work at the computer. I will definitely take a break and go to the movies. Alan and I want to see The Interpreter. but the point is that I need to pace myself so that work is not the only thing in my life. Doing other things, like going to the movies, going out for a walk, going to the gym contribute to making me feel more relaxed and to my own teaching! So I will make sure that I go back to the gym and exercise!
The other activity for the weekend is watching and broadcasting the Spurs game! I am really nervous about this series. But I am confident in Manu and the team. My hope is that they don't have to play 7 games. They need to save their energy for the Suns... If the Spurs get to play against the Suns, then that is going to be a tough series!
OK, now, let's go back to TESL 573 and my class prep. Then TESL 565, and then the movies! Cheers, Kuki
Here I am again! Yesterday I attended the Honors' Convocation Ceremony. It was good. But it was cold. And I wish that we had had some refreshments, some flowers, some color, etc. In summary, something that would have contribute to creating a more festive spirit.
What I loved about the ceremony was to see so many families, parents, spouses, children proud of their loved ones' accomplishments. People were taking pictures, filiming, etc! It was really wonderful!
This weekend I have decided to monitor how much I work at the computer. I will definitely take a break and go to the movies. Alan and I want to see The Interpreter. but the point is that I need to pace myself so that work is not the only thing in my life. Doing other things, like going to the movies, going out for a walk, going to the gym contribute to making me feel more relaxed and to my own teaching! So I will make sure that I go back to the gym and exercise!
The other activity for the weekend is watching and broadcasting the Spurs game! I am really nervous about this series. But I am confident in Manu and the team. My hope is that they don't have to play 7 games. They need to save their energy for the Suns... If the Spurs get to play against the Suns, then that is going to be a tough series!
OK, now, let's go back to TESL 573 and my class prep. Then TESL 565, and then the movies! Cheers, Kuki
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Hi Again
Hi Again!
It's a beautiful day today... But I am here working at the computer... I should not complain since I have a beautiful view of the street, trees, and the mountains... And my big computer tower!!! :)
Now, I am working on my log and getting ready to broadcast the Spurs game in the chatroom. However, there is a slight problem. DirecTV is having technical difficulties with the SA game.... So who knows what will happen?
As I am typing this log, I am watching Cosquin Rock, with Charly Garcia. My God! He can't sing... Caradura.... And the audience adores him.... His back-up singers have to do most of the work.... It's sad to see how the drugs have destroyed him... Like Maradona, a good example of what one should not do in life...Kuki
It's a beautiful day today... But I am here working at the computer... I should not complain since I have a beautiful view of the street, trees, and the mountains... And my big computer tower!!! :)
Now, I am working on my log and getting ready to broadcast the Spurs game in the chatroom. However, there is a slight problem. DirecTV is having technical difficulties with the SA game.... So who knows what will happen?
As I am typing this log, I am watching Cosquin Rock, with Charly Garcia. My God! He can't sing... Caradura.... And the audience adores him.... His back-up singers have to do most of the work.... It's sad to see how the drugs have destroyed him... Like Maradona, a good example of what one should not do in life...Kuki
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
It's Tuesday Again
Hi All,
Here I am. Working on my blog again! I just finished broadcasting the Spurs game! I was happy to see that we did not go into another overtime! Two overtimes in two days (Sat and Sunday) were too many for me! And Manu did great! But we are not surprised about his performance.
Today, I spent much of the day getting ready for my class tomorrow. I also had a chance to work on a TESOL presentation for next year and to read a couple of theses....Busy day, but what's new?
I said that I would be writing about Argentine music. When I lived in Argentina, I used to listen to music from Argentina, GB, and the US. Now that I live here, I tend to listen to more Argentine music. But I listen to music on my way to work. My favorite groups are Almendra (or anything that Spinetta had done). Here is a link to Almendra's history: http://www.dospotencias.com.ar/rebelde/almendra.htm
Here is a link to Spinetta's page: http://www.laspinetta.com.ar/
Spinetta, while he was a member of Almendra, wrote some of the most beautiful lyrics in Argentine rock. Here are the words to "Muchacha Ojos de Papel."
Muchacha, ojos de papel, adónde vas, quédate hasta el alba.Muchacha, pequeños pies,no corras más, quédate hasta el alba.
Sueña un sueño despacito entre mis manos,hasta que por la ventana suba el sol.
Muchacha, piel de rayón,no corras más, tu tiempo es hoy. Y no hables más, muchacha, corazón de tiza, cuando todo duerma, te robaré un color.
Muchacha voz de gorrión, adónde vas, quédate hasta el día. Muchacha, pechos de miel,no corras más, quédate hasta el día.
Duerme un poco y yo entretanto construiréun castillo con tu vientre hasta que el sol, muchacha, te haga reír hasta llorar...
Another beautiful song by el flaco, or a song that I love is "Fermin." Fermin is about a boy who lives in an orphanage. It's a sad song but a beautiful one.
Las manos de Fermín
giran y él también,
gira y da más vueltas.
Pobrecito Fermín
quiere ser feliz
gira y da más vueltas.
En el hospicio le darán
agua, sol y pan
y un ave que guarde su nombre.
En el hospicio ve morir
y antes de callar
el ave vendrá desde el mal.
Lo llevará
hasta la mal.
Hoy tus sueños Fermín
saben a aserrín
giran y dan vueltas.
Hoy tu tristeza al sol
quiere ser real
aunque no lo creas.
En el hospicio le darán
agua, sol y pan
y un ave que guarde su nombre.
En el hospicio le dirán
pronto ha de morir
la noche se hará su final.
Y el ave aquel
lo llevará.
"Fermin se fue a la vida,
no sé cuando vendrá.."
Spinetta has gone through different phases. In the late 60's and early 70's, when I was a little girl, he wrote the beautiful songs I posted above. This is the Almendra period. All of this songs were like poems, beautiful poems about love, lost love, and friendship. In the 70's, he went through a hard rock period. This is the Pescado Rabioso period. While I liked Pescado, I did not like it as much as Almendra. Here is a link to the history of Pescado Rabioso. http://www.rock.com.ar/bios/0/421.shtml From this period, I remember "El blues de Cris." Cris was Spinetta's girlfriend. And he dumped Cris in front of the world by writing the song. Not too good...I also remember La Cantata de los Puentes Amarillos....
In the late 70's, Spinetta moved on to Invisible, a trio, he formed with Machi and Pomo (the drummer). The words were poetic again. Although Machi and Pomo made for a good combination because they were hard rock musicians....My favorite songs from this time are Durazno Sangrante. Here are the words:
Temprano el durazno del árbol cayó
Su piel era rosa dorada del sol
Y al verse en la suerte de todo frutal
A la orilla de un río su fe lo hizo llegar
Dicen que en este valle
Los duraznos son de los duendes
Pasó cierto tiempo en el mismo lugar
Hasta que un buen día se puso a escuchar
Una melodía muy triste del sur
Que así le lloraba desde su interior:
"Quién canta es tu carozo
Pues tu cuerpo al fin tiene un almaY si tu ser estrella
Será un corazón el que sangre
Y la canción que escuchas
Tu cuerpo abrirá con el alba"
La brisa de enero a la orilla llegó
La noche del tiempo sus horas cumplió
Y al llegar el alba el carozo cantó
Partiendo al durazno que al río cayó
Y el durazno partido
Ya sangrando está bajo el agua
Here is a link to the history of Invisible http://www.dospotencias.com.ar/rebelde/spinetta.htm
Here I am. Working on my blog again! I just finished broadcasting the Spurs game! I was happy to see that we did not go into another overtime! Two overtimes in two days (Sat and Sunday) were too many for me! And Manu did great! But we are not surprised about his performance.
Today, I spent much of the day getting ready for my class tomorrow. I also had a chance to work on a TESOL presentation for next year and to read a couple of theses....Busy day, but what's new?
I said that I would be writing about Argentine music. When I lived in Argentina, I used to listen to music from Argentina, GB, and the US. Now that I live here, I tend to listen to more Argentine music. But I listen to music on my way to work. My favorite groups are Almendra (or anything that Spinetta had done). Here is a link to Almendra's history: http://www.dospotencias.com.ar/rebelde/almendra.htm
Here is a link to Spinetta's page: http://www.laspinetta.com.ar/
Spinetta, while he was a member of Almendra, wrote some of the most beautiful lyrics in Argentine rock. Here are the words to "Muchacha Ojos de Papel."
Muchacha, ojos de papel, adónde vas, quédate hasta el alba.Muchacha, pequeños pies,no corras más, quédate hasta el alba.
Sueña un sueño despacito entre mis manos,hasta que por la ventana suba el sol.
Muchacha, piel de rayón,no corras más, tu tiempo es hoy. Y no hables más, muchacha, corazón de tiza, cuando todo duerma, te robaré un color.
Muchacha voz de gorrión, adónde vas, quédate hasta el día. Muchacha, pechos de miel,no corras más, quédate hasta el día.
Duerme un poco y yo entretanto construiréun castillo con tu vientre hasta que el sol, muchacha, te haga reír hasta llorar...
Another beautiful song by el flaco, or a song that I love is "Fermin." Fermin is about a boy who lives in an orphanage. It's a sad song but a beautiful one.
Las manos de Fermín
giran y él también,
gira y da más vueltas.
Pobrecito Fermín
quiere ser feliz
gira y da más vueltas.
En el hospicio le darán
agua, sol y pan
y un ave que guarde su nombre.
En el hospicio ve morir
y antes de callar
el ave vendrá desde el mal.
Lo llevará
hasta la mal.
Hoy tus sueños Fermín
saben a aserrín
giran y dan vueltas.
Hoy tu tristeza al sol
quiere ser real
aunque no lo creas.
En el hospicio le darán
agua, sol y pan
y un ave que guarde su nombre.
En el hospicio le dirán
pronto ha de morir
la noche se hará su final.
Y el ave aquel
lo llevará.
"Fermin se fue a la vida,
no sé cuando vendrá.."
Spinetta has gone through different phases. In the late 60's and early 70's, when I was a little girl, he wrote the beautiful songs I posted above. This is the Almendra period. All of this songs were like poems, beautiful poems about love, lost love, and friendship. In the 70's, he went through a hard rock period. This is the Pescado Rabioso period. While I liked Pescado, I did not like it as much as Almendra. Here is a link to the history of Pescado Rabioso. http://www.rock.com.ar/bios/0/421.shtml From this period, I remember "El blues de Cris." Cris was Spinetta's girlfriend. And he dumped Cris in front of the world by writing the song. Not too good...I also remember La Cantata de los Puentes Amarillos....
In the late 70's, Spinetta moved on to Invisible, a trio, he formed with Machi and Pomo (the drummer). The words were poetic again. Although Machi and Pomo made for a good combination because they were hard rock musicians....My favorite songs from this time are Durazno Sangrante. Here are the words:
Temprano el durazno del árbol cayó
Su piel era rosa dorada del sol
Y al verse en la suerte de todo frutal
A la orilla de un río su fe lo hizo llegar
Dicen que en este valle
Los duraznos son de los duendes
Pasó cierto tiempo en el mismo lugar
Hasta que un buen día se puso a escuchar
Una melodía muy triste del sur
Que así le lloraba desde su interior:
"Quién canta es tu carozo
Pues tu cuerpo al fin tiene un almaY si tu ser estrella
Será un corazón el que sangre
Y la canción que escuchas
Tu cuerpo abrirá con el alba"
La brisa de enero a la orilla llegó
La noche del tiempo sus horas cumplió
Y al llegar el alba el carozo cantó
Partiendo al durazno que al río cayó
Y el durazno partido
Ya sangrando está bajo el agua
Here is a link to the history of Invisible http://www.dospotencias.com.ar/rebelde/spinetta.htm
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Spring Time, Office Work, and Gardening!
Well! It's Saturday 6:49 p.m. And the big news of the day is the wedding of Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles! Great news right?
I am trying to get organized after the TESOL conference. I have several projects going on. The book I am co-editing with AS, the articles, co-authored with AB, based on our TIRF project, my teaching, committee work (a lot!), and another school project you will learn about at the end of the Spring. I am also working on a book proposal (co-authored).
So what did I do today? I went to Target and Cost-Plus to bug baskets to organize some of my projects. I also bought some magazine holders to organize my journals (TJ, Lectura y Vida, etc). I then got rid of a lot, way too many articles which were old! Way too old! These are articles I had not used in years. So I decided to toss them out.
The other big thing I did is work on the backyard. It was time to do some work. We had not done anything at all all winter.... We had other priorities (the roof, the tenting of the house, the leaks....).
In 1/2 hour I will be getting on the manuginobili.com chatroom to broadcast the Spurs-Clippers game. Not a very exciting game. But I think we, I mean Manu's fans, are a little concerned about how he is doing. Hopefully he will recover for the playoffs. His body is exhausted. I guess that he has played three years, non-stop. He really needs a break.
And now, I am watching the game between the Bulls and Toronto. El Chapu Nocioni does not have the beard any more, so he looks younger. Well, he IS young. 24 years old. OK, this is all for now. I will check my email and start preparing my classes... Cheers, Kuki
I am trying to get organized after the TESOL conference. I have several projects going on. The book I am co-editing with AS, the articles, co-authored with AB, based on our TIRF project, my teaching, committee work (a lot!), and another school project you will learn about at the end of the Spring. I am also working on a book proposal (co-authored).
So what did I do today? I went to Target and Cost-Plus to bug baskets to organize some of my projects. I also bought some magazine holders to organize my journals (TJ, Lectura y Vida, etc). I then got rid of a lot, way too many articles which were old! Way too old! These are articles I had not used in years. So I decided to toss them out.
The other big thing I did is work on the backyard. It was time to do some work. We had not done anything at all all winter.... We had other priorities (the roof, the tenting of the house, the leaks....).
In 1/2 hour I will be getting on the manuginobili.com chatroom to broadcast the Spurs-Clippers game. Not a very exciting game. But I think we, I mean Manu's fans, are a little concerned about how he is doing. Hopefully he will recover for the playoffs. His body is exhausted. I guess that he has played three years, non-stop. He really needs a break.
And now, I am watching the game between the Bulls and Toronto. El Chapu Nocioni does not have the beard any more, so he looks younger. Well, he IS young. 24 years old. OK, this is all for now. I will check my email and start preparing my classes... Cheers, Kuki
Friday, April 08, 2005
Here I am again
Well! Yesterday, I wrote a long entry. But there were problems with the site so I lost my entry. Too bad....
I am trying to figure out/understand how blogs can be used in the L2 classroom. I think they have some value. But I am struggling with the idea of whether or not students should be given a topic to write about, some idea about length of posts, and frequency with which posts should be done.... We will see...
For now, I will focus on my experiences on the web. Yesterday, I broadcast the Spurs-Dallas game on the manuginobili.com site. The game was too depressing to comment on. I don't know what happened to Manu but I think that he's been bangled so much that he is having a hard time playing. Yesterday, Dallas really did a good job on him. Good job from their perspective because Manu could not play his game.... We will see tomorrow, when they play against the Clippers in LA. However, the Clippers are not a good measure of how the Spurs will do in the playoffs. Cheers, Kuki
I am trying to figure out/understand how blogs can be used in the L2 classroom. I think they have some value. But I am struggling with the idea of whether or not students should be given a topic to write about, some idea about length of posts, and frequency with which posts should be done.... We will see...
For now, I will focus on my experiences on the web. Yesterday, I broadcast the Spurs-Dallas game on the manuginobili.com site. The game was too depressing to comment on. I don't know what happened to Manu but I think that he's been bangled so much that he is having a hard time playing. Yesterday, Dallas really did a good job on him. Good job from their perspective because Manu could not play his game.... We will see tomorrow, when they play against the Clippers in LA. However, the Clippers are not a good measure of how the Spurs will do in the playoffs. Cheers, Kuki
