Developing empathy should be a natural fit for language teaching. Shouldn’t it? But how do we actually encourage students to move from being mere spectators and tourists to seeing life from another person’s point of view and to stand alongside them?
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As the bride and groom approached the wedding guests, female relatives showered them with rice grains and wrapped sweets from a small ceramic plate. Then, completely to our surprise (and the bride’s), an otherwise reserved aunt of the groom took the plate in both hands and emphatically and decisively smashed it at the newlyweds' feet. The guests laughed, clapped and cheered. It was a joyful if not somewhat startling beginning to the exuberant feasting and dancing that were to follow in true Sardinian style.
Rejoice with those who rejoice! My husband and I were not outsiders to this spectacle. The bride was our eldest daughter. She has just married an Italian of Sardinian heritage and now Italy has become her new home. Our two families are now joined, though oceans and potentially the mutual distinctiveness of our cultures separate us. For we are different. We could find each other’s ways a little peculiar. And yet. Every morning, students and teachers assemble to pray the school prayer:
“…Help me to think in a kind way, to act in a kind way, to speak in a kind way….” Every morning offers a fresh start, to acknowledge God’s love for us in Christ and how we may love and serve Him in the way we treat each other. And every morning I am challenged to consider: Can I live out this prayer throughout this day? And for my students: How can I support them to seek to do likewise? It’s a new term. For me it’s a new school, for a term, and a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with a colleague to design Italian language learning experiences that will encourage our students from Pre-K to Year 6 to become attentive and reflective listeners, interested in the lives and stories of others and what they can learn from them.
As we prepare, we have been questioning and considering: Why do I teach this content this way? How can we shift the focus from ‘I’ to ‘other’? How can we create more meaningful language learning opportunities with a focus on hospitality? How can we infuse our lessons with a winsome mix of authenticity, humour, collaboration, action and reflection which will engage an energetic jumble of boys? All in 30 minutes a week. Will we succumb to "let's be realistic"? Or take up the challenge to be ambitiously real! "But I don't care about where you can buy cheap designer jeans!"
In my son's Year 9 Italian textbook, fashion and shopping were predictably the context for teaching vocabulary about clothing. For the exercise under protest, he was required to compose an email responding with advice to an imaginary friend's bargain hunting request. Whether intentionally or not, the unit assumed and sought to appeal to the stereotypical superficiality and consumer mentality of young people, while choosing to ignore their possible broader concerns about global clothing waste. Its underlying message: appearance is everything. Thankfully, this boy wasn't buying it! “Our rich multicultural nation maintains a frustratingly monolingual mindset”, begins a recent scholarly article. It is a reality with which teachers of mandatory high school language courses are all too familiar.
Rachel Moore, my guest blogger, is a Year 7 French language teacher at Nepean Christian School. In this post she shares her approach to unlocking the hearts and minds of her students to understand the value of language learning. Is it possible to teach even young children to be a blessing as tourists?
For the students in the Stage 1 Italian classes I was teaching, overseas family holidays seemed to be almost the norm. I was aware their contact with local people would usually be limited to hotel and restaurant staff and those manning tourist attractions. Their ability to communicate in the host language would at best consist of a few stilted phrases. Even with these ‘limitations’ I was keen to explore ways of preparing my students to love their neighbour, even as strangers in a foreign land. My guest blogger this week is Joanne Fenton, Languages Faculty Head at Macarthur Anglican School, where Indonesian is taught from Kindergarten through to Year 12. She writes:
“Where are you from?” “Wow, you are so good at Indonesian!” “Where are you studying?” Anyone who has visited Indonesia will know the friendliness of the Indonesian people. People love to ask questions of tourists, showing great interest in the Australian way of life and in us as individuals. As Christians, we are called to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and to love our neighbour as ourselves. What if we could give our students a simple but practical way to show love and care for others through teaching them conversational skills? “We are already seeing growth in self-development, in terms of taking risks with expressing opinion, reflecting on learning & questioning current global issues.”
Imma Buono, Primary Languages teacher, Northern Beaches Christian School Imma has been a Languages teacher for 14 years. She brings to this role many years of experience as a Primary and Early Childhood educator and, with her personal love of creative arts, she has always enriched her language program by integrating culture and the Arts. Over a coffee at the end of last year we discussed how she was thinking through a radically different approach. As she recalls: “I truly wanted it to be more than just language acquisition. I've now embarked on a journey with the students on what it means to be a global citizen.” The Italian town of Amatrice had been devastated by an earthquake. Rescuers searching for survivors trapped in the rubble were constantly hampered by the risk of further collapse from aftershocks. The morning newspaper had dedicated a double spread to photos and stories of heartache and hope; news videos were being re-posted all over social media. It was early days: the death toll was still rising.
"Can I mention the earthquake?" I was booked for a morning tutoring students preparing for their HSC Italian conversation exam. "No, no. They haven't prepared to say anything about that. Just stick to the topics. I've got some excellent students who should do really well." |
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